Deep Sea Central Coast Syrah (2)

[conwayfamilywines]

@markshelton

I’ve had the Deep Sea red blend. It was an offering on Lot18 a few months ago. If I’d known it was going to be that good, I would have bought quite a few more! It was fantastic.

I’d love to see what the single-vineyard varietal Syrah tastes like!

Hi Mark-
Glad you enjoyed the '08 Deep Sea Red, we were very pleased with it as well. Do give this 2008 WhiteHawk Syrah a try. The WhiteHawk is a rich, voluptuous cold climate Syrah. Only the very best barrels from the WhiteHawk lots made it into this blend. Enjoy and thanks for your interst!

Andrew Adam
Winemaker-CFW

[conwayfamilywines]

@cjsiege

Andrew - thanks for the confirmation! (I’m glad to know I’m tasting what you designed into the winemaking.)

I’m a huge fan of the Rhones, and it’s great to see Syrah in the spotlight today.

For those of us who are foodies - or who are the firm believers that wine should be served in its “natural environment” (i.e., next to my dinner plate), what would you recommend I serve with your wine?

I love your “natural environment” position! This past winter we had some friends over for dinner (local winemakers) and we served this White Hawk with Braised short ribs and a Hunter’s sauce with rosemary in lieu of tarragon (my preference) and a potaoe/turnip mash. It was great with this Syrah!

Andrew Adam

[conwayfamilywines]

@kylemittskus

Thanks for jumping in, Andrew. To be clear, I very much enjoy this style of wine occasionally so my question isn’t coming from the “old world is the only way” camp. However, with the pH so high, why do you think this wine will hold for any longer than, say, a couple of years? Is the high level (in relation to what would otherwise be a dry-style wine) of RS going to allow this to age in spite of the low acid level?

Hi Kyle- great question and as well as a savvy observation. I am a huge fan of the Alban Syrah’s and admittedly am biased for the simple fact I worked there for 9 years. Most agree that the high pH, low acid, ripe fruit is the formula for short lived wines, and more often than not it’s true. I feel this is one of the “or not” wines. I opened a 2004 syrah I made last month. Very similar in style and #'s, pH 3.89, alc 16.2,TA under 6. Showed great but probably at its peak and may be good for another 2 years max. But that was an '04 in '12. The WhiteHawk was made in that style, unfined and unfiltered.
Thanks again for your thoughts and I never for a moment thought you were pushing the old vs. new position. Great comments Kyle! Thanks again.

Andrew Adam

[hershelk]

I recently had this wine and I would agree with a lot of what cjsiege said above.

The nose was definitely meaty. I detected a high note of current or similar berry but underneath I kept thinking smoked meat. It was actually quite nice, not unpleasant in any way.

It is a beautiful plumb color. I has some when we first opened it and then about an hour later having been left open on the counter. It did open up after some time, but I don’t believe this need a long decanting.

I also agree with the sour fruit note, my first thought was sour cherries. It definitely has a good amount of fruit. It was a little too tart for my taste though, similar to Sangiovese wines which I also find too tart. However, if you enjoy that characteristic in your wines, I believe you will like this.

[cortot20]

I do love me some paso syrah. The last syrah we had from white hawk vineyard was great. But this is slightly over my current per bottle limit.