Deep garnet-purple. Cassis and blackberry lead, with red plum, smoke, worn leather, and cracked pepper behind them. The palate is full-bodied, and whole-cluster fermentation keeps it lively. The tannins are fine-grained after long aging in used oak, and the acidity carries further than you’d expect from Sonoma sun.
The Syrah grows on a steep, northeast-facing hillside. That slope catches morning sun and avoids the hot afternoon, which is how a Sonoma Syrah keeps its pepper. The wine is a deliberate nod to the Northern Rhône. It uses 30% whole clusters to hold Syrah’s spice and pepper, ferments in stainless steel with gentle pump-overs, and ages 24 months in second- and third-use French oak.
