Malbec Syrah Revered Series 2007

Harvest Notes

The 2007 harvest produced fruit with good concentration and great varietal character. The spring started with nice warm weather, but the summer heat that we were expecting didn’t arrive until mid-July. Fortunately, this was not a problem due to the warm, mild weather that carried through September and early October. The challenge with growing Malbec is the hang time… too much hang time will result in an abundance of sugar and too little hang time results in reduced flavours. This Malbec was harvested at the optimum time for both flavours and sugar at 24.0 Brix. Our estate grown three year old Syrah was harvested at 23.0 Brix and showed great character for such young vines.

Malbec/Syrah is typically an Argentinean blend, but the climate of the Okanagan is proving that Malbec may have found a new home.

Winemaking

The Malbec and Syrah were vinified separately and blended after adequate barrel aging. The Malbec was cold soaked for five days before being inoculated and fermented for twelve days. The fermentation was kept cooler (20-27C) allowing for a more fruit forward extraction. The fruit was hand plunged two-three times per day. After pressing, the Malbec underwent full malolactic fermentation and was aged in brand new French Oak for ten months. The Syrah underwent similar vinification. Some key differences were that the duration of skin contact time was a few days shorter and the Syrah was aged in brand new American Oak. The blend is 60% Malbec and 40% Syrah. The wine was blended and bottled un-filtered.

Winemakers Notes

Colour: Crimson.
Bouquet: Floral, peppery, coffee, cloves, cinnamon, plums and blueberry.
Palate: Full bodied with complex red fruit, anise, a touch of bacon which leads to a soft lingering finish.
Food Pairings: Leg of Lamb, Steak and Roast Chicken.