Growing Season:

Although it is more interesting to read about challenging years that test the skills of the winegrower with hail, rain, frost, etc., it is actually the uneventful years that often give the best wine. 2016 was one of the latter. The month of July did have a heat spell that made things a bit uncomfortable for the vineyard crew, but at that point in the development of the fruit, the berries are pea-sized, green, rock hard and unaffected by the heat. August came and went without much drama and soon enough it was the third week of September and time to harvest. The Syrah was harvested in several picks depending on site exposure, vine vigor and flavor development. Fermentation was carried out by our local wild yeasts in open-top fermenters and then barreled down to complete native malo-lactic conversion. After eighteen months of barrel aging we selected the best 15 barrels and bottled without fining orfiltration.