Nose
Borderline perfection, it has straight up
awesome notes of black and blue fruits, pepper, crushed violets
and searing chalky minerality that shows on both the nose and
palate.
Intensely perfumed cherry and blueberry aromas
are complemented by suggestions of potpourri, licorice and
smoky Indian spices.
Palate
On the palate, dense, sweet dark berry liqueur and floral pastille flavors are sharpened by zesty mineral and white pepper notes. Elegant for such a rich wine, finishing with supple tannins and excellent floral persistence.
Full-bodied, seamless and elegant, it's a stacked, concentrated, layered Syrah that never puts a foot wrong.
Growing Conditions
The Bone Rock blend comes from the Bone Rock block of James Berry Vineyard. It is a steep terrace of old head trained Syrah vines on a south facing slope. We unearthed fossilized whale bones when we terraced it and then needed to use jack hammers to plant the vines.
The 2012 vintage was the only normal season we have had in
quite awhile. Not chilly like ‘10 and ‘11, not dry like ‘13 was or
‘14 will be. It was completely average. I don’t mean that in a bad
way either. I just mean we had an average amount of rainfall,
an average temperature range, and an average crop-load. It
was actually quite nice working with an average season. But
what I have come to realize after farming here for, well, for a long time, is that average seasons are quite rare, and not
normal at all! I always get a kick out of our European
counterparts’ misconception that California farming is so boring
because every season is exactly the same. Au contraire!
Winemaking
This wine was made with 50% whole clusters.
Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
- Released: January 2015
Appearance
Vivid purple.
