One of the larger scaled examples of this cuvee I've tried, the 2013 Syrah Walker Vine Hill saw only partial destemming and 20 months in 25% new French oak. Reminding me a great vintage of Hermitage Les Bessards from Delas, it boasts phenomenal notes of cr?me de cassis, graphite, roasted herbs, melted licorice and burning embers. Rich, voluptuous, seriously ripe and decadent, yet with density, tannin and structure, it needs 3-4 years of cellaring (it needs an hour decant or more if drinking today) and will have two decades of overall longevity. This is what great California Syrah tastes like!

For us, identifying a top-notch vineyard is like hearing a great song for the first time. It's immediately identifiable. It has no blue-print for duplication. It won't let go of you. In a word, it is genuine. From these extraordinary vineyards, we produce compelling wines year after year, doing our best to read their cues and allow their terroir to shine. The map below illustrates the depth of our obsession. From the cool-climate, redwood fringed Perli Vineyard in the Mendocino County AVA to a collection of wild sites we love in the Bennett Valley AVA, our journeys across Northern California have been exhaustive ? but they have been so worth it.