Palate
The combination of tannin, acidity, fruit and weight come together to create a big, well balanced wine. Dark and rich, this wine is delicious and memorable. Deep berry and pepper notes are accented with aromas and flavors of vanilla and coffee with supple tannins leading to a very smooth mouth feel and finish.
Growing Conditions
Our Los Carneros Syrah estate vineyard is a located just to the west of the winery, perched on a small 18-acre hillside that offers commanding views of the Carneros wetlands. It is ideally situated for growing world-class cool climate Syrah. The grapes receive cooling benefits from morning fog and afternoon breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean and San Pablo Bay. During the mid-day temperatures warm up providing the grapes with excellent exposure. This unique terroir creates a very long growing season and it’s always one of the last blocks to reach full maturity. The rugged hillside is meticulously tended by hand (and sheep) and yields spectacular fruit year after year.
Winemaking
The grapes were hand picked in the cool early morning and they arrived at the crush pad in excellent condition only minutes after harvest. The grapes were sorted, destemmed without being crushed and gently pumped to our fermentors. The must fermented with natural yeast. The wine was pumped-over three times a day to optimize fruit and color extraction. Fermentation was kept at a moderately warm temperature and the must was pressed shortly after the wine had gone dry to achieve the desired amount of tannin and extract.
Aging
The wine was then racked and moved to French oak with a dark-toast level for 12 months of aging.
