Analysis:
Alcohol: 14.5% | PH: 3.78 | Titratable acidity: 6.79 g/L
Bottling Date: April 2017
Cellaring: 5+ years
Tasting Notes:
A ripe, rich and meaty Burrowing Owl Syrah from the warm 2015 vintage. The nose shows blackberry, dried blueberry, ripe damson plum and smoky, meaty, bacon, coconut, leather and coffee with some dark chocolate and floral violet notes. The palate is rich and full bodied, intense and combines charred meat, paprika spice, black pepper and leather with dried blueberry, blackberry, dried fig and some toasty vanillin oak. Pair this rich wine with a beef and black pepper stew or braised lamb shanks. Rhys Pender, Master of Wine
Wine Making:
The 2015 growing season was a grape grower’s dream come true. The long growing season started in April followed by unusual heat in June producing vines with small, concentrated berries. The summer months allowed for even ripening followed by one of the South Okanagan’s “legendary” dry autumns. Warm days promoted the ripening process with cool nights to balance the ripeness with acidity. We heard President Chris Wyse say it was “Stellar”.
The Syrah grapes were harvested by hand on October 15th, 19th and 20th 2015 from Oliver Black Sage and Osoyoos Lake Eva’s vineyards. They were hand sorted, destemmed and slightly crushed before being dropped through gravity into the fermenting tanks. They fermented with a splash of Viognier for 14 days, under temperature control (17-25 Celsius). The juice was then pressed off and moved into barrels to allow for the malolactic fermentation followed by ageing. It was aged for 18 months in a combination of barrels selected for their ability to underline the natural flavor profile of the wine. Racked off its lees several times during its ageing, the wine was bottle unfiltered.
Ageing: 70% French, 15% American, 15% Hungarian with 30% new oak
