Past Wines
-
Featured Wine
-
Tasting Notes
-
Technical Data
VIE Winery - 2006 “Les Amours” SyrahOnly 150 Cases Produced
This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on Indie Winemakers. Join our Mailing List (see at left) to be notified when a new featured wine is offered. |
 |
This week, Indie Winemakers is offering hand-crafted artisan wines produced by Tofanelli Family Vineyards. Both the Zinfandel and Charbono are from the same old vine (planted in 1929) vineyard managed by the Tofanelli's for 3 generations. Pick one or try both! Indie Winemakers has obtained a very small allocation for this featured wine. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
About the Vineyard
Tofanelli Vineyards has been family owned and farmed since 1929. Given the reputation of the vines and the limited production of the winery, Tofanelli vineyards sells some fruit to other wineries such as Turley, Spottswoode, Schrader, Orin-Swift, Neyers and Duckhorn.
Consisting mostly of Bale Series, gravelly loam, it drains well and doesn't retain nutrients. The effect is natural devigoration that results in smaller, more concentrated clusters of fruit. Wines produced from this site are organically grown and dry farmed. Rootstock includes St. George, 1103 Paulsen and 110 Rupestrus.
Summary of Tasting Event
The 05 Zinfandel was tasted on December 13, 2008 by a panel of 8 tasters in a blind tasting format and paired with Crown Roast Of Pork With Wild Rice Stuffing.
These magnificent dry farmed vines are a living testament to the unique combination of this old Zinfandel clone grafted to St. George rootstock. The result of this dry farmed effort is a powerfully built old vine zin. The initial taste is packed with pepper and rich raspberry jam. We found the wine to have a good structure of acid and fruit tannin on the finish.
We did not have the Charbono for the blind tasting. Dont forget to allow the wine to breathe and open up (maybe a splash decant) before consuming. This Zinfandel can be cellared for 2-5 years. The pork went well with this Zinfandel but the wild rice stuffing really brought out the best in the pairing. The Madiera wine sauce poured over the pork and rice also added nice acidity.
| Wine Profile Style | ||
| Light Bodied | Medium Bodied | Full Bodied |
| Drink Now (0-3 yrs) | Will Age (3-5 yrs) | Will Age (8-10 yrs) |
| Slightly Fruity | Fruity | Very Fruity |
| No Tannins | Softer Tannins | Heavier Tannins |
| Low Acidity | Medium Acidity | High Acidity |
| No Residual Sugar Dry | Off Dry | Sweet |
VIE Winery - 2006 “Les Amours” SyrahOnly 150 Cases Produced
This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on Indie Winemakers. Join our Mailing List (see at left) to be notified when a new featured wine is offered. |
|
Indie Winemakers' Tasting Notes
Our mission is to provide unbiased opinions of the wine being offered. These notes come from up to 10 guests who tasted this wine in a blind tasting format (wine is concealed so their identity is unknown). Why this format? Tasting blind completely throws out any hype associated with a certain winery, style, price point, etc; it forces the taster to accept what is in the glass without any predetermined notions. Our guests utilize Robert Parker's Glossary of Wine Terms for their comments for consistency purposes. In addition, we utilize the wine aroma wheel to enhance one’s ability to describe the complexity of wine flavor. Notes are posted on this wine during the tasting to ensure they accurately reflect the impressions.
Tasting Notes - 2006 “Les Amours” Syrah from VIE Winery
We were unable to taste this wine due to the limited production of this wine and timing of this promotion.
VIE Winery - 2006 “Les Amours” SyrahOnly 150 Cases Produced
This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on Indie Winemakers. Join our Mailing List (see at left) to be notified when a new featured wine is offered. |
|
Wine Technical Data |
|
| Blend | 87% Syrah, Thompson & White Hawk Vineyard, 12% Mourvèdre, Alta Mesa Vineyard, 1% Grenache, Alta Mesa Vineyard |
| Appelation | Thompson, White Hawk and Alta Mesa Vineyards in Santa Barbara County |
| Harvest Dates | Syrah: October 29 and November 4 2006; Mourvedre: October 14, 2006; Grenache: October 16, 2006 |
| Yeast | None, native wild yeast on grape skins |
| Fermentation | White Halk Syrah co-fermented with Viognier, half of the Syrah was fermented with a submerged cap and the other half using traditional punch downs. |
| Aging / Cooperage | 18 months in French Oak Barrels, 33% New |
| Alcohol | 14.5% by volume |
| Sugar at Harvest | Syrah 26.7 degrees Brix; Mourvedre 25.92 degrees Brix; Grenache 26.1 degrees Brix |
Technical Notes - 06 “Les Amours” Syrah
Thompson Vineyard Syrah comes from the Estrella River clone (also known as the Alban Hermitage clone). This clone of Syrah produces big meaty, leathery, earthy characteristics that I love, so I do not co-ferment this Syrah with Viognier like I do most others. In 2006, half of the Thompson Syrah was fermented with a submerged cap and the other half using traditional punch downs. All of our fermentations utilize native yeast to help us capture the true characteristics of each vineyard. A new medium toast Remond barrel from the Allier forest in France and the rest was aged in neutral French oak.
White Hawk Syrah comes from the Davis Clone 1 of Syrah and was co-fermented with 3% Viognier in 2006. half of the Thompson Syrah was fermented with a submerged cap and the other half using traditional punch downs. A new medium toast Demptos barrel from the Les Bertranges forest in France and the rest was aged in neutral French oak.
Alta Mesa Vineyard Mourvedre As in all of our wines, Mourvedre was sorted and destemed, but not crushed as we ferment whole berry. This often requires more aggressive punch downs during fermentation to break up the berries slowly, but, with Mourvedre, we take extra care not to aggressively punch down as the seeds of Mourvedre are very green and tannic and the berries have no problem breaking down during the fermentation process. Like our Grenache, all of our Mourvedre is aged in neutral oak barrels as to allow the fruit to purely come out on the palate.
The Grenache from Alta Mesa was almost perfect in 2006. Small berries, lose, small clusters. It almost looked like Pinot Noir. We did an extended cold soak on the Grenache and brought it up to temperature slowly for the fermentation. Aggressive punch downs where used at times when there was a lot of activity. Once dry, we extended the maceration for an additional five days. All neutral French oak barrels were used for aging.
Winemaker's Tasting Notes - 06 “Les Amours” Syrah
Our 2006 “Les Amours” Syrah has a rich dark red and black color in the glass with meaty, earthy note in the nose coupled with a bright white pepper spice. On the palate, this wine show nice black cherry fruit and asian spices with a balanced structure and good acidity and tannins that extend a long, elegant finish in the mouth. Cellar this wine for 1-2 years and enjoy it for 8-10 more years.
About Vie Winery
Vie uses traditional “old world” family winemaking techniques to ensure that the unique qualities of the grapes are reflected in the wine, thus making each bottle a unique drinking experience. While these techniques take more time and produce less wine, the end result is a wine that can be enjoyed now as well as cellared for many years to come.
Vie comes from the Old French word meaning "to invite" or "to give occasion for". Or, in French today, it is simply translated "Life". With friends, with experiences, with everyday life – get the most out of life! We at Vie Winery embrace this philosophy and hope that you can experience this through our wines. Make an occasion to enjoy Vie with friends. Enjoy Vie! Enjoy Life.