Harvesting late in the season can be scary as winemakers hang their fruit while praying for no rain. And when you START your Syrah harvest on Halloween, well, that’s downright terrifying! But mild, dry weather prevailed and we held off picking his steep, hillside estate Syrah until it was at the peak of perfection. We planted Chave Clone Syrah in this vineyard in 1996 and we follow the Cote Rotie tradition of fermenting the Syrah with about 2% Viognier grapes. The results are staggering. The wine shows cool-climate blackberry fruit with beefy notes all at the same time, and with only 15% new oak aging, the pure fruit quality really comes through. We dropped half of all the Syrah fruit in the vineyard to insure that the tannins were totally ripe, and the resulting texture is pure crushed velvet. The hints of white pepper on the finish keep the palate intrigue going. It's everything you love about the exotic nature of Syrah with a pretty-side that you will not be able to leave alone. This 2005 already took home top honors at the 2007 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition... even before its official release!