2010 Russian River Valley "Papa's Block" Syrah
95% Syrah
4% Mourvèdre
1% Viognier
Regrettably, we did not bottle a Papa’s Block Syrah in 2009. The fruit did not hold up well after the deluge of October 13th and what little we received (all 1.2 tons) went into our ’09 Sonoma County Syrah. Needless to say we were highly disappointed, especially after having the 2007 land on the cover of the Wine Spectator. Fortunately though, the vineyard bounced back magnificently in 2010. Picked October 20th, two-thirds of the fruit was destemmed while the rest was left as whole clusters. Fermentation was indigenous. All French oak, 26% new. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Tasting Note:
Very dark purple garnet. Verging on opaque. A fabulous sniff of blackberry compote, black and green pepper, and spring flowers. An intriguing element of green olive lurks in the background, most likely from the whole cluster inclusion. On the palate, pure silk with an explosion of blackberry fruit. So delicious now that we see no reason to wait. Dive right in! The water’s fine! (MRO – 01/17/12)