Winemaker's Notes
I have been interested in drinking Syrah since the mid-1980’s and then logically progressed into working with Syrah as a winemaker since 1992 and finally producing it under our label since 2002. It’s a lovely variety that makes a complete wine without the aid of new oak. As I have developed a relationship with this variety in our area, I’ve experimented with aging time to the point where this vintage was aged nearly 5 years in large format barrel without racking (transferring from the original barrel) before bottling.
Sassafras, soy, fig, cedar appear in the aromas. It has a gentle entry, very suave presence mid-palate with a long, nuanced finish. This is on the elegant side of the spectrum of our Russian River Valley bottlings yet without the red fruit ‘pop’ of our ‘Sasha’ bottlings.