UPDATE: VINTAGE TWO-TRIPLENAUGHT: Lord Willin' and the Crick Don't Rise

Organolepticians Number 10 (October 4, 2000)

So, let's see; it's the third of October, now, and day 50 of crush 2000. Who (as the song asks) knows where the time goes? In a couple of days we'll receive the Syrah from the Parmelee-Hill vineyard, and pass the halfway point for tons crushed for the season.

Thankfully, the second half shouldn't take 50 days to complete. We actually have only a few more lots of fruit to bring in, and they just happen to be somewhat larger than most of what's come in so far. One piece of good news: it looks like we'll receive 1/2 again as much Syrah as we'd anticipated from Parmelee-Hill; the load will be close to 12 tons, which, for most wineries isn't an awful lot. Yet for us, it's maybe the biggest load we've ever gotten.

Last week the smallest load came in, the Syrah from Higher Ground. Higher Ground is situated in the southern part of El Dorado County, at about 3300 feet elevation, near the town(?) of Omo Ranch. Closest other town: Fairplay. Nearest thoroughfare: Slug Gulch Road. Former scene, no doubt, of many a nasty hand of five card stud. Yet, nary an inkling of a saloon, nor a bordello. In fact, downright sleepy-looking to the naked eye (perhaps formerly naked-looking to the sleepy eye?). But, back to the grapes; I planted Syrah on this site in 1992 out of a certainty born of little more than a hunch that it could produce something pretty special there. So far, it has cost a lot of money, and taught a lifetime's worth of hard lessons, and has produced less than 200 gallons of wine. Yet, I remain convinced that the wine is special, and that the property is poised to begin, over the next three-to-four years, yielding a more reasonable quantity of wine (Lord willin' and the crick don't rise). The primary difficulty has been that the property is so remote. It's a beautiful spot, and a very dramatic one for a vineyard. But it's out in the middle of nowhere, and there's a whole lot more critters around than folks to chase them off. Some of you know we lost all our '98 crop to birds, and most of the '99, before the nets arrived. There's also lots of deer about, though I believe they're all OUTSIDE the fence now. And there's raccoons, coyotes, bear. And, the field workers report, mountain lions. In other words, from a certain perspective, this is a BLESSED site. And the wine has such presence, such a distinctive personality. Anyone who's sniffed the fermenter that's held this wine has come away with a stunned look of delight (and not just from the CO2). Eventually, some of this wine will find it's way out into the world; for now, though, it's like a really neat little secret. I loaded the press with the 2000 version this morning, and, as always, it's captivating.

Another high elevation Syrah for us is from the Wylie vineyard, and it seems to be becoming a star in its own right. Mr Wylie picked a mountaintop site near Georgetown (a remote small town in El Dorado County that, by comparison to Omo Ranch, TEEMS with human activity) to build a home, and when he got interested in putting in grapes, he hooked up with Ron Mansfield, who manages the farming at Fenaughty vineyard, one of our better Syrah producers, in Placerville, and Izay vineyard, our up and coming foothill source for MourvÃ¨dre. Ron is a flavor-focussed grower, and with a site like Wylie, it's almost a slam-dunk. The ground is exceptionally rocky in most places, and the hilltop exposures provide great ripening conditions. So far, the Syrah has been black as night, and deeply flavored, exhibiting one of Syrah's most typical aromatic notes: olive, and also a unique wild-cherry characteristic. The 2000 Wylie Syrah, still in fermenters, seems typical in all respects; but we'll know more in a few months.

I pressed and barreled the Grenache from Pallini vineyard in Ukiah today, in addition to the Higher Ground Syrah, and despite all the trouble I experienced sorting through the fruit, and my sense that things might be sliding downhill at Ed's place, those old vines seem to have pulled one out of the fire again--it's REALLY delicious, bursting at the seams with deep, pretty, spicy raspberry fruit.

So, I guess I'd have to say, so far, that this year seems to be shaping up to be a really good one. Then again, it's only the beginning of October, and we're still waiting on half our fruit. Or did I say that already? Is it possible that it's all downhill from here? (Probably not...)

--Steve Edmunds

Looking downslope, Parmelee Hill Vineyard
Sonoma County, California

Alpine backdrop at Higher Ground Vineyard
El Dorado County, California

Syrah on the steep slope at Wylie Vineyard
El Dorado County, California

MourvÃ¨dre at Izay Vineyard
El Dorado County, California

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organoleptic: (ôr'ge nl ep'tik, ôr gan'l ep'-), adj. 1. perceived by a sense organ. 2. capable of detecting a sensory stimulus. [1850-55; < F organoleptique = organo- ORGANO + -leptique < Gk leptikós disposed to accept (lept(ós), v. adj. of lambánein to take + -ikos -IC)]
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