Behind The Bottle - Une Autre Fin Est Possible

The name of the Syrah is Une Autre Fin Est Possible, in French, “Another End (or Ending) is Possible” and really you can take that however you want!  I have two small children and so I spend a lot of time thinking about their upbringing and the world that will be waiting for them. 

Let me be honest when I talk about Syrah.  It is a truly amazing grape.  Quite possibly the best red grape, period!  And that’s including Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Nebbiolo…Syrah is really something else.  It can make everything from everyday table wines to celebrated wines that can last a half-century.   But what really sets it apart from the other Greatest Grape of All Time candidates is that it can make so many different wines depending on where it grows.  It’s hyper-sensitive to change while still reliably making good or great wine. 

This was the wine that Aaron and I had our biggest disagreement over.  In fact, our disagreement still sort of smolders in the background, because this was the wine where I actively forced him make decisions that went against his orthodoxy.  He didn’t like that this came from an extremely cold vineyard site.  He didn’t like that the grapes were expensive.  He didn’t like that I refused new oak.  Every time we would taste it in progress, he would passive-aggressively offer to blend stronger wine into it, assuming I would come to my senses at some point.  Well obviously, I didn’t come to my senses.  But I did think long and hard about blending it but with a different objective than his. 

We really do get along for the most part.

Syrah when its planted in John Sebastiano vineyard does something pretty unusual, even for Syrah- it starts to feel a bit like Pinot Noir – and it takes forever to get ripe.  We harvested on November 6th, 2018.   

It’s not very tannic or darkly colored, but boy does it just SOAR with crazy floral aromas and savory, complex flavors.  It’s almost slippery and buttery in texture but it’s so exotic with lavender and plum and game and citrus and cherry and on and on.  Even Aaron eventually had to admit it turned out pretty good.  And we’ve gotten some extremely strong feedback so far from top restaurants and high-end retail.  It wasn’t a sure thing to try to make the Syrah this way but you know, another ending is possible.  I’m kind of sad we only did two barrels.  Just 60 cases.   

With food, I’d save this one for duck and lamb, but it’s also a lot of fun with curries, brothy meat and veggies and sweet/salty seasonings – although I’d stay away from heat.  And for those of you who like to keep some wines for special meals, this is a short decant away from being a centerpiece wine for holiday meals.   

The label is a photograph that I digitally altered.This is a place called Hermitage.It’s a tall hill on the Rhone river in France.It’s on this hill that the greatest Syrah in the world is grown, dating back to the 15th century.Seriously.One family has been making Syrah here since 1481.Near the top of the hill is a small chapel that was built in the 13th century for a returning crusader who wanted to live as a hermit, hence the name.