Syrah

Have you ever noticed how good things often come in threes? The 2013 vintage sits right in the middle of three great years for Paso Robles and may be remembered as the best vintage since the revered 1997. Preseason rainfall was just over half of normal and we now recognize this to be the second of four consecutive dry winters for the region. Growth started early at Terra Bella Vineyard, with vines waking from dormancy just before St. Patricks Day. After a very warm April, vines entered into bloom early in May and we saw good fruit set. The great differentiator for the vintage was that daytime temperatures during the critical two week period of veraison were 5 to 10 degrees cooler than normal. With temperatures in the mid-80s each day, the berries colored up beautifully and led to some of the darkest wines we’ve seen in our cellar. Harvest was smooth sailing with this elevated, south-facing block being harvested on September 19th. This is a wine “made in the vineyard” and brought to its fullest potential by aging a full year in large 500-liter puncheons that preserve the beautiful fruit character of this site.