2006 Syrah “Old Man’s Reserve”

$65.00

Bottled November 22, 2010. 14.1% Alc. 119 cases produced.

 

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Description

In 2006 we produced two batches of Syrah. Our “Heart of Stone” (94% Syrah, 6% Roussanne, co-fermented) was bottled in June 2009 and released in March 2011. The second cuvee was not dissimilar in its varietal makeup (90% Syrah, 6% Roussanne, and 4% Petit Verdot), but very different in its “upbringing”: After one year in barrels, it was moved into a 1200 liter oak oval, in which it remained for three more years. It was finally bottled in November 2010, more than four years after harvest.

You may think of this as a true “Reserve”, in the traditional sense of the term: the richest, densest, sometime wildest or most intense wine of the year is put away for an extended time in cooperage to mellow out and acquire additional complexity and nuance in the process. It is then aged further in bottle prior to release, until it reaches the desired level of harmony and finesse. This Reserve of ours was bottled aged for 5-1/2 years in bottle prior to its release on June 1, 2016.

The Old Man’s Reserve Syrah is a wine of large proportions: full bodied, concentrated, powerful and mouth-filling. It has good acidity, ripe fruit, and a lot of complexity and depth. Although its alcohol level is higher than most Clos Saron wines (14.1%), it is not a Shiraz-look-alike, it is not sweet and thick. Its spice, acidity, and mineral backbone give it the necessary uplift to keep it light on its feet.

This has the potential to age further for decades.

Note: Half-bottles and magnums also available, please inquire.