2005 Les Collines Vineyard Syrah
For a printer-friendly, PDF version of these notes (with suggested retail price), click here.
For a printer-friendly, PDF version of these notes (without suggested retail price) click here.
If you have problems downloading or printing these files, make sure you have the current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. It's free! To download, visit: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Winemaker’s Notes:
This wine was made exclusively for our Coin Club members. Our third vintage of this very intriguing Syrah from Les Collines Vineyard, this wine has an expressive nose of grilled meats, sage and blueberry. It shows very intense violet aromas and dark berry flavors combined with interesting hints of fresh flowers, wild game, earth, green olives and savory elements. The mouthfeel is very powerful, yet this wine possesses gentle tannins that lead you to a succulent and seamless finish. (Note: Les Collines is pronounced “lay co lean.”)The 2005 Vintage:
The 2005 vintage started off as a big challenge because the previous year has been a freeze year with very little fruit to harvest. I was somewhat anxious and worried about how the vines would come back. We spent extra effort pruning, shoot thinning and crop thinning to make sure the fruit came back evenly.
Mother Nature provided us with a classic wine-growing season. Bud break started around the third week in April, and very warm, sunny days filled the summer. We had plenty of heat units to fully ripen the grapes. Then the weather cooled off a little earlier than usual, dropping into the 80s around the end of August. This cooling-down period maximized flavor development. The wines from the 2005 vintage have terrific fruit intensity, show great natural acidity and are beautifully balanced.
Fermentation:
The grapes were carefully hand-harvested, sorted and individually fermented in small stainless steel tanks. The wine aged 16 months in 100% French oak (20% new and 80% used).
Jean-François Pellet, Winemaker
Wine Specifics:
Varietal(s): 100% Syrah
Vineyard(s): 100% Les Collines Vineyard
Appellation: Walla Walla Valley
Oak Program: 100% French oak; 20% new oak, 80% used oak
Finished Alcohol: 14.1% by volume
Total Production: 195 cases (12/750 ml)
Bottling Date: February 15, 2007
Release Date: November 1, 2007
Tasting Room Price
750 ml bottle (standard size)
$32.00/bottle
[Coin Club members: $25.60/b0ttle or $307.20/case]