2016 Block 3 Yellow Bird Vineyard Syrah
92% Syrah co-fermented with 8% Viognier
Fresh wild flowers and lavender with subtle hints of bergamot, pink peppercorns, and menthol. Granite and cool ash envelope a core of dark fruit with roasted meat, cedar, and iodine leading to a long effusive finish. Full-bodied yet elegant with beautiful well-integrated natural tannins.
Fresh wild flowers and lavender with subtle hints of bergamot, pink peppercorns, and menthol. Granite and cool ash envelope a core of dark fruit with roasted meat, cedar, and iodine leading to a long effusive finish. Full-bodied yet elegant with beautiful well-integrated natural tannins.
This wine will age fantastically well, easily over ten years from release. If you have the patience, hold for at least 2 years from release. Decant prior to enjoying.
Yellow Bird Vineyard Syrah, one block, 100% whole cluster, feral fermentation, unfiltered and unfined. That’s it. This wine is all about where it comes from, showcasing a classic upper Mill Creek profile of intense floral tones, granite and minerality, and dark fruit.
The fruit was harvested and sorted by hand in mid-September with 100% of the fruit left as whole cluster. Feral primary and secondary fermentations were employed with only yeast hulls and oxygen used to aid fermentations. A 3-day cold soak was used as was extended maceration with the wine staying on skins for approximately 30 days. In 2016, I used extended barrel aging of 21 months in all French oak, approximately 50% of which was new. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
| Download Wine Notes |
| Varietal Composition | 92% Syrah co-fermented with 8% Viognier |
| Appellation | Walla Walla Valley |
| Vineyard | Yellow Bird Vineyard |
| Acid | 5.3 g/L |
| PH | 3.9 |
| Alcohol | 14.70% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
High atop the foothills of the Blue Mountains sits Yellow Bird Vineyard. Owned by the Chan family and farmed by the venerable Kenny Hart, the vineyard is dry farmed and uses sustainable farming practices. Deep Loess soil with excellent drainage. The blocks we use sit at 1,400 feet in elevation. The high elevation and naturally struggling vines produce fruit with great depth and concentration. Both the clones have tiny berries and sparse clusters - ugly by a commercial producers standpoint but beautiful from ours. These tiny berries create wine with firm natural tannins and black-opaque color.
