Description

Our second release of this red field-blend from our White Field vineyard, and the first to include grapes other than Syrah in the fermentation: 4% of Pinot Noir and 2% of Mondeuse.

We started developing this 2-1/2 acre vineyard in 2011 and the first planting was in 2012, which also was the first of five drought years. Consequently this project has stalled but kept limping forth in small steps until we got our first mini-crop in 2016. The soil here is tan clay-loam topsoil (mainly decomposed Serpentine with other granitic rocks) on top of dense yellow clay of similar origin. This is an extremely infertile soil. The exposure is northeast and the microclimate is even cooler that our home vineyard, which borders it to the south.

In 2017, of the six red varieties planted in the White Field, the only one to produce any grapes was Syrah. This year, 2018, two of the others gave us a little fruit (Pinot and Mondeuse), while the rest – Trousseau, Cinsault, and Counoise have not yet done so. So what we got here is nearly a single varietal Syrah (94%) that, at least in my experience, tastes like no other California Syrah. 

This wine was 100% foot-stomped and fermented on its skins/stems, and pressed after 8 days of maceration. Barrel aged for 21 months in a neutral oak barrel on its primary lees. Minimal amount of Sulfur dioxide added at crush and bottling.

This wine comes across as soft, velvety and broad across the palate, with dense, fine grained texture and astonishing complexity.

Alcohol: 12.9%

Production: 19 cases

Order limit: 3 bottles