Rust Wine Co.

These 2002 plantings of close 877 Syrah in Rust’s original home vineyard give a much bigger expression, reminiscent of great Washington examples. South Rock Vineyard is, after all, the furthest south vineyard in all of the Golden Mile sub-GI (the OG sub-GI!). The site is blessed with a sparing eastern aspect that checks the intensity of the brief but hot & long-hour’d summers. The site catches the morning sun directly when it is most cool, but then as it wheels around it falls behind the mountain and spares the vineyard from the truly hot afternoon aggression, giving ripeness without losing freshness and without the UV polymerizations we would sooner expect from Australian Shiraz. Weighing in at 14.4%, this is a full-bodied Syrah for sure, but it is not the super inky keep-the-dentist-in-businesses juice you might expect because it too is whole-berry fermented. Again, indigenous yeast, spontaneous ferment, and aged in all neutral French oak. I can’t wait to see which one you guys like better!