This wine is unabashedly juicy and toasty, with soft tannin and mouth-filling fruit. Baking spices, blackberry pie... Yep, it's all there.
Prime drinking: now through 2022.
Food pairing: Seared meats and rich pasta dishes.
Winemaking
Grapes were picked in the darkness of the early morning hours, and immediately subjected to rigorous hand sorting and refinement process. The whole berries were gently delivered to tank. Cold soaks lasted five to seven days, and fermentations were managed via a combination of delestage and pumpovers. Extended maceration ranging from three to four weeks fine-tuned our tannin profiles, allowing us to perfect mouth feel and wine complexity. The wine was aged 30 months in 100% French oak, 25% of which was new.
Analysis
Appellation: Alexander Valley, Sonoma County
Varietals: 100% Syrah
Aging: 30 Months in 100% French Oak, 25% New
pH: 3.73 | TA: 6.4 g/L
Alcohol: 14.5%
90 Points
Rich and voluptuous with ripe raspberry, cherry, and plum, layered with hints of lavender, fig compote, and exotic spice. Concentrated and complex, the palate is a balanced interplay cocoa, and a hint of espresso, creating both richness and intrigue. Vibrant acidity and silky tannins that contribute heft and length that coat the palate with luscious ripeness that keeps on giving.
94 Points
Deep red-purple with aromas of black currents, blackberry, plum, chocolate, earthy forest floor, licorice, graphite, and subtle floral notes of violet, spice and cracked pepper. The palate is full, structured and balanced with blackberry, currant, black cherry fruit with notes of earth, firm acid and silky tannins. Finishes big with blackberry fruit and peppery spice.
Gold Medal
Light pink in color with aromas of watermelon, cranberry, orange rind, and fresh spring flowers that leap from the glass. The palate offers more peach, strawberry, and melon, with an intriguing note of rose and hibiscus. It's crisp with just the perfect hint of red fruit, and delicate whisper of strawberry that gives goosebumps.
