Spring Release Wild Mountainside Syrah
2018

Winemaker’s Notes

For some wines, there’s no need to overthink or analyze too much; we can just sit back and admire their sheer deliciousness. This is one such pleasure-driven wine! The most hedonistic of our entire 2018 line-up, this new vintage of Wild Mountainside is really quite something. Packed full of sweet ripe blackberry and boysenberry fruits; gentle spice and herb nuances; rich, broad texture and round enveloping tannins, it’s got it all.  

The wine was grown in our three classic steep hillside vineyards, each one offering something unique to the blend. Timbervine is complex, gamey and wildly aromatic; Greywacke brims with pure cassis fruit and broad texture; and our Estate is blue-fruited, supple and bright. The combination is greater than the sum of its parts, the essence of blending. There’s a seamlessness, a togetherness to the wine that is very hard to achieve.

Aromatic fireworks—blackberry jam, black pepper, pine needle, tapenade and briar patch—are deep, inky and intense. The wine is immediately fruit-forward on the palate with obvious concentration, richness and voluptuous texture. Cassis and boysenberry fruits precede game and rosemary tones. Great breadth across the palate is weighty and layered, while chewy cocoa powder tannins bring balance and focus. 

There is no wrong time to drink this wine, though it will age beautifully for 15 years.

Andy Smith Viticulturist, Winemaker & Partner