Lafond Winery 2006 SRH Syrah
The ‘SRH’ designation on the Lafond label signals Winemaker Bruce McGuire’s intent to blend a selection of vineyards located in the Santa Rita Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area). Located in the western end if the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Rita Hills is a cold climate region where grapes benefit from a very long growing season.
After the bountiful 2005 harvest, the Syrah vines rested a little. Between the smaller harvest and Bruce’s strict selection criteria from within our vineyard and the neighboring Hill Top Ranch Vineyard, the production of the 2006 was down by 550 cases. The wine shows the beginnings of being a big Syrah needing time to integrate in the bottle to show off the concentrated fruit and intense flavors.
Bruce’s selection of seventeen vineyard lots from multiple Syrah clones has really paid off in a powerful expression of fruit from aroma to finish. He then aged the wine in a blend barrels to give the wine layers of complexity and texture. This Syrah shows the “cool-climate” character found in Syrah grown in the Santa Rita Hills. Flavors are marked by forward dark berry, violets, and terrific white pepper spice intensity.
This wine will nicely integrate in the bottle before early 2009 and will continue to be very impressive into 2012. One of our favorite wines for pairing with hearty fare and grilled foods, this wine is also fun to match with cheese such as Taleggio.
Twelve miles east of Lafond Vineyards in Los Olivos, Joughin Vineyard proved the perfect spot for this varietal, named after the Primitivo vines grown in the Pulgia region of Italy, and now known to be genetically identical to Zinfandel. This sultry wine represents the region’s warmer climate with a fruit-forward nose, plump brambleberry and spicy black pepper overtones. The 2005 vintage offer high yields and extended barrel time (16 months) in French/American oak added to the wine’s pronounced length and density. A definite date with Mr. Lambshank, this wine also pairs well with Italian foods such as Tuscan beef and linguine marinara and a wide range of cheeses. $23.00/750 ml.
This Southern Rhone varietal from Lafond Vineyards in the Sta. Hills AVA is ready for its close up. Long known as a blending grape, its low yields of the 2005 vintage (5 tons from 2 acres) produced a plump, meaty wine with bright acidity and smoky bacon and spicy oak overtones. Planted in the warmest swath of Lafond’s cool-climate vineyard, McGuire believes this grape has great potential as a stand-alone vintage best served with pizza, spicy Indian or Thai or a thick rib eye on the barbeque. $22.00/750ml
Located in the western Santa Ynez Valley, the Santa Rita Hills AVA is an ideal environment for growing intensely flavored full-bodied Chardonnay.
This limited bottling of Chardonnay is grown in a two acre, low vigor section of the Lafond Vineyard’s 6 acre Wente Clone Block that was planted in 1976.
Winemaker Bruce McGuire jumped at the chance to make his first Nebbiolo back in 1998 when a small amount became available from the Stolpman Vineyard out in Ballard Canyon. Bruce did not get a chance to make a second edition until this 2004 vintage when a small amont was available from this vineyard, a vineyard rapidly gaining a good reputation for Italian varieties.
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