Syrah
Calypso Vineyard, 2015

Winemaker's Notes

So far, this is my favorite stand-alone Syrah site. 2015 was a vintage that in our area gave great verve, energy and vitality. There was some unevenness at bloom which handled properly at harvest can amp up the liveliness of the wines without bringing underripe or overripe notes to the forefront.

Violets, white pepper, hibiscus tea with crushed blueberries, freshly tilled loam are on the nose. On the palate it enters with still fairly firm-ish tannins right from a freshly opened bottle. Highly intriguing, I find myself going back to the glass many times to see other facets revealed in this complex wine.

As I said last year: ‘How can a wine made so simply be so complex? When the grapes are a complex array of clones, rootstocks and trellis systems (dozens of separate blocks on a three-acre site) and have intrinsic multi-layered character it follows that the wine will be so as well. Equally successful with salmon, 5-spice moussaka, grilled antelope, flour tortillas, this style allows the grape perfumes to resonate without being buried in tannin or new barrels. I remember doing a winemaker dinner in GA with the 2008 vintage from this site. The chef paired it with miso-infused butterfish. It was like a white wine pairing where the tannin disappeared, and the perfumes and acidity were what were in the forefront. That validates the depth of what this vineyard has to offer. Not all sites produce Syrah that has such equal facility with such a wide range of foods.’ The same is true of this vintage and speaks volumes of the site.