I’m usually not a good prognosticator of trends — wine, cars, fashion, what have you. I tend to be so wrapped up in my own convictions that I have a hard time predicting which way the overall population will swing. Thus, I’m still a little astonished that my predictions about California Syrah’s growth and success have come true. Syrah is hot. Those of you worrying because you can’t come up with a viable solution to our state’s public education, energy or health care crises can take solace in solving the great post-Merlot boom mystery. And the winner is...Syrah.* For those of you keeping score at home, here’s something to chew on: the 2000 California Crush Report shows over 72,000 tons of Syrah were crushed last year, surpassing Pinot Noir by 20,000 tons; total Syrah acres planted in 1988 were 139, now there are approximately 11,000; at least 11 wineries in Dry Creek are currently making Syrah, which is exactly 10 more than were doing so in 1990 (Preston). You heard it here, by 2010 Syrah will be the leading red varietal grape planted in California. 

Why is Syrah the new It varietal? Well, Syrah is a pretty good gig for all concerned parties: the grower, producer and consumer. Syrah seems suited to most wine-growing regions here, in fact it reflects it’s growing origin or site as well as any varietal I know. Winemakers can produce excellent wine from above average crop levels (which is one of the under-publicized reasons for Chardonnay’s success, too.) Finally, Syrah is ideally suited to the tastes of today’s consumer. It’s dark, complex and full bodied without requiring years of patience before being ready to drink (which isn’t all that bad for the producers either).**

Unfortunately, anytime the economics work out this well at every level it is only a matter of time before we, as good Americans, over-do it. It won’t be long before most large wineries will offer a $12 bottle of Syrah. Not that a $12 bottle of Syrah is a bad thing—it will still make mince meat out of a comparably priced Merlot or Cabernet. Fortunately Syrah is such a classic varietal that there will still be a number of stunning artistic renderings available for us Syrah goofballs. So, in the not-too-distant-future, when you see Syrah appearing on Oprah and Merlot featured on VH1’s Behind the Varietal, you’ll hear me whispering "I told you so" in your ear. I think Syrah will wear its fame well. 

TO TAME OR NOT TO TAME

Another great thing about California Syrah is that there is a style for everyone. You got your Aussies, your Cabernet Wannabees, and your French (Rhone) influenced. The Australian style Syrah is fruity and wrapped in American oak. As for the Wannabees, I’ve noticed several wineries offering Syrah that tastes suspiciously like Cabernet, or rather it tastes like Syrah that has been made like Cabernet (narrow fruit profile and lots of wood). Though less interesting to me, these wines are undoubtedly well-received by those who can’t justify spending $70 for Caymus Napa Cab. ("Are you sure this isn’t the Special Select?") Both of the above styles display a tame version of what is inherently an un-tame grape. It’s like sending James Brown to prep school. (Can you imagine that graduation party?)

The Rhone influenced gang (Qupe, Edmunds St. John and Alban to name a few) are making what I consider to be the most interesting and diverse wines. They aren’t afraid to make Syrah with respect for elements of its terrior or vineyard character, even if it means the wine veers from the mainstream. These wines are usually aged in subtle oak and bottled unfiltered, so nothing gets hidden or homogenized. We agree with this less conservative approach to Syrah. For us, the combination of a good clone, 5C rootstock, and a low fertility soil site, consistently yields Syrah with dark fruit and such a unique character (read savage) that it stands out even within Dry Creek Syrahs. Preserving our Syrah’s typicality is the primary reason we don’t fine or filter this wine and we use only French oak. What our wine lacks in polish it should make up for in distinctiveness. If Syrah is a tad savage, we welcome the beast.

*Not that Syrah has any need to be LIKE Merlot, it will just replace it in popularity. If I hear another person tell me that Syrah is going to be the next Merlot, I’m whipping out my laminated profile comparison. (see back).
**Why isn’t Zinfandel this pundit’s choice for replacing Merlot as America’s wine? Syrah is quite cost effective to grow and is one of the world’s classic varietal grapes. Zinfandel, sorry to say, is neither. 

