2020 Le Mistral Whole Cluster Syrah

Harvested from Cedar Lane Vineyard on 10/9, grapes were gently sorted and placed into open top puncheon barrels to natively ferment.  Removing barrel headboards isn’t the easiest thing to do, but offers amazing yet gentle oak integration to a wine at an early age.  The Syrah from Cedar Lane is spicy and benefits from a gentle yet sweet fruit lift from the barrel fermentation.  Once the grapes fermented, they were gently pressed and the wine aged in French oak (don’t worry, we put the headboards back in) for 11 months before bottling.  This savory wine is really an incredible expression of what Syrah can achieve with a coastal climate influence.