Syrah
Blend: 100% Syrah
Vineyard & AVA: Kimsey Vineyard, Ballard Canyon, Santa Barbara County
Alcohol: 15.8%
Aging: Enjoy now or 5-8 years from now.
THE SONG
I have always dreamed of making a stand-alone Syrah. Now, I am finally able to do it with Songs. Syrah was one of those grapes that I was first trained in making back with Augie Hug! Syrah is a grape that takes me to so many past memories of enjoyment sharing with family and friends. “Dreams” is the realization of the fruits of my labor coming to life. I like to say this wine shows the cool climate sense of Zotovich Vineyard and Kimsey vineyard.
Vintage Notes
The 2018 reminds me a lot of the 2016 when warm weather in April kick-started the season on the early side, followed by a moderate July and very cool August. Typical of our autumn weather, a gentle, late heat spell brought the vintage home.
There was nary a day over 100F from veraison (the change of color of the grapes during ripening on the vine) through harvest, my favorite kind of season. Even more important than daytime highs, nighttime lows were downright cold all summer, preserving good natural acidity.
Vinification
Fermented on native yeast, 50% whole cluster, on skin for 14-18 days. Aged for 22 months in 265L Hungarian & French oak barriques, 100% new.
Tasting Notes
It was hard to find a place to begin with describing this wine. From our first blending trials to now it has been so complex that we find almost too many ways to talk about it. We went everywhere from chocolate covered espresso beans to rosemary to olive tapenade to bacon fat. We also find some green olive undertones from our 50% whole cluster inclusion.
This wine had us talking as much about what we wanted to pair it with as the wine itself. Dark game meat, quail, duck or even delicate lamb. Santa Maria style BBQ came up both as a sensory note and wonderful pairing idea. 100% new French and Hungarian oak. Perfect structure we say you could open now or in another decade.
$85