Portrait of the Artist, Drowning 2020

Type: Red
Varietals: 100% Syrah
Origin: Sagebrush Vineyard, Black Sage Bench, Okanagan Valley

Handpicked from the Sagebrush Vineyard on the Black Sage Bench. The soil is mainly sandy loam, with an alluvial gravel bar that runs through the middle of the vineyard. Rain and cooler weather in the first half of the year led to poor and uneven fruit-set, but with a warm August and September the flavours developed steadily allowing for lots of acid retention and lower alcohol levels.

This was done in two picks, one a little early for acid and one a bit riper for tannin and structure. Both picks were gently destemmed whole berry. The earlier pick was fermented traditionally in an open top fermenter. Punched down once daily, basket pressed then aged in neutral oak for 4 months. The riper pick was fermented in qvevri, an ancient clay amphora originating in Georgia. The berries were left to macerate for 4 months in the qvevri to develop colour, enhance flavours and soften the tannin structure. Both portions were blended in winter and aged for 5 months in stainless steel before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Minimum order of 3 bottles total to ship
Maximum 4 bottles per order