2020 Lindquist Family "Sonnie's" Syrah
Lindquist 2020 Syrah – Sawyer Lindquist “Sonnie’s”
This wine is 100% Syrah from the Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard in the Edna Valley. This is a vineyard that Louisa and I planted in 2005 on gravelly, clay loam hillsides in a cool climate site about 5 miles from the ocean. The vineyard was Demeter Certified Biodynamic in 2009, and this wine carries that certification as well.
2020 was a warmer than normal vintage here on the Central Coast. These grapes were harvested on October 1st and 2nd, about 2 weeks earlier than normal. It came from two different sections and two different Syrah clones, Estrella and Alban. It was fermented in a small open top fermenter with 50% whole clusters.
After pressing, the wine was racked into Ermitage French oak barrels, 2/3 new oak and 1/3 one year old barrels. It was aged for the first year in these barrels before racking, blending and returning to neutral oak for an additional 8 months. 4 barrels, 96 cases, were bottled without fining or filtration in July 2022.
This wine is always the most elegant of our single vineyard Syrahs and is named after my mother Sonnie, who left this world in November 2022. It is a bittersweet release due to her passing…and it’s the last Syrah that I made from this vineyard, as it was sold in January of 2021.
The aromas show black fruits such as berries and plums, with white pepper and coriander. Coming from the warm 2020 vintage, this wine is drinking nicely already, but will benefit from 8-12 years of additional bottle age.
Bob Lindquist
July 2023
*95 points Antonio Galloni Vinous
*94 points The Wine Enthusiast 'Cellar Selection'
*94 Jeb Dunnuck
