Fall Release GVR Estate Vineyard Jack Robert's Run Syrah
2013

Winemaker’s Notes

This is without question our most improved individual bottling and a wonderful follow up to the delicious 2012 that won many converts to coastal Syrah. By harvesting the vineyard at slightly lower grape maturity and adding a substantial portion of whole clusters to the fermentation, we are really seeing the special character and great potential of this mature vineyard shine like never before. The wine is incredibly complex aromatically with lovely interplay between its fruit purity and the wilder, more savory side of Syrah. The palate gives a swirling, constantly-changing layered impression with ripe wild berry fruit typical of sandy soil vineyards and the savory, complex herbal notes that these old clones and whole cluster fermentation provide. A dash of Viognier in the fermenter kicks up the aromatic detail adding fruit succulence and an airy floral edge. I really like the way the wine expands impressively towards its finish, building subtly to a crescendo of blue, black and purple fruits with plum skin and dark olive tapenade complexity. One of the wines of the vintage.

Beautiful aromatic fruit purity: boysenberry, blackberry and huckleberry then complex secondary characters, graphite, violets, licorice and game. A myriad of fragrant layered aromas, fresh and breezy but always a darker brooding edge. Kaleidoscopic palate – briary fruit, spicy tapenade notes, inner mouth lilac perfume, wild sage and woodsy complexity. Texture builds alongside prominent structure. Ripe fruit absorbs the wine’s firmness. Finishes layered, long and savory. Decant in its youth and drink between 2016 and 2023.

Andy Smith Viticulturist, Winemaker & Partner