2018 P.S. Santa Barbara Syrah

The 2018 P.S. Syrah is our most important cuvêe — it is an introduction to our wine making philosophy and the product of years of evolution in making coastal cool-climate California Syrah. It was obvious early on that we were gifted with a rare vintage in 2018, one that would showcase our aesthetic ideals. Ample rainfall, moderate summer temperatures, and low yields produced grapes with concentration and freshness — the building blocks for making a great wine. We knew not to push the extraction, that we must gently pull the tannins and be careful to capture the vibrancy of the fruit. The grapes come from predominately younger vineyards, which were mostly de-stemmed. There is also a healthy dose of older vine Syrah from Bien Nacido, which was mostly fermented whole cluster. Monocepage Syrahs were the first wines I fell in love with, particularly the Syrahs from the appellations in the Northern Rhone Valley: Côtie Rotie, Saint Joseph, Cornas, and Croze Hermitage. A great Syrah combines