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Fall Release Jack Robert's Run Syrah
2005

Winemaker’s Notes

Similar in style to our 2005 RRV Syrah, but more firmly structured and age-worthy, our second release under this designation is a dark and potent wine that holds plenty of long term cellaring promise. A blend of two juvenile vineyards, this bottling is highly expressive of the soils in which the fruit was grown and most fundamentally the unusually cool 2005 growing conditions. The stunning Lions Ridge hillside block at Trenton Station vineyard first made an appearance in our 2004 RRV Syrah and it promises to be one of our most prominent sources going forward. An incredibly steep east-facing hillside, the young vines struggle to find their footing in the shallow rocky/sandy soils. This translates to small berries, bursting with flavor and mountainous structure. The cool location and late-season ripening ensures great aromatic complexity, further enhanced by a percentage of whole cluster fermentation. Its blend partner is the Gregori Vineyard, the sole source of our 2004 bottling and an exceptional vineyard in its own right. More moderate Goldridge sandy/loam soils provide excellent drainage and the bright south facing exposure ripens the fruit at a lower sugar level. This young wine is unquestionably the most broodingly structured and densely-packed Syrah we have yet bottled and really demands cellaring for a minimum of two years before uncorking. The wine's combination of mountain tannins and coastal acidity are a powerful combination, but with aging I expect the layers of ripe fruit and extract to come to the fore and offer at least twelve years of complex drinking potential.

Purple/black color. Primary aromas of raspberry and cassis liqueur precede darker notes of tar, ink and smoky roasted meat. The palate follows the aromas with an element of tapenade and an intense sweet black-fruit center. The darkness of the wine is brightened by taut, fresh acidity, which arrives early alongside prominent youthful tannins. With the appropriate cellaring this wine will unfold slowly to reveal its ripe fruit-filled core. Cellar for at least two years and decant for a minimum of two hours. This is a food wine to be enjoyed with hearty dishes.

Andy Smith


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Vineyard

Appellation

Sonoma Coast