I don’t think I’ve ever found a more dramatic match of site to grape variety in California over the last 22 vintages than Syrah at Bassetti Vineyard. That doesn’t mean I’m right, but it doesn’t mean I’m wrong either. It’s odd that, of the six years I made wine from this fruit, only in the odd-numbered years (’01, ’03, and ’05) did I bottle a Bassetti Vineyard Syrah. (I won’t go into the even years here: each is a book unto itself. Maybe in another lifetime.) All three of these odd vintages made very dramatic, perhaps profound wine. To choose the best of the three right now feels easy; it’s the ’05. I’m not sure I could make a better wine from any vineyard on this Earth, in any year, going forward or back, than the ’05 Bassetti Syrah.

FRUIT SOURCE:

Bassetti Vineyard, San luis Obispo County Bassetti Vineyard is roughly 22 miles west of Paso Robles; the primary climatic influence at Bassetti is its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, just two miles away. Because coastal weather during Winter is mild, the growing season at Bassetti starts quite early, and because it's so mild during Summer, it ends quite late. This is the coldest site we've worked with, and perhaps the most exciting.

WINEMAKING NOTES:

Winemaking Notes: Harvested by hand the 18th of October. Destemmed into half-ton bins, fermented on skins for 16 days, punched down by hand two to three times each day. Pressed directly into older French puncheons (18-22 years of age). Racked in May of ’06, and again in late August, just prior to bottling.

WINEMAKER'S TASTING NOTES:

Winemakers’ Tasting Notes: Nearly impenetrable purple-red. Tantalizing nose of olives, violets, and smoke, very integrated, fine, and miles deep. And still pretty primary beneath that developing layer of perfume. The wines’ presence in the mouth is high-pitched and nervy, with silky but very firm tannins. Classic flavors are framed by considerable acidity, in breathtaking balance. This wine has the energy of the ’03, but everything about it feels a bit more relaxed, it seems more comfortable in its own skin. It’s a dark beauty, the finest Syrah I’ve ever put into a bottle. Will probably outlive me, but it will be such a beautiful thing when it’s time has arrived.

• Production: 103 cases produced
• Suggested Retail: Suggested Retail: $45.00
• Release Date: September 1, 2007 (extremely limited)

Produced And Bottled by Thirsty Pagans With Big Ideas, under the direction of Steve Edmunds, Winemaker