Monticello Vineyards
2005 Monticello Vineyards Estate Grown Syrah
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Tasting Notes:
Our Vintage 2005 MONTICELLO VINEYARDS Estate Grown Syrah starts out with an impressive peppery aroma, which opens up to black cherries, raspberries and nutmeg. It is deep ruby in color, which is typical for our Syrah. The wine itself is very full in body, and the spicy component carries over to the flavors, which are full of dark berry fruits with dark chocolate undercurrents. The finish is long, and the medium-strength tannins frame this voluptuous wine wonderfully.
Vineyard:
Knollwood Vineyard - Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District
Our Syrah plantings at our Knollwood Vineyard in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley is planted to Clones #174 and #470. These are ENTAV Clones and they are produce grapes that yield full-bodied, deeply colored wines. Both clones are considered to provide lower relative yields, and are considered to have smaller cluster weights as they relate to other syrah clones.
Vintage:
2005 was one of the most memorable vintages in recent years. Not only did we have a large crop, the quality was high across the board. We were able to let some of our blocks ripen for about two weeks longer than usual, resulting in some very nice aromatic and flavor components.
Vinification:
This is our second varietal-bottled Syrah. As we were so pleased with our inaugural vintage, we have also bottled this wine as a 100% Syrah with relatively little new oak – roughly 10%. The wine is composed of two clones of Syrah – Clones 174 and 470.
As was the 2004, the clones are represented equally in this vintage. While I’ve noticed some subtle aromatic and textural differences between the clone over the last several years, I’ve also found that they complement each other beautifully. When they ripen at the same time, as they did in 2005, I ferment them together in the same vessel.
What I’m aiming for in crafting our Monticello Estate Grown Syrah is a fruit driven wine with medium tannins and just a hint of new oak. I expect this wine to drink well in its youth, and encourage people to drink it now through 2011.