The bulk of the grapes that went into this wine came from the middle aged and “Norte” blocks of Arizona Stronghold Vineyard. The middle aged block is planted to an unknown syrah clone that was acquired by Al Buhl of Dos Cabazas in the early 1990’s. At picking, this fruit had very rustic flavors with good acidity and a lot of earth, spice, dark fruit and leafy characters. The syrah from the Norte block is a clone from Australia known as Shiraz-1. It showed more tannin on the palate with brighter, fresher fruit characters as well a lavender and pepper. Norte was also the primary source for the grenache and petite sirah that went into this wine which lent red fruit and a deep color, respectively.
This wine has beautiful aromas of concentrated dark fruits, mocha, tar, sweet cigar smoke, hints of black tea, star anise and pumpkin spice. The palate is immediately full and textured, with alluring crushed blackberry, plumb, raspberry jam and hints of stone fruits, transitioning to plenty of mid palate grip and underlying nuances of dried rosemary and bittersweet cocoa; leading to a very balanced and multi-layered finish.
SUGGESTED FOOD AND WINE PAIRINGS
Great with any type of game, roast lamb and grilled vegetables