Description

Syrah 56%, Merlot 30%, Viognier 6%.  

This was the last vintage in which we produced the Cuvee Mysterieuse. The following year it was wiped out by spring frosts, and by 2011 we no longer farmed these vines on the Renaissance property.

The Terroir: The grapes for this cuvee were grown on the Renaissance Vineyard estate in Oregon House: the Syrah site is east-facing at ~2300 ft altitude, the other varieties slightly lower down at 1800-2300 ft.  Soils are lean red clay of the “decomposed Granite” type, the terrain very rocky and, for the most part, very steep.

The Vintage: Spring and summer were warm but not exceedingly hot, with only a few 100+ degree days through the whole season. Bud-break began in early April, bloom in late May, and verasion in late July. Harvest was on September 1-11, with sugars at ~23 Brix in average. The grapes were partly destemmed partly whole-cluster stomped into open-top wood fermenters, where un-inoculated fermentations took place on about 50% of the stems. Pressed after 19 days into 5 to 10 year old barrels. Aged on the primary lees until the bottling day (May 6, 2012). Bottled by gravity unfined/unfiltered, with sulfites level near zero.

The Wine: Medium-dark color. Medium-full body. Expansive and complex on the nose, velvety textured, deeply flavored (black fruits), and very harmonious on the palate, this truly elegant wine is especially friendly and accessible, yet, like all of our Syrah-based wines, it has the potential to age for few decades in a good cellar. (Fall 2014)

Alcohol: 13.4%. Total sulfites (added at crush): 35ppm.

2009 Yields: 1.2 ton per acre. Total Production: 1151 Bottles.