Blend: 97% Syrah 3% Viognier
Analysis:
Alcohol: 14.0% | PH: 3.74 | Titratable acidity: 5.68 g/L
Bottling Date: June 2021
Cellaring: 5+ years
Tasting Notes:
An intense and complex Syrah showing ripe damson plum, blackberry and blueberry along with toasty vanillin oak, chocolate coated liqueur cherries and some savoury charred meat, bacon, black pepper and licorice alongside a subtle incense note. The palate is full bodied and richly textured with crisp acidity and firm, ripe tannins giving plenty of structure to age. The stewed blueberry and sun warmed blackberry notes mix with paprika, graphite, coconut and dried sage on the long finish. Pair this with slowly cooked lamb shoulder and grilled portobello mushrooms tossed in garlic and thyme infused olive oil or grilled achiote rubbed flank steak.
– Rhys Pender, Master of Wine
Wine Making:
Spring arrived early in 2019, allowing for early and even bud break, flowering and fruit set. This was followed by a warm, yet more moderate summer. The summer heat was enough to produce nicely concentrated levels of ripeness in the grapes and the cool autumn provided conditions for acidity to be retained in the fruit as well, providing the wine with a lively freshness to balance the ripe fruit notes.
The Syrah grapes were harvested by hand on October 22nd, 24th and 30th 2019 from our Burrowing Owl and Eva’s vineyards in Oliver and Osoyoos, respectively. They were hand sorted, destemmed and slightly crushed before being gravity fed into the fermentation tanks. Some of the Syrah grapes were co-fermented with a portion of Viognier grapes. Fermentation lasted 25 days under temperature control (16 - 30 °C). The wine was then transferred into barrels to allow for malolactic fermentation followed by ageing. The wine was aged for 16 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 ageing, the wine was then bottle unfiltered.
