2006 Qupé Syrah “Bien Nacido “X” Block – 25th Anniversary”

The idea behind this wine was to make a wine to celebrate our 25th vintage and last another 25 years. This is a very special bottling. It is 100% syrah from “X” block at Bien Nacido, which is the oldest syrah block on the vineyard. This is a block that was planted to Riesling, on its own roots, in 1973 and grafted to syrah (Estrella clone) in 1986. In 2005 we began farming X-Block biodynamically. For this wine we cut down the yields of part of “X” block to 2½ tons/acre. The grapes were harvested on October 24th at 24.5° brix for lot 1 and on October 31st at 25.5° brix for lot 2. We used 33% whole clusters with stems in the fermenter for lot 1 and 50% whole cluster for lot 2. Whole cluster fermentation with stems add a noticeable spice character and additional tannin. The fermentation was done in a small open top fermenter and was punched down manually twice a day. Fermentation lasted 14 days with an additional soak on the skins for 5 days. After pressing, the wine went into Hermitage French oak barrels, 75% new, for aging. It was kept in barrel a
total of 20 months, racked twice, lightly fined with egg whites and bottled without filtration. Eight barrels (290 cases) were produced. As I mentioned before, this is a wine meant to go another 20+ years. It is an intense wine, not nearly as approachable as our other 2006 syrahs. The aromas show tar and leather with smoked meats, blueberries and hard spice. The flavors are intense with firm tannins and grip. Please don’t drink this wine now, but if you must, decant and aerate it to help open it up.