2019 Syrah Rôtie La Cruz Vineyard
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Wine Details
Vintage
2019
Varietal
Syrah
Appellation
Petaluma Gap
Harvest Date
September 28, 2019
Alcohol %
14.0
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
The 2019 Keller Estate Rotie Syrah opens with notes of tobacco leaf and cigar box along with a hint of marzipan and clove. After a few minutes, it opens up to a sweet, red fruit nose with notes of red currant and cranberry. In the mouth, the wine has a distinctive Luxardo Cherry quality, concentrated and marinated. The cranberry notes carry over into the mouth. Hints of cinnamon come to the forefront. This wine is vibrant and food-friendly. There are lingering notes of boysenberry, which likely comes from the marriage of Viognier and Syrah.
Vineyard Notes
The 2019 vintage was vastly characterized by a series of environmental challenges, putting vineyard crews and winemakers to the test. The season started with record-breaking rainfall and flooding leading to a relatively cool spring, slightly delaying bud break with harvest time trending well into September. Hefty rain in May luckily did not disrupt yields since flowering had not yet begun in most vineyards. Average, stable temperatures throughout the summer lead to steady grape development. As harvest approached heat spikes and fire hazards provided another set of challenges, but complex and dynamic wines emerged from a dynamic year.
Winemaker Notes
The Syrah grape is one of the last varieties to push its buds out in the spring, making it one of the last to be harvested in the fall. We destem and put whole-berries into tank and allow fermentation to take place with native yeasts. The Keller Estate Rôtie is co-fermented with about 5-10% Viognier from our estate, hence its name Rôtie after the Rhone Côte de Rôtie region in France which co-ferments Viognier with Syrah. This lends a distinctive floral note to the wine.
Production
387 cases