Blend: 100% Syrah
Analysis:
Analysis: Alcohol: 14.0% | PH: 3.87 | Titratable acidity: 5.75 g/L
Bottling Date: June 2023
Cellaring: 5+ years
Tasting Notes:
A dense, deep purple colour, this intense and complex Syrah is full of ripe damson plum, dried blueberries, blackberry, custard, toasty oak, espresso and lots of pepper, charred meat and bacon notes. The palate is full-bodied with a rich texture, firm ripe tannins and flavours of dried berries, silky toasty oak, a touch of game meat with thyme, pepper and paprika on the long finish. Pair this with BBQ brisket, Devils on Horseback or a classic rich beef stew.
– Rhys Pender, Master of Wine
Wine Making:
After a mild winter, the 2021 growing season got underway with early bud break occurring in March followed by timely fruit set. 2021 will be remembered as a very hot year with record-breaking temperatures in late June. Less frequent cooler nights coupled with the heat led to efforts to retain acidity in the grapes by picking earlier. While yields were somewhat impacted by the exceptional temperatures, phenolic ripeness was more easily achieved in the grapes harvested.
The Syrah grapes were harvested by hand from mid-October into the very beginning of November from our home vineyard on the Black Sage Bench in Oliver and Eva’s Vineyard in Osoyoos. They were hand sorted, destemmed and gently crushed before being gravity fed into stainless steel tanks for a cold soak of 3 days. Fermentation lasted 18 days, under temperature control. The wine was then transferred into barrels for malolactic fermentation followed by ageing. Barrel ageing lasted 15 months in a combination of barrels selected for their ability to compliment the natural flavour profile of the wine. The wine was clarified via several rackings during this period of ageing before the wine was bottled, unfined and unfiltered.
