2020 SYRAH ESTATE LOT C

The 2020 Heritage Collection are luxury Small Lot wines that represent a vinous dream come true for me. These are the first wines that we have released that are worthy of being named after our children. Lot C is as serious and complex as the young man that inspired this wine. Callum has always used fewer words to express deeper thoughts. His power has always been latent and internal, never quite boiling over. I would describe him as introvert who favors fewer, yet deeper, connections in life. Though seemingly quiet, once you wind him up with a conversation about history...hang on and grab a great glass of wine and settle in for an amazingly intelligent, thoughtful and impassioned conversation. When working towards crafting a wine special enough to be named after him, I was immediately drawn to the wines of Cornas. They are rustic, backwards, and brooding...but with enough age and time in the glass they sing and rarely let you down. In order to achieve the desired wine we began experimenting with various levels of whole cluster fermentation and settled on a high percentage of whole clusters in the final wine. This adds layers of textural and aromatic elements - all rich and savory, steering away from just fruit notes. Then, as a means of "taming" these wild whole-cluster elements, we chose to age the wine in a high percentage of new French Oakfrom the world's best French cooperages. This generous treatment adds sweet baking spice notes and acts to lengthen the finish. We had been playing in the cellar for several years now, hoping to achieve this wine. We will most likelly not be able to craft it each and every vintae, but thankfully, the 2020 vintage presented an incredible opportunity to craft an amazing expression of this wine. The 2020 Syrah Lot C is a quintessential Syrah and it is special as the young man who inspired it. Only 50 cases of this stunning wine were bottled.