During summer months, the mountain climate of Lake County sees hot daytime temperatures, yet the vines are able to recover from the heat of the day and respire at night due to cool coastal breezes, which are pulled across the Mayacamas mountain range in the evening by the vast size of Clear Lake. On the eastern side of the lake, Long Valley (the newest Lake County AVA) is tucked into the hills near the remnants of several dormant volcanoes. Here the vines thrive in the rich, volcanic soils, and are lavishly bathed in the hot afternoon sun, yet still cooled at night. This distinguishing combination of factors (mountain elevations, fertile soils, hot days and cool nights) all work in concert to create a unique terroir that allows us to produce a wine with dark, dense, red fruit flavors, great acidity and structured tannins.
This vineyard is tucked back up in the hills in the brand new Long Valley – Lake County AVA on the northeast side of Clear Lake where water is scarce and heat is plentiful. This vineyard, planted and farmed by local legend Don Fiora (who is in his early 90s), is around 30 years old and we pick the entire vineyard (Grenache, Syrah, and Viognier) at one time because it is so difficult to get tractors and a picking crew up to the vineyard. When we bring the fruit in we split the fruit into several fermentations and the Syrah gets fully destemmed and co-fermented with some Viognier (as is tradition in the Northern Rhône). Fermentation generally takes around 2-3 weeks and is kept healthy through gentle punchdowns or pumpovers 1-3 times/day depending on where it is in its fermentation curve. Once the wine is dry, we drain out the free run juice to be set aside for a couple special bottlings (like this one).
Syrah is such an interesting grape variety. Like almost any variety it can express itself in a wide spectrum of flavors and styles based off of the stylistic choices of its winemaker, but it almost always has a few things in common: power, depth, and savoriness. This delightful Syrah has all of those qualities and more. This wine is deeply colored and richly structured and has delightful aromas of dark plums and berries, purple flowers, sandalwood, and a classic salty/savory component not unlike black olives. This wine does retain a considerable amount of freshness to counteract its body and depth and is a delight that will last for a long, long time on your palate or in your cellar if you can wait that long. – Winemaker Scott Kirkpatrick
The 2023 harvest was one of the latest in recent memory, with the first bins coming in almost three weeks behind what is customarily normal for us due to cooler temperatures during spring and summer. Winter brought an unusual amount of rain, along with cold weather and wet soils that delayed, and then extended the bloom period. Veraison began around late July and proceeded slowly. Yet, the cooler growing period allowed the grapes to mature gradually and also produced healthy canopies and increased vine health. In the past year, Lake County saw a dramatic reversal going from severe drought conditions to one of the wettest winters on record, with the deepest Sierra Nevada snowpack in 40 years. We are thrilled to see Clear Lake full again for the first time in several years and are excited that the vines were able to imbibe a significant amount of fresh rain water. Overall, 2023 will be known for being a high quality vintage with wines exhibiting beautifully complex flavors, outstanding balance and vibrant acidity and texture.
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