2005 Alexander Valley Syrah

• 6 year old vines
• Green fruit thinned at veraison
• Hand sorted before crush
• 2 tons to the acre
• Clones 877 and Estrella River
• Whole berry fermentation
• Open top fermented
• French and Hungarian cooperage
• Harvested at 25+ brix
• 1 Week cold soak at 50 F
• OH 15.4%
• 243 cases produced

Our Alexander Valley Syrah - debut vintage - comes exclusively from our vineyard located in the hills of Asti just north of Healdsburg. We originally used this wine to blend into our Cabernets but soon realized it’s potential as a stand-alone wine. The two acres of Asti Syrah are planted on a hillside facing south-east overlooking the Russian River. The two Syrah clones (877 and Estrella River) are planted on 4453 rootstalk in gravel, serpentine and loam soils and hang from a vertical trellis system yielding a mere 2 tons/acre. The two clones are carefully hand sorted both in the vineyard and at the winery and co-fermented as whole berries without stems in the same open-top fermentor. A long cold soak at 50 degrees was followed by a slow fermentation that was allowed to progress with it’s natural yeast at a slow and steady rate – the wine was allowed to finish it’s entire fermentation with natural/native yeast. The wine was aged in Hungarian and French cooperage at a rate of 30% new oak. This wine is incredibly aromatic with aromas of bacon, smoked game, blackberry, pepper and sweet floral bouquet. On the palate it is luscious, rich and mesmerizing.