2019 Lindquist Family "Sonnie's" Syrah
This wine is 100% Syrah from the Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard in the Edna Valley. It is a barrel selection of the most elegant and aromatic barrels that the vintage offered. The wine is named after my mother Sonnie, who unfortunately left this world on November 12, 2021 at the age of 90.
The Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard was planted in 2005 and from the beginning has been farmed using Biodynamic practices. In 2009 we got the vineyard Demeter Certified, and this wine carries that designation.
2019 was an outstanding vintage here on the Central Coast, a long cool growing season with ideal weather during Harvest. The grapes for this wine were hand harvested on October 10th at a perfect 24.0° brix, 3.47 pH and 6.5 total acidity. Fermentation was done in small open top fermenters using 50% whole clusters, and manual punch downs twice a day.
The wine was aged for 22 months in barrel…the first year in 67% new Ermitage barrels, the last 10 months in neutral barrels. Only 3 barrels (72 cases) were bottled, without fining or filtration, in August 2021. We also bottled a few cases of magnums.
This is one of the finest Syrahs I’ve made…classic cool climate structure with aromas of black pepper, cardamom, dried raspberries and spicy oak. On the pallet, there is abundant fruit that is perfectly balanced with fresh acidity and tannins. This is a wine for the cellar…you won’t be unhappy enjoying it now, but if you can be patient, and wait at least 5-10 years, you’re patience will be rewarded.
Cheers, Bob Lindquist
February 2022
*94 points Wine Enthusiast
*92 Year's Best US Rhone Varieties Wine & Spirits
