2006 Novy Russian River Valley Syrah

The 2006 vintage produced some of the finest Novy Syrahs ever. The vintage was cool enough to retain good levels of natural acidity in the grapes and yet warm enough to fully ripen Syrah. One of the concerns often mentioned when discussing 2006 is that botrytis (a type of rot) created problems in several vineyards. Fortunately, Syrah is quite resistant to rot and thus the grapes were able to hang long enough to gain superb levels of flavor and concentration.

The 2006 Novy Russian River Valley Syrah is a blend of grapes from three different vineyards. Specifically, it is 37% Sapphire Hill Vineyard Syrah, 33% Parsons’ Vineyard Syrah, and 30% Amber Ridge Vineyard Syrah. All of the vineyards are located between Fulton and Windsor on the west side of Highway 101. The blend consists of twenty-seven barrels with only 3 barrels being new. This allows the wine’s natural character to shine thru without the intrusion of too much oak.

The 2006 Novy Russian River Valley Syrah is smooth, rich, and concentrated. It shows layers of blackberry, juicy cherry, and plum flavors. Underlying it all is a backbone of minerals and anise with hints of tar and earth. This wine is plush enough to drink now (especially with some airing) but will certainly improve with 3 to 5 years in the cellar. Without doubt this is the finest Russian River Syrah we have thus far produced.

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