2018 Caleta Syrah, Santa Cruz Mountains

Our first bottling since 2014. Sitting four miles from the cold Monterey Bay and tucked into a box canyon that fills and empties with fog every day, the microclimate could be considered too extreme to ripen Syrah. But try we must! Caleta will never be an every-year thing, but a welcome addition to our cellar on those vintages with drier, warmer springs when fruit set can occur. In 2018, all the stars aligned and we found ourselves picking fully ripe, remarkably clean Syrah on Halloween weekend! Fermented on 100% whole clusters and elevated with zero SO2 until bottling, this wine—savory and perfumed to the extreme—shows what is possible with coastal California Syrah.
AROMA
jerky, red peppercorn, raspberry pastille
FLAVOR
black plum, violet liqueur, Kalamata olive
PAIRINGS
anchovy-rubbed lamb chops, smash burgers, buffalo meatballs