O U R    1 9 9 9   S Y R A H 

Many of you have been waiting in the weeds for this wine and for good reason. Having hyped the ‘99 vintage in the last two newsletters describing Sangiovese and Zinfandel, I’ll try to spare you the details here (low crop yield, long cool growing season, warm dry harvest, blah, blah, blah). Suffice it to say that our 1999 Syrah is darker and even more full-bodied than the previous two vintages. Its black color and meaty aroma let you know its vineyard; the showy ripe fruit tells you its appellation and vintage. If you’ve had our Syrah in the past, you will see that the ’99 possesses the ripe fruit and power of the ’97 with the spicy, gamey complexity of the ’98. Considering the wine’s Schwarzenegger-like physique, it is quite round, smooth and velvety. (Arnold does Shakespeare.) One of our customers described this wine as a Neanderthal in an Armani suit. 

With each successive year we’ve been able to zero in on picking our Syrah at its peak physiological ripeness — when the skins are soft and dimpled and the seeds are brown. This allows us to extract lots of flavor with less of the green, bitter, astringent tannins. Many winemakers, like Steve Test at Merryvale, believe you can avoid fining your wine if you simply pick fully ripe grapes. Steve will tell you that most of his growers (my Dad included) aren’t thrilled about this "let ‘em hang" approach because of the risk of rain in the late fall. Fortunately, my Dad and I never have any petty disputes over issues like these. Our harvest proceeds in a nice, calm orderly fashion. (…Rrrright.)

The winemaking on the ’99 vintage is pretty much the same as the ’98, except we decided to give this wine a couple more months in barrel before bottling. The extra aging softens the tannins and takes off the rough edges. We also used a wider variety of French oak barrels including some mini-puncheons which are larger than the normal barrel (92.4 gallons versus 60 gallons). We use these larger barrels because they impart less oak flavor. One-third of the oak barrels we used on the ’99 were new, one-third were a year old, and the rest were two years and older.
Our 1999 Syrah is similar to a Cornas in as much as it is a little ragged and tannic in its youth, but full of varietal personality. (My friend Joey has a nice personality, too, but I... oh, never mind.) Also like most Cornas wines, ours is 100% Syrah, unfined and unfiltered. If you must drink it now, promise me you’ll decant. Otherwise wait for at least a year and continue drinking this wine over the next 3 to 6 years. 

New Vineyard Planting

Dad walks the walk when it comes to backing up his feeling towards Mediterranean varietals in Dry Creek. His newest vineyards include:

Syrah: 12 acres, 5 clones, 4 rootstocks
Grenache: 3 acres, 3 clones
Mourvedre: .33 acre
Petite Sirah: 2.5 acres
Barbera: 2.2 acres, 2 clones
Dolcetto: .4 acre
Sangiovese: .25 acre
Zinfandel (primativo clone): 3.2 acres

All vines are planted on low-vigor root stock with high density spacing

 

Question	Syrah	Merlot
Favorite Piece of Furniture	Green fold-out couch, well, it’s not just the favorite, it’s one of the only pieces of furniture. What more do you need, really?	Pottery Barn Sleigh Bed
Favorite Recent Movie	High Fidelity	Gladiator
Car I drive	Alfa Romeo	Lexus
Favorite Female Vocalist	Billie Holiday	Celine Dion
Turn-ons	Sense of humor, big glasses	Big hair, new oak
Favorite Designer	Favorite what?	Dianne von Furstenberg
Favorite Jazz Artist	John Coltrane	Kenny G
What I like to throw myself into	Grenache	Cabernet

4 2 0 2   D r y   C r e e k   R o a d  -  H e a l d s b u r g  C A  9 5 4 4 8          -         t e l  7 0 7 -  4 3 3 - 5 5 9 0  /  f a x   7 0 7  -  4 3 3 - 5 5 9 1

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