North Block Syrah 2018
Wine Club Exclusive
Wine Club Price $31.23
Deep mulberry in colour. This single vineyard Syrah delivers a complex nose of toasty oak and sweet violet. The first sip brings freshly picked blackberries, juicy cherries, and a hint of vanilla. This Syrah's firm tannins integrate into a long oak driven finish.
Wine Specs
Vintage
2018
Varietal
Syrah
Appellation
Okanagan Valley
Acid
6.4
pH
3.9
Residual Sugar
0.8
Alcohol %
14.9
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
Deep mulberry in colour. This single vineyard Syrah delivers a complex nose of toasty oak and sweet violet. The first sip brings freshly picked blackberries, juicy cherries and a hint of vanilla. This Syrah’s firm tannins integrate into a long oak driven finish.
Vineyard Notes
The 2018 growing season was similar to 2017. Spring started off slowly and was wetter than average. 2018 found the vineyards two weeks behind our normal bud burst. Once the warmer weather arrived mid-spring, it caused the above average snow levels in the mountains to melt rapidly resulting in another year of flooding. The flooding did not wash any topsoil away and, after a challenging start, the end of spring weather conditions was perfect for an ideal fruit set. Once summer arrived, it was hot and dry which tested our vineyard crews to pay close attention to irrigation regimes and leaf-to-fruit ratios. The vineyards soaked up the summer sunshine; meticulous farming and careful yield management allowed the grapes to fully ripen on the vine. September was wet. After each rainfall, the tractors were driven down the vineyard rows to blow the water off the vines and fruit ensuring there was no opportunity for mold to develop. A beautiful autumn saw the perfect weather to allow the fruit to catch up after a wet September.
Winemaker Notes
The Syrah grapes were hand picked and sorted in our Osoyoos vineyard`s North block. This South West exposure vineyard produced a lighter crop that ripened earlier in the year. This fruit was specially selected for its depth and rich characteristics. After destemming, the berries were hand sorted again to ensure that only perfect fruit was included in the ferment. The grapes were crushed and the must was cold soaked for five days. During the Syrah`s six day fermentation, we pumped over twice per day to ensure even fermentation and gentle tannin extraction. Post ferment maceration was extended to ten days to further extract this varietal’s exceptional aromatics. Malolactic fermentation occurred in barrel over the winter and finished in late December. 30% of the Syrah was kept in new French oak barrels, while the remaining 70% was kept in two year old French oak barrels for 18 months. This wine was further developed in bottle for 15 months in the cellar prior to release.