2021 Syrah
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Tasting Notes
Our 2021 Airfield Syrah is a rich and full-bodied wine that displays aromas of dark plums, sweet cassis melded with hints of orange oil, soy sauce and smoked barbeque. The palate displays silk like texture with flavors of baker’s chocolate, blackberry dates, and a touch of black olive tapenade. The wine has a flesh like finish that lingers with beautiful notes of oak and a touch of minerality. Enjoy now through 2036, optimal maturity should peak around 2030.
Awards
88 pts. James Suckling
2020 ~ 90 | Wine Spectator
Zesty and lively, with appealing raspberry, toasty spice and licorice flavors that glide on a long finish toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2030. 1,893 cases made.—T.F.
90 | The Wine Panel
A ripe, juicy Syrah that over-delivers for its' price. Enjoy notes of orange peel, blackberry, and cola, with very soft tannins in the distant background. A very approachable, soft and smooth expression of this grape, with abundant but not overdone fruit.
GOLD | Houston Rodeo Wine Competition
Regional Class Champion
87 Points - Wine Enthusiast
Vineyard Designation
100% Estate Grown
Vintage Notes
The 2021 vintage will be recorded as one the warmest in Washington State history. With a mild win- ter and a warm spring, we saw bud break during the second week of April, about 1-2 weeks earlier than average. Then in late June, we experienced a heat wave for approximately 6 weeks. During this time, we saw over 35 days of 100+ degree temperatures, with some daily highs nearing 118°F. This period of extreme heat began when the grapes were in a cluster and berry size development stage, causing grapes to stress out weeks before we vintners would prefer. Smaller berry size led to an overall 30% reduction in crop sizes for us. Nevertheless, the flavors that these smaller berries produced were phenomenal! We also saw rapid ripening at a pace we have not seen since 2015, and this created a very early start to harvest. Overall, the 2021 vintage made outstanding wine. Our white wines showcase bright fruit aromas with brisk acidity. Our red wines display dark fruit elements with structure and finesse. The wines created from 2021 will be age worthy and enjoyable in their youth and will be wines that will make a lasting impression.
Winemaking Notes
Our Airfield Syrah is sourced exclusively from our Estate Vineyard located in the Yakima Valley AVA. Creating a wine of this caliber starts in the vineyard where we meticulously manage the size of the crop, then late in the season make sure the vines have proper exposure to ensure we achieve optimal ripeness. Harvested in the middle of October, the grapes were destemmed but not crushed and sorted using an optical sorter before being sent to small fermenters. To obtain more complex aromas and mouthfeel, the wine underwent a native ferment, using the grapes natural yeast to complete alcoholic fermentation. Extraction on Syrah’s are always my favorite as we can use many methods of extraction without fear of over extracting flavors. Fermented at temperatures of 88-90 degrees with aggressive extraction methods used early on such as a delastage, then tapered off to more gentle extraction methods as to not over extract the wine and maintain a soft and lush mouthfeel. Fermented on the skins until dry for about 15 days then drained and gently pressed. After pressing the wine was then sent to French Oak barrels with 40% New French oak, 30% 1–3-year-old French Oak and 30% Neutral Oak and inoculated for Malo-Lactic fermentation. After MLF was completed, the wines lees were stirred twice a month for three months. Incorporating lees into the wines naturally softens the wine, creating more roundness and depth on the palate. During aging, the care of the wines is meticulous work. We top every wine twice a week and this wine had 3 rackings during its aging. Aged for approximately 20 months in French oak before being racked to a concrete tank for 1 month of concrete aging than prepped for bottling.
Food Pairing
Rib-Eye Steak au Poivre
Leg of Lamb Shawarma
Cider-Maple Pork Chops with Woodland Bitters Compote
Edam or Parmesan
- Varietal Composition: Syrah
- Appellation: Yakima Valley
- Cases Produced: 750 case
- Alcohol: 14.5
- pH: 3.9
- Acidity: 5.5
- Ageability: Now through 2033