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$42.00

A classic Syrah with flavors of mulberry, black cherry, cloves, coffee and peppercorns!

Tasting Notes

A nice floral component of clove and lavendar is the first impression on the palate for this well balanced and medium bodied wine. It has very nice tannins that lead into flavors of roasted coffee, pepper, vanilla and mulberry. Enjoy with lamb, duck, venision or steak. Drinkability 2009-2017.

Winemaking Notes

Our goal is to produce a full bodied complex wine in the Northern Rhone style that will age gracefully for many years. The must was pumped over 2 times daily to optimize extraction of the phenolic components (color and tannin). The wine was fermented and remained on the skins for 16 days before pressing and racking into 35% new French Oak barrels for 16 months. The wine was bottled on February 3, 2009 without filtration.

Vineyard Notes

Our estate Syrah vineyard was planted in 1992 and is located on the Silverado trail in the Oak Knoll district. The split canopy maximizes the ripening of the fruit. Leaf removal, fruit thinning and dry farming are used to achieve the perfect maturity for these varietals. We carefully harvest these vines at yields averaging 1.5 to 3 tons per acre, using extensive hand sorting to insure that only fully ripened fruit is used to produce this wine with intense flavor. Crafted in a traditional Northern Rhone style, we add a small amount of Viognier for added complexity.

Harvest Report

2007 looks to be a stunning vintage despite a few surprises during the growing season. The year began with dry days and very cold nights. As the spring came, warmer days and only 60% of the normal precipitation resulted in an early bud break. As summer progressed, temperatures rarely passed the 100 degree mark, but it did spike over Labor Day weekend. This helped to boost the sugar developement we were looking for to complement the excellent acid structure.