Grist Vineyard Syrah, Dry Creek, Sonoma 2021

Syrah has always been the varietal that speaks to me most - it has a wild elegance that comes out when done in a restrained style. I moved to the Northern Rhône in 2016 just to understand this grape better. 

High above the Dry Creek Valley atop Bradford Mountain (1,000 feet elevation), this Syrah has more in common with delicate Northern Rhône Syrah, though Dry Creek Valley (on average at 300ft elevation) bears more resemblance to robust Southern Rhône Syrah. Only 15 miles from the ocean as the crow flies and perched up above the fogline, Grist Vineyard has a cool growing season that allows for complex and developed flavors at lower potential alcohol. There’s a fantastic natural acidity to the grapes from here that brings freshness and verve. 

This organically farmed Syrah block was planted in 1983, unusually old for California Syrah - it’s rare to find Syrah plantings in California this old not interplanted with Petite Sirah or other black California heritage clones. Soils here are Boomer loam, a red volcanic rock that gives low yields and concentrated fruit. The vines are trained in double cordon.

Grist Vineyard is named for the old grist mill on the property from when the mountaintop was first planted to Zinfandel in the late 1800s by Dry Creek’s early Italian immigrants. The Hambrecht family has farmed Grist Vineyard for 4 generations.

Partial whole cluster fermentation with about 2% Viognier to bring out the lifted, pretty aromatics of Syrah. Aged for 11 months in 5th use French oak barrels. Double-cordon trained.