Vineyard Notes
The 2017 Moose is a showcase for the Syrah from our 2.65 block 8 clone 99 Syrah planted in 2002. This block is planted on an extremely steep section of our estate; thus, the limestone is exposed with almost no top soil. The resulting fruit is a prime example of what farming on high pH (9.2) soils can produce. 2017 consisted of a mild spring with ample rainfall followed by a slightly warmer than usual summer and fall. This gave us a great fruit set and healthy yields with enough warmth to thoroughly ripen all the fruit.
Winemaker Notes
The Syrah for this vintage was de-stemmed and fermented in 3-ton concrete tanks. Twice daily pump overs were performed until 70% completion of fermentation. We then changed to gentle punch-downs to ease extraction of flavors during the end of the 16 days on skins. The fruit was pressed and 40% racked into new French Cavin barrels, known for their intense toasting and readily compliments a rich nose and complex finish. The remaining 60% was aged in neutral French and American barrels. The Petit Verdot was fermented in 1.5 ton open top tanks with a combination of punch downs and delestage. The Verdot was allowed to stay on the skins for a total of 23 days to maximize tannic extraction. The finalized blend was returned to barrel and aged for a total of 20 months before bottling.
