in the vineyard : Clone: Sh21A
Age of vines: 22 years at harvest
Trellis: 5-wire vsp
Irrigation: supplemental drip irrigation
Vineyard elevation: 300-310m
Slope: South Westerly
This is a single-vineyard wine from our highest elevation syrah vineyard, a small block contiguous to our single-vineyard cabernet.
in the cellar : After being cooled overnight to 14° C., they were carefully hand-sorted and crushed into small open fermentation vats and allowed to cold-soak for several days. A small portion was left whole bunch and also uncrushed. About 50% of the blend was natural fermentation and the balance was split between a domestic yeast and an imported Rhône yeast. Regular, vigorous punchdowns were given every 4 - 6 hours for the first half of fermentation, then every 6-8 hours thereafter. At dryness (average 8-9 days), the wine was basket pressed and racked directly to barrel for malo-lactic fermentation and subsequent barrel maturation. A mix of coopers was used, all French oak, all 300 litre, mostly second-fill and about 40% new. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered after 22 months barrel maturation.