Blending Tall Tales Syrah

We recently blended our 2019 Tall Tales Syrah from our Stoney Vine Estate Vineyard in the Rocks District. After working with this site for over 10 years, we can say that blending truly does begin in the vineyard. We have three different Syrah clones trained on three different trellis systems to help produce the earthy, savory, and funky characteristics that we love from this unique region.

The blending process begins with our base wine, consisting of bi-laterally trained Clone 470 and a goblet trained Phelps clone. To this base, we look to layer in complexity, texture, and polish by utilizing early picks of the Phelps clone and the goblet trained Shiraz 07 clone. When we talk about “clones” we’re simply referring to varieties of a specific wine grape that express certain genetic mutations. These mutations can range from different aromatics or flavor profiles to cluster size and formation or how long they take to ripen or how well-suited they are for different growing conditions. Clone 470, Phelps, and Shiraz 07 are all Syrah clones that we specifically selected for what they bring to a wine.

Another component that adds to our Tall Tales Syrah’s signature aromatics, flavor, mid-palate weight, and structure, is stem inclusion during fermentation. Once the fruit is brought from the vineyard to the winery, anywhere from 0% to 50% of the fruit in the different lots will be left as whole clusters for 14-30 days of fermentation. Resulting in a finished wine that is 30-35% whole-cluster fermented.

Syrah