VARIETAL & VINEYARD: This Syrah comes from a small section within our 6-acre vineyard located on the eastside Dry Creek Bench. The vines on this little knoll are much less vigorous, due to the well-drained soils, and as such produce smaller grapes with more concentrated flavors and tannins than the balance of the Syrah vineyard. Our typical yield in this section is less than six pounds per vine.
VINTAGE/HARVEST: The 2005 vintage was excellent for Syrah, because the season was cooler than normal in Dry Creek Valley. We harvested our Syrah October 9th and 10th, later than any previous vintage. These cooler vintages allow us to harvest fully ripe Syrah that possesses more complex spice flavors and a nice balance of acid. In order to maximize ripeness, we harvested five different small lots of Syrah from this vineyard.
VINIFICATION: We ferment our Benchland Syrah in several small 1 to 3 ton tanks, including our new wooden vats. The small size allows us to regulate extraction between punching down and pumping over. Once in barrel, we routinely stir lees for added texture and complexity. Our Benchland Syrah showed so well early on, that we decided to rack this wine only once during its time in barrel. We aged this wine in 40% new French Oak for 17 months. This 100% Syrah was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
STYLE/DESCRIPTION: This 2005 Benchland Syrah shows the character we have come to know and love from this vineyard site: quite dark with intense blackberry, chocolate and smoked meat. The use of new French Oak really gives this wine a nice long finish. The 2005 is more tannic than most previous vintages, so I would try to hold on to it for at least 2 to 3 years before drinking. It should have no problem aging 5 to 7 years.
Mick
Harvested: 10/9/05 and 10/10/05 Blend: 100% Syrah
Total acidity: 0.71g/100ml Alcohol: 14.8%
pH: 3.82 Bottled: 3/29/07
Oak aging: 17 mos. in French Oak barrels, 40% new Cases Produced: 675
When you say that we should “hold on to it for 2-3 years before drinking” and “the wine should not have a problem aging for 5-7 years” does that mean from the release date, from todays date or what?
Ross
Hi Ross. As you can imagine, projecting when a wine will be more drinkable is less than an exact science. Our Benchland Syrah is our most age-worthy wine. In this case my recommendations are from the release date. But I can see where this is confusing. Perhaps using the vintage is more appropriate. I would say this wine will be better 6 to 8 years from 2005.
It is okay to drink sooner than that time frame. If you do, try decanting this Syrah. It will show more fruit.
Thanks.
Mick Unti