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Wine Details
Price:
$16.50 per bottle
Description:
Following two days of cold soak at about 55°F, we added a moderately fermenting yeast to our open-topped tanks. The cap was irrigated at intervals with gentle pumpovers. After fermentation was complete we put the wine to barrel for malolactic fermentation. Most of the wine was racked and aerated at least once during barrel aging to soften tannin structure. We aged the Syrah in a mix of French oak and American oak during the 11 months of maturation. We included a small amount of Petite Sirah in the final blend to add structure and volume in the mouth. A complex wine, the 2003 Edna Valley Vineyard Syrah displays opulent, black cherry and blackberry flavors, complemented by smoke, caramel and vanilla notes, a full, viscous mouthful with medium tannin and a long, chocolate and coffee finish.
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Varietal Definition
Syrah:
Syrah is the eight hundred pound gorilla of Rhone grapes! In the vineyard and the winery, Syrah is typically an easy grape to work with - healthy, early ripening, resistant to mildew and rot; suitable for winemaking in a variety of styles. The wines from Syrah are tannic without being harsh. The wines will have a taste and smell of dark blue fruit like blackberries and blackcurrant, with a strong spicy side where one can find freshly ground pepper and other spices. Syrah is famous for its part in the French blends, such as Côtes du Rhone and Châteauneuf du Pape.
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Petite Sirah:
Petite Sirah is the same as the French variety known as Durif, a cross of Peloursin, with the true Syrah. A French nurseryman, Dr. François Durif, propagated the grape trying for resistance to powdery mildew and named it after himself, in the 1870s. Petite Sirah has long been an important blending grape, prized primarily for its deep color and fairly intense tannin. It is the variety most often chosen to blend into Zinfandel for added color, complexity, body, and to tone down the tendency of Zins toward "jammy" fruit.
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