We have bottled and released our 2006 Syrah this week.

304 bottles in this small vintage, that started out to be a weak fruit, with less color than hoped.  The final product is a nice fruit-forward wine with hints of black berries, chocolate and coffee on the nose.  The taste adds a zinfandel peppery initial nuance with other complex flavors, but finishes with a clean satisfying after taste on the pallet.

The finished vintage includes 10% Merlot wine from the same year that was used for topping because there was not enough Syrah for the job over the 2.5 year aging process in French oak barrels. 

The alcohol content is 14.5%, pH is 3.73, Total Acid (TA) is 0.52, and residual sugar is 0.01%.

The tannins are still strong enough to allow for up to 10 years of aging in the bottles for those who wish to lay it down for a while.  I am thrilled that what was a disappointing start turned out to be a very good wine.