The 2012 Syrah's are just beginning to shine. This Estate Syrah is dark and robust, it emphasizing the deep, brooding, structured, yet fruit-driven side of the Syrah grape. Plenty of dark fruits (black cherry and currant) with complex background notes of spice and smoke. This is a knife and fork style wine, mouth-filling and concentrated with chewy but fine structure with a long, dry, mouth coating finish. If there ever was a wine that deserved a steak, well you just found it. This is a most excellent red wine!
Winemaking
All work is done by hand: from leaf-pulling and green drop, to harvesting into half-ton bins. Once the growing season is over, the fruit is gently crushed into half ton bins, where they undergo a slow, cool fermentation with 2-3 gentle punch downs per day. When fermentation is complete they pump the juice into French barrels, where they finish secondary fermentation and gently age for 24 months. As with many of their wines, they're inspired by the great wine-growing regions of France, where minimal manipulation allows the elegance of the terroir to be most fully expressed.
APPELLATION: Alexander Valley
VINEYARDS: Estate-Grown - Hillside Fruit
VARIETAL: 98% Syrah, 2% Viognier
AGING: Aged for 24 months in French Oak.
ALCOHOL: 14.5% by volume
PRODUCTION: 200 cases
93 Points
Layers of blackberry and dark cherry with subtle hints of cedar, cocoa, and toasted oak. Rich and concentrated, it is supported by fine tannins and fresh acidity that bring balance and length to the finish. Approachable today, it also has the structure to reward additional time in the cellar.
