Longboard Vineyards Russian River Dakine Vineyard Syrah 2017
I planted DaKine Vineyard, home to our estate fruit, in 2000. It is nestled at the bottom of an east-facing hill on Westside Road in Healdsburg. Two blocks of vines make up this wine: The large block is planted to Syrah, clone 7 on a modern vertical trellis. The small block is planted 4 feet by 4 feet and is farmed exclusively by hand, vines are trained and cane-pruned on a modified Guillot system. This small block is made of 11 rows of 6 varieties that become the "spice rack" for making this wine. The Zinfandel adds spiciness, the Malbec flesh and blueberry notes, the Petit Sirah structure, and lengthy tannins, the Carignane and Grenache earthiness, and bright Cherry notes. Another clone of Syrah (CR) makes the sixth variety in the block. Unlike the blending that occurs in the laboratory of a winery, this is a field blend; all the grapes are harvested and fermented together in one tank.
The Dakine Syrah is made for aging. The cool growing site combined with minimalistic winemaking practices works synergistically to produce a wine that develops over many years. At release, the wine is dominated by dark fruit aromas and flavors with a generous mid-palate and a finish marked by a balanced acidity. As it ages, earth, roasted coffee, and fresh mushroom notes begin to show, as well as a light wild fennel note.
2016 was a great vintage for Syrah in the Russian River Valley. The grapes were destemmed and crushed at the winery, cold-soaked for three days, and then fermented to dryness by our winery's "resident" yeast (that means no commercial yeast was added). As with all the wines of Longboard, the point of this wine is to strike a balance of components that delivers a complex and layered experience that is true to the variety and the growing season.
Cheers,
Oded Shakked - Owner & Winemaker of Longboard Vineyards
Composition: 89 % Syrah, 2.5% Carignane, 2.0% Grenache, 2.5% Malbec, 2.0% Zinfandel, 1.5% Petit Syrah
Appellation: Russian River Valley
Fermentation: 3 Day cold-soak, Open top native fermentation
Aging: 24 months in French Oak barrels, 30% New
Alcohol: 14.5 %
TA: 6.6g/L
pH: 3.68
Production: 129 Cases
Established in 1998, Longboard Vineyards is fueled by the passion winemaker Oded Shakked has had since he first came to northern Sonoma in the late 1980s. Longboard is full of classic varieties that are grown to express local character, all wrapped in our relaxed Sonoma-style warm hospitality. Warm, confident, independent, refined but down-to-earth; Oded's personality is reflected in every wine he makes.
