We get to play a lot (read “challenging”) with Syrah La Côte Rousse at the blending table. In the months following harvest we taste through the barrels of four different Syrah clones from four distinct blocks, all within a stone’s throw of each other on Red Mountain. Each clone gives its unique signature to the mix, contributing various shades of texture, color, aroma or taste. This diverse blending material ultimately gives a more complex wine, especially from a “terroir –dominant” region like Red Mountain. The 2012 comes across with classic Red Mountain signature: a powerful, dense nucleus of black fruits, supported by layered complexity of violet, dusty gravel, leafy underbrush, spice and black olive. The palate is bold, vigorous and persistent, jammed with blackberry, black plum and spice. It’s the sturdiest of our three 2012 syrahs, most demanding of cellaring; its concentration and sheer power will easily support a decade or two in your cellar.

Blending Detail and Aging Profile

Blending Detail:

• 100% Syrah
• Clones 174, 383, 99 and Phelps

Aging Profile:

• Best from 2016 through 2023+
• Serve cool, 60-62°F

AVA & Vineyard Detail:

​Red Mountain:

• 65% Ciel du Cheval
• 35%  Kiona, Ranch at the End of the Road

Acclaim

Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, 95

More mineral-driven, with savory spices, dried earth and floral notes balanced by a rocking core of fruit, the 2012 Syrah La Cote Rousse is more backwards and reticent than the La Serenne, and will need short-term cellaring to unwind. Possessing full-bodied richness, beautiful concentration, high, yet sweet tannin, and a terrific finish, this awesome Syrah will be at its best from 2017-2027.