2007 Thompson Vineyard Syrah
$28.00
For those who don’t know, Thompson Vineyard is a little jewel of a vineyard located in Los Alamos, about 15 miles north of Los Olivos. This vineyard is planted to a variety of different types of grapes, but is certainly best known for the syrah and petite sirah that are produced from it. This area sees a bit more marine influence than Los Olivos and Santa Ynez, and therefore, the grapes tend to retain their natural acid nicely and color up quite easily.
The specific block that our grapes come from is Block 1, the oldest Syrah block at the vineyard – Estrella clone, cane pruned, own rooted. Yields in this block are very low – averaging less than 2 tons per acre over the past three years. Therefore, the concentration of these grapes is pretty spectacular! We decided to not destem 25% of the grapes, therefore leaving them ‘whole cluster’ during the fermentation process. This has added extra structure to the wine, as well as added nuances aromatically. This is a syrah to enjoy now with a nice vigorous decant or lay down for a year or two . . .
