Syrah 2021

On the pallet, this Syrah reveals its potential. The flavors of ripe fruits with nuances of dark chocolate, espresso and a touch of exotic spices, leading to an elegant finish that. An El Niño weather pattern brought a wet winter and spring to the North Coast in 2017. A heat spike in June advanced the white grapes and prompted harvest in late August. Once the white grapes were in, cooler weather set in and gave us a delayed start to the red grape harvest two weeks later. About 95% of the vintage was in when the fires in Sonoma, Napa and Lake Counties began. We were luckily unscathed.

The decision to offer this Syrah as a single varietal under the OVIS label speaks volumes of its exceptional character, the incomparable quality of our high valley fruit and the concentration achieved in the 2021 harvest. This wine reflects the unique character of the terroir and the dedication of our winemaking team. Generally we use syrah as part of our blends but in this instance, the brightness, elegance and charm of this syrah deserved to be showcased on its own. We will only bottle single varietals like this in exceptional years and 2021 was one of them.

This Syrah was one of the first to be planted on Shannon Ridge in 2005. Syrah truly expresses itself when grown in a challenging environment. The top of Shannon Ridge is well drained volcanic soils and wind swept each afternoon, on top of that we planted it on a 75˚ slope facing directly south for the strongest sun and UV exposure. We fermented this wine in a stainless tank then transferred it to 3 year old and neutral barrels. The 2 year barrel aging is a long micro oxygenation process that develops the midpalate and texture of the Syrah without imparting a large oak component. Slow wine made in this way is truly delicious.