2021 Lester Vineyard Syrah

Appellation: 100% Santa Cruz Mountains

pH: 3.52

TA: 6.9

Oak: 50% once-used French oak barrels (18 months)

Where to start with the Lester Vineyard?  This is one of the most exciting vineyards we have sourced in a long time.  An ideal combination of terroir, meticulous farming, and incredibly knowledgeable ownership, Lester vineyard is a winemaker’s perfect storm.  Located in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation of California, the area’s shining star boasts extensive hang time, resulting in about perfect harvest-day chemistry.  The vineyard also expresses a very unique fruit character; hard to describe, easy to identify, and always delicious.  Prudy Foxx, the vineyard manager, takes such pride in her work, and it is evident in every single berry we have received from there.  Keep an eye out for Lester, we happily managed to secure as much fruit as they would let us, and couldn’t be more pleased with what we have put into bottle thus far.

The Lester Syrah is BY FAR the last fruit we bring in during the growing season.  The 2021 was picked around Halloween, a good 2 weeks after all the other lots we harvested.  But as they say, patience is a virtue, and ours was rewarded after this wine was picked, fermented, and put to barrel.  The insanely long hang time on the vine creates complex and rich flavors, all the while maintaining bright natural acidity and low sugar content.  The aromatics are so incredibly unique and feral.  Leather, meat, and white pepper dominate the bouquet.  The palate is bright and delicate, with more peppercorn, zippy blue fruit, and tar.  The acidic backbone is very much present and very much delicious, maintaining balance and a lovely edge to the wine, especially noticeable on the finish.