2005 GAIL ANN’S VINEYARD SYRAH

The Wine
A balanced combination of incredible scents of macerated black cherry to coconut and espresso. This wine offers a full lush mouth feel of blackberry and wood notes with an integrated spice finish. This warmer climate vineyard location produces a full syrah that does incredible with age and pairs well with a hearty old fashion steak dinner or a professionally trained chef prepared coffee crusted filet.

The Vineyard
Dutton Ranch farms over eighty unique, separate vineyards located in the coolest areas of the Russian River Valley, primarily in the sub-appellation known as the Green Valley. Gail Ann’s Vineyard, named after Joe Dutton’s mother is located in a “warm spot of a cool area.” With two acres planted to syrah on Wachika loam soil, the climate shows focus to dark fruits. Not only a great vineyard site but a serene peaceful scenic spot where the family enjoys spending time.

The Winemaking
After an early morning harvest, our syrah is fermented in small, open top fermenters and punched down by hand manually three times per day to extract optimal flavors of the vineyard. Prior to fermentation, the de-stemmed fruit is cold-soaked to silken the mouth-feel and brighten the fruit. After fermentation, the wine is racked into French and American oak for ageing. This wine is blended and allowed to marry and settle unfiltered while resting in barrel until early winter when we bottle with minimal processing.

Tech Notes
2005 Gail Ann’s Vineyard Syrah
2003 Gail Ann’s Vineyard Syrah
2002 Gail Ann’s Vineyard Syrah (sold out)