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Huge,
rich blackberry, notes of pepper roasted herbs – smoky,
spicy & a massive mouth filling finish! A blockbuster wine
that has won a gold medal in its first week of
release!
Harvesting late in the season can be scary as winemakers hang
their fruit while praying for no rain. And when you START your Syrah harvest on
Halloween, well, that’s downright terrifying! But mild, dry weather prevailed
and we held off picking his steep,
hillside estate Syrah until it was at the peak of perfection. We
planted Chave Clone Syrah in this
vineyard in 1996 and we
follow the Cote Rotie tradition of fermenting the Syrah with about
2% Viognier grapes.
The results are staggering. The wine shows
cool-climate blackberry fruit with beefy notes all at the same time, and with
only 15% new oak aging, the pure fruit quality really comes through. We
dropped half of all the Syrah fruit in the vineyard to insure that the tannins
were totally ripe, and the resulting texture is pure crushed velvet. The hints
of white pepper on the finish keep the palate intrigue going. It's
everything you love about the exotic nature of Syrah with
a pretty-side that you will not be able to leave alone. |
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| AWARDS |
| 2006 |
| San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition -
Gold |
| Los Angeles County Fair Wine Competition -
Silver |
| New World International Wine Competition -
Silver |
| San Francisco International Wine
Competition - Silver |
| Sonoma County Harvest Fair - Silver |
| West Coast Wine Competition - Silver |
| California State Fair Wine Competition -
Silver, 88pts. |
| North of the Gate Wine Competition -
Bronze |
| Starwine International Wine Competition -
Bronze |
| Beverage Testing Institute - 89pts.
"Highly Recommended" |
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