Havens Napa Valley Syrah   2000

$31.99 /bottle $28.79 /bottle mixed case

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The 2000 growing season was a break from a two-year cool spell, but it did not feature the big heat spikes of many warm years. Instead, we had a consistently warm summer, followed by a cool to warm harvest, the kind that allows good flavor development as sugars rise and acids fall. Syrah is a relatively early-ripening grape, so although October cooled off toward the end, we had complete ripening in Syrah without falling into the chewy characters of over-ripeness.

Our fermentation technique for this grape is similar to that for Merlot, pulling as much fruit and color as possible out of the grapes early in fermentation, before alcohol begins to extract harsher elements. Thus we allow higher temperatures early, but cool the fermenting must later on. The resulting tannins are soft and fine, though substantial in total volume. With Syrah, we feel that extended maceration is unnecessary to get the textures and sweet tannins we seek. In our Napa Valley Syrah lots, in particular,