2005 Parmelee-Hill Vineyard Syrah

Steve Hill, and his wife Gwen Parmelee-Hill bought a parcel of land from Ed Durell in 1993, and planted Syrah on a portion of it that was literally just a stone's throw from the original block of Syrah at Durell Vineyard, in the Sonoma Valley. Steve is an excellent grape farmer, and the spot he chose was, I think, a really great one. I worked with Syrah from this parcel from 1996 through 2005. For a number of those years the small amount of Parmelee-Hill fruit I purchased went into a couple of our wines: our Rocks And Gravel, and our California Syrah. In a couple of years the Syrah from Parmelee-Hill was really exceptionally fine, and we bottled vineyard-designated Syrah from it. 2005 is, I think, the best of those.

FRUIT SOURCE:

Parmelee-Hill Vineyard is located on the Western edge of the Sonoma Valley appellation, right at the base of the range of hills separating the Sonoma Valley from Petaluma Valley. The block of Syrah that produced this wine is nearly due west from the intersection of Arnold Drive and Sperring Road. The soil is rocky volcanic clay-loam, on a steep east-facing slope. (the first time I saw the site I had the kinesthetic sense of standing in Auguste Clape's vineyard in Cornas, looking East, out over Valence.)

WINEMAKING NOTES:

Grapes were picked in two passes, about 9 days apart. Destemmed, fermented in open-tops, punched down twice a day. Pressed at dryness directly into 21 year old French puncheons. Spontaneous malo in barrel. First racking in May of 2006, then racked in late August, prior to bottling.

WINEMAKER'S TASTING NOTES:

Very dark red, with purple at the rim. Startling, deep nose, earthy, peppery, very smoky (reminiscent of the smoke from burning leaves in Autumn). Pure, juicy flavors on entry, quite penetrating, yet nearly weightless. Really suave tannins. The overall impression is deceptively graceful; there is coiled power and persistence to the flavor and finish that belie the suppleness of the wine. The previous bottling of Parmelee-Hill was power from start to finish, the elegance it would eventually attain not readily apparent in its youth. A colleague referred to it once as the Mike Tyson of Syrah. By comparison the '05 might be thought of as the Sugar Ray. You decide which one.

• Production: 320 cases produced
• Suggested Retail: $25.00
• Release Date: April 1, 2008

Produced And Bottled By Thirsty Pagans With Big Ideas, under the direction of Steve Edmunds, Winemaker www.edmundsstjohn.com