HARVESTED: September 22 – 30th, 2022
VINEYARD: Santa Cruz Mountains
SOILS: loamy clay
BOTTLED: April 2024, 100 cases
COMPOSITION: 100% Syrah
ALCOHOL: 13.7%
WINEMAKER: Andrew Vingiello
VINEYARD MANAGER: Thayer Dunwoody
VINTAGE NOTES
The 2022 vintage started with a chilly and dry winter although, fortunately, there had been considerable rainfall late in the previous year which helped saturate soils. Spring remained chilly and dry until late March when rains developed for a few weeks into April while warmer temperatures prompted an earlier budbreak. The continued severe drought had a predictable (and not bad) effect: the berries themselves were smaller, which generally means smaller crops, smaller clusters but concentrated, high-quality wines. The post-veraison period was warm but mostly moderated, until September when a heat spell set in. Fruit continued to develop evenly until reaching phenolic ripeness. Vintages of such magnitude generally deliver wines with great transparency to the vineyard.
WINEMAKING NOTES
The grapes were handpicked, sorted, mostly destemmed with 15% whole cluster. Fermented in small lots, a combination of inoculated and indigenous yeast ferments for a combination of control and complexity. Punched down twice daily, left on the skins for an average of 15 days. Once dry, free run was drained and pomace was lightly basket pressed. 18 months in new, 1 year and neutral French oak barrels. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
TASTING NOTES
Copious black fruits, red currant, a whiff of vanilla, and an herbal edge derived from stem inclusion make up the core of this round, juicy and textured syrah aged in barrel for 18 months. Soft, dusty tannins transport you to the scene of the harvest, the south-facing hills of our syrah sites in the Los Altos Hills.
CELLARING
Enjoy now or over the next 5-7 years.