2007 Syrah

The deep crimson color gives way to aromas of plums, blackberries, and cinnamon. Blueberries, blackberries, figs, smokehouse meats, and a touch of thyme grace the palate. Well structured, with a pleasant, long finish.

Vineyard: Four acres of Syrah cuttings from nearby Maridon Vineyards planted in our Finley Vineyard in 1999. Finely, named after early settlers, is a 7-acre vineyard in the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The un-irrigated, south-facing vineyard is on a knoll with soils that change from gravel to shallow clay as the vineyard descends from 800 to 750 feet.

Harvest: The grapes were picked by hand, de-stemmed, and co-fermented in a small lot temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentor with gentle hand punch-down or pump-over four times a day. After pressing, the wine went through malolactic fermentation and 11 months of barrel aging.

Vintage

The 2007 growing season started wet, with 5+ inches each in December and February, but that was it: we only had 1.5 inches of spring rains plus a tad here and there for a total of 14.85 inches - only 50% of average annual rainfall. Spring was warmer than usual, with March highs at 7° above normal for the month. This continued all spring with above average temperatures in the 70’s gradually climbing into the low 80’s. With the exception of a brief spike in August, summer temperatures were a degree cooler than average. This made for a fairly evem growing season with good hang time for ripening. Drought conditions forced a lower yield, but the fruit was lovely.