Dry Creek Valley Syrah 2007

Winemaker's Notes:

About This Wine: Big, bold and beautiful—this inky gem holds enticing aromas of ripe blackberry, mineral and oak notes, and just a touch of fine-grain leather. The firm structure offers intense, concentrated flavors of rich dark berries, creamy mocha and a hints of minerality, leather and earth. Chewy tannins, integrated oak and lingering flavors create a complex, layered and memorable wine. An excellent choice for cellar aging, give this one at least a year or more to experience all it has to offer.<br/><br/> Perfectly paired with wild boar sausage over polenta or lamb shanks with wild mushroom risotto.<br/><br/> <strong>Fred's (Peterson) Vintaged View Vineyard Notes:</strong> The “Gravity Flow Block” Syrah is the realization of a dream of mine to produce a Syrah grown on the most exposed, well-drained location on our Bradford Mountain vineyard. This rocky hillock directly behind my house on Bradford Mountain got its name from the fact that at the top sits our 10,000 gallon water tank that serves our house and garden via gravity flow. Though I had cleared the brush off the hill in the early 1990’s, it remained unplanted through the remainder of the decade as I put my efforts into our new winery business.<br/><br/> In March 2001, I planted the vineyard to 90% Syrah (5 clones), 8% Viognier and 2% Petite Sirah with the vines planted 3 feet apart in the row and 6 feet between rows. Though the rocky ground made digging the planting holes a pain, we dug extra large holes mixing the rocky parent soil with substantial quantities of compost to give the vines a jump-start. We trained the vines up their training stakes that year and in 2002 harvested a small crop that we blended into our Mendocino Carignane.<br/><br/> Our 2007 “Gravity Flow Block” Syrah, harvested on September 7th and 11th, is a big, flavorful wine, very representative of both the vintage and the vineyard on Bradford Mountain.<br/>By co-fermenting the Syrah and Viogner in the Cote Rotie tradition (with 15% being whole cluster fermenation), the union of aromas and flavors begins at the wine’s birth. The Viogner contributes significant yet subtle influences with its delicate floral and fruit components. The resulting wine is head spinning with seductive aromas, big chewy, juicy flavors and lots of fruit. And, at the core of this wine you’ll discover that amazing mineral essence, the trademark of Bradford Mountain terroir.<br/><br/> The Vineyards: <strong>Bradford Mountain Vineyard</strong> - Planted in the 1980s on the western edge of Dry Creek Valley, our Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard is 32 acres on the very top of the mountain (elevation 1000 feet). We took great pains to find the proper varietals and clones to plant in the mineral-rich mountain soil. The well-drained, red-clay soil, combined with sunny days and cool nights, produces small, intensely favored Cabernet grapes with a higher acidity and a lower pH than valley fruit.<br/><br/> About Peterson Winery: We are located in the Dry Creek Valley, in the northwest region of Sonoma County. Peterson Winery’s new tasting room is now open for wine tasting and sales daily 11am-4:30pm. We often pour our wines at local tasting and charity events as well. Check for upcoming events on the News Events page.<br/><br/> Our wines are also available for tasting at the “LOCALS” tasting room in Geyserville. See tastelocalwines.com for directions and details. Click on the “Find Us” link for a map to the winery and to LOCALS in Geyserville.<br/><br/> If you have any questions about Peterson Winery or our wines, send us an e-mail at friends@petersonwinery.com and we’ll respond as soon as we can.<br/><br/> We can’t tell our whole story here, but we hope that by looking at a few photos and reading a bit more about us, you’ll find out who we are and why we love to make great wines.<br/><br/> About The Winemaker: <strong>Jamie Peterson</strong> - It's not by coincidence that I'm the winemaker at Peterson Winery. I've been helping my father at the winery for the past ten years, back to the days of labeling the bottles by hand. I worked two harvests here at the winery, in 2000 and 2001, and the 2001 harvests Down Under in Australia at Lowe Family Winery, and then in New Zealand, at Ngatarawa Winery. With this solid base of experience, much to my excitement I was given the opportunity of taking over winemaking duties in June 2002, and have been loving it ever since.<br/><br/> Overseeing the quality of the wine from when the grapes come in all the way through to the bottle is my main responsibility and priority. Since it’s just my father and I, this keeps me pretty busy, but when I’m not checking up on barrels or wrestling with the bottling equipment, you can often find me at one the numerous tasting events we attend, whether it is for charity or for the love of wine. In my free time, I’ve started a Peterson Winery softball team with my friends here in Healdsburg. I also enjoy cooking, foraging for local culinary mushrooms, reading, and am a Giants baseball fan. Continuing winemaking tradition of Zero Manipulation.<br/><br/> Technical Analysis: <strong>Composition:</strong> 100% Gravity Flow Block - Bradford Mountain Vineyard, 92% Syrah, 7% Viognier 1% Petite Sirah<br/><br/> <strong>Appellation:</strong> Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County; Bradford Mountain Vineyard; Gravity Flow Block<br/><br/> <strong>Harvest Dates:</strong> September 7 11, 2006<br/><br/> <strong>Alcohol:</strong> 14.8%<br/><br/> <strong>pH:</strong> 3.62 <strong>TA:</strong> 0.64g/100ml<br/><br/> <strong>Barrel Aging:</strong> 22 months<br/><br/> <strong>Type of Oak:</strong> 50% New French oak barrels, 30% 2 year-old French oak barrels, 20% 4-6 year-old French oak barrels<br/><br/> <strong>Bottling Date:</strong> August 13 2009 (unfined unfiltered)<br/><br/> <strong>Production:</strong> 275 cases<br/><br/> <strong>Release Date:</strong> January 2011<br/><br/>