This wine is made from two of our higher elevation Syrah sites. We thought that they expressed the racy aromatics of the Syrah grape that reminded us of Côte Rôtie. We are bottling these two sites together as a special treat for those that appreciate the finesse that Syrah can achieve. The 2014 vintage yielded rich, profound and opulent wines. Two of these higher elevation vineyard sites are over 3,000 feet where it generally stays moderate and cooler in the summer, as in 2014. One site has soil that is granitic in origin and one site has soil that is volcanic in origin. These sites are geographically across the Mokelumne River Canyon from one another. They ripened both early and late in 2014 (September 10th and October 1) due to crop loads. Every year, these vineyards are mature at lower sugar levels. These up-slope lots have a lot of finesse and express the wonderful meaty, white pepper nuances of Syrah, while still retaining some of the smoky, spicy qualities of the grape. Our artisan cellar techniques include fermentation in small lots, native and special yeast strains, manual-punch downs, gentle transfers and pressing, and barrel aging for 20 months in French oak (33% new), prior to bottling the wine unfiltered.