2006 Syrah, Wildcat Mountian

Price: $34.00
Qty.  

ORIGIN:  The grapes for this Syrah came exclusively from our Wildcat Mountain Vineyard, owned by Steve MacRostie and his partners Nancy and Tony Lilly. Here the vines dig into the sparse volcanic soil and stand firm against the strong winds that race in off of the Pacific Ocean most afternoons. This fog-shrouded mountaintop vineyard is a classic Sonoma Coast site, cool and challenging, and produces wines of great distinction.

VINEYARD NOTES:  The 2006 growing season was quite protracted, long and cool, which is exactly the way we like it.  Longer hang time in the vineyard leads to richer, more fully developed flavors in both the grapes and the resulting wine. Yields were customarily low at Wildcat, just a little over two tons per acre, resulting in fruit of intense flavor.  A single four-acre block, planted with the Syrah Noir clone, made up this wine. It was harvested by hand on October 16, 2006, beautifully ripe, one day before a big rain.

WINEMAKING NOTES:  The majority of the fruit was gently destemmed, with about 20% whole clusters added back to one of the three small open-top fermentors.  Following a three-day cold soak to boost color without increasing tannins, the tanks were inoculated with yeast.  The cap was managed with a combination of punchdowns and pumpovers to maximize positive extraction, and the must was pressed after two weeks on the skins.  The wine was aged in French and American oak barrels, 40% or which were new, for 10 months, with periodic racking for aeration as required.  Only the best barrels were selected to form the vineyard designate blend.  The wine was bottled on August 7, 2007.

TASTING NOTES:  Typically opaque purple color, with aromas of dark plum and ripe blueberries, plus the usual dash of black pepper.  Chocolaty, almost café mocha richness, with big blackberry jam flavors leading into a long, lush, creamy finish. Goes on and on.

This vintage produced 1650 (750 ml) 6-bottle cases.

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