Current Releases
The Prophet
2008 Syrah
(100% Syrah)
This is a ‘McQueen’ wine – both Steve and Alexander are heroes of style and masculinity. ‘The Prophet’ embodies those ideals with much as much gusto as the two men went at life and their work. The wine is yet another ‘first effort’ – this one from a Syrah block which we planned and planted (also in 2006) with the folks at the Bien NacidoVineyard, and which has been tended to by the hands of the exceedingly capable Chris Hammel.
Yields were about a quarter ton per acre, and despite that ‘manageable workload’, this was the last fruit to be picked in 2008, on October 17th, which for that year was late - it was cold, it was windy, the vines were tired, most of the workers had left for their vacations in sunny Mexico, the flavors were slow in coming, the tannins still had to soften. Things were looking bleak and it was a time to be tempted by a wrong decision driven by a desire to finally get done with the vintage. Avoiding the temptation, by the time we did finally pick, these were the ugliest looking Syrah grapes I’ve ever harvested (the skins of these grapes looked like Yoda’s skin turned black) – but as usual, the ugliest grapes make the best wine.
Not for the faint of heart, the Prophet is a massive wine that will probably age for well beyond 20 years and it has that mysterious dark charm, elegance and sophistication that makes Syrah entirely irresistible to this winegrower. [160 six-pack cases produced from 4 acres]
Wine Advocate / R. Parker, Jr. Issue 196
The 2008 Syrah The Prophet, from the famed Bien Nacido Vineyard is a rich, seamless wine. Black fruits, licorice, tar and cassis are some of the notes that flow in this super-ripe, opulent Syrah. It is a massive wine that will spend somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-42 months in oak before being bottled in early 2012. It will be interesting to see where this goes from here. Anticipated maturity: 2013-21.A.G.
Tanzer / International Wine Cellar: Issue 159
($80) (made from Bien Nacido fruit and raised in 70% new oak): Inky purple. Explosive, highly perfumed aromas of blueberry and mulberry, cherry-cola, patchouli and violet, with a smoky overtone. Deep, candied dark fruit flavors are impressively concentrated, with intense violet pastille and spicecake notes building in the mid-palate. Extremely rich, velvety syrah with a jolt of candied licorice carrying through the long, spicy finish. J.R.
