Longoria Wines: Santa Barbara county

The harvest of 2002 was a very good one for Syrah in our wine region. Crop levels were slightly lower than in previous years, resulting in denser more flavorful wines. Weather during the ripening period was ideal for extended maturation on the vine. The Alisos Vineyard fruit was harvested in late September, while the fruit from Stolpman and White Hawk vineyards were harvested on October 1st.

The grapes were entirely destemmed and crushed into small open top fermenters. The total time in the fermenters averaged about ten days for all of the lots. The wine was then pressed off and settled in a tank, then transferred to barrels for aging. About 30% of the barrels were new and about 10% of the total barrels were made from American oak. The final blending, fining, filtration and bottling took place in April 2004.

Interestingly enough, when I performed blending trials with the Grenache, none of the blends seemed to be an improvement over the unblended Syrah. This was surprising to me, but I had to trust my senses and decided not to use any of the Grenache for blending, and instead it will be bottled as its’ own varietal. I did discover, however, that Viognier in the blend contributed nicely by adding a floral note to the aromas and softening the texture of the Syrah.

Visually, the wine exhibits a very deep dark color. The aromas are of black cherries with hints of lavender and thyme. On the palate the wine is rich on the entry, with dense flavors of black cherries and a hint of the flavor of walnuts. The wine has some chalky tannins at this point which will meld into the wine within two to four years of additional bottle aging. We are very pleased with this example of cooler climate Syrah. Serve with spicy Mediterranean dishes and grilled meats.

Rick Longoria, Winemaker
June 1, 2004

Composition: 94% Syrah: Alisos Vinyard: 57%
White Hawk Vineyard: 9%
Stolpman Vineyard: 28%
6% Viognier: Lucas Lewwllen Vineyard: 6%

pH: 3.63
Alcohol by volume: 14.7%
Total acidity: .69 g/100 ml.
Production: 415 cases
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