2022 • Syrah 2022

Syrah 2022

Varietal:

95% Syrah, 5% Viognier

Alcohol:

14%

Vinification Notes:

Whole cluster (stems intact) co-fermentation of Syrah and Viognier sealed in a tank (semi-carbonic maceration) for a few days. After opening the tank, the uncrushed fruit was foot-tread and pumped-over to gently extract tannin and begin traditional fermentation on the skins. Pressed prior to dryness and aged in larger neutral 500L puncheons for 32 months before bottling. Unfined. Lightly filtered.

Vineyard:

Grist Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County; planted in the 1970’s atop Bradford Mountain (1,000’ elevation); farmed according to organic principles; iron-rich red volcanic soils.

Tasting Notes:

Unmistakably Syrah. This wine is punchy and feral, with sensational structure and notes of green peppercorn and earthy, black olive tapenade. Let it remind you to lean into what makes you human.

Martha's Notes

This is our third Californian celebration of a traditional French technique, co-fermenting mountaintop Syrah with a small percentage of white Viognier grapes. When fermented together, the Viognier skins stabilize and deepen Syrah’s inky color (flavanols reacting with anthocyanins to form highly stable polymers) and brings added freshness to Syrah’s gamier notes. Of course the chemistry of why a dark wine becomes darker when adding white grapes wasn’t well understood centuries ago when this practice started in the northern Rhône valley, which is both a testament to legacy and the excitement of applied science. 2022 is a particularly concentrated vintage and should appeal to a broad audience, as long as everyone in the crowd shares a little hedonistic edge.