Spring Release Wild Mountainside Syrah
2017

Winemaker’s Notes

This is one of our finest Syrahs in recent memory with a level of aroma and flavor complexity that really elevates the wine to the highest level. A blend of three of our classic cool climate mountainside sources, it is a qualitative equal of our designate wines that will be released this fall.

Vine yields in these steep mountainside vineyards were reduced by twenty percent following a week of intense heat around Labor Day; the grapes lost a fifth of their weight making the fruit intense, pure and focused with thrilling concentration. The resulting wine conveys a kaleidoscopic range of aromas and flavors that are precise and brimming with nuance and detail. It's an exciting, delicious and highly delineated wine with an energy that creates a great juxtaposition between delicacy and depth, subtlety and power, elegance and drive.

Black cherry, boysenberry, lavender, violet and green peppercorn are all present in the aroma. There's lovely clarity of flavor and purity of cool climate fruit: cassis and blackberry offset by thyme, tobacco and cocoa nib. A lushness of texture takes over with lingering black fruits and lilac on the peppery, extended finish. Drink this soon after release or enjoy the reward of 10+ years of aging.

Andy Smith