May 2007 Wine Tasting Notes.
2003 Cold Heaven Cellars, Syrah - Second Sin, Santa Barbara County.
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Dark purple-red in color. The nose of this wine begins with medium intensity dusty dark bramble, and anise/licorice followed by light aromas of warm brown spice. Notes of pomegranate, blueberry and oak are accented by hints of vanilla and leather. In the mouth, medium intensity bramble (blackberry and boysenberry) spill on the palate. Full bodied, this Syrah is chewy with lightly dusty and supple tannins. Nice bright acids A lingering finish of bramble follows. |
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13.5% Alcohol $35.00 Retail (from winery); 240 cases produced |
Juicy and structured, with very good definition. The acids are lively and bode well fro longevity. Well-toned with enough tannins and character to cut through heavier dishes. Put this one away for 2 to 3 years and enjoy with big red meats well into 2013. |
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| Supplemental/Repeat tasting: None. | ||
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More Cold Heaven Cellars reviews. More on the Santa Barbara County AVA |
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Detail: Production | Producer | Vineyard | Grapes | Vintage
A blend of Syrah from three separate vineyards: Bien Nacido Vineyard, La Purisima Mountain Vineyard and Vogelzang Vineyard. This represents a spectrum of climates in Santa Barbara County (coolest to warmest, in the order as above). Fruit from each vineyard was initially fermented and brought up separately. The Purisima Mountain and Vogelzang lots were blended together after the first raking. The Bien Nacido lot was added at a later point. The wine spent two years in barrel and year in bottle.
Morgan Clendenen believes in making wine for her own palate with the hope that people with similar palates will gravitate to her label. The staple of her production is Viognier. Morgan sources fruit from Bien Nacido, Beckmen’s La Purisima, Sanford & Benedict, Le Bon Climat, Vogelzang, and vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills. She says that, stylistically, she seeks to make the wine fit a style and profile rather than letting the fruit dictate the direction of the finished wine. This style, in addition to crisp acidity, is made to have no residual sugar. Cold Heaven wines are priced according to complexity - with fruit from the older vines being more pricy. She takes a minimalist approach with no new oak – for the most part using neutral barrels. In the future, look for a Cold Heaven Roussanne bottled as a varietal and not blended with other varieties.
The Bien Nacido Vineyard is one of Santa Maria Valley's oldest vineyard sites, planted in the 1970's by brothers Bob and Steve (now deceased) a year after the purchase of the property. The land grant where the vineyard is located dates back to 1837. As Nicholas Miller says: "A great full circle though, is that the land grant and the adobe on the ranch belonged to the family of James Ontiveros (our director of sales), eight generations back. He now has Rancho Ontiveros across the valley with his own label - Native 9". The nearly 900 acre vineyard has over 720 acres of fruit in production and bears one of the most formidable reputations in the area with its fruit being sought out by many wine makers. Bien Nacido Vineyard is also one of the major viticultural nurseries for certified varietal budwoods. There are now 3 wineries on the ranch: Qupe and Au Bon Climat, Tantara and Ambullneo. The Vineyard sits on the Santa Maria Bench - the northern bank of the Santa Maria River, at the foot of the San Rafael Mountains. Reaching elevations of 1000 feet, the vineyard has a number of microclimates - from cool to warm enough to grow Merlot. The northwestern portion follows a canyon into the San Rafael Mountains along the Cuyama River. One of the westernmost vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley, the vineyard enjoys southwestern sun exposure and is subject to marine influences from the Pacific Ocean just 17 miles to the west. Morning and evening fogs cool the vines while the vineyard's location on the sloping Santa Maria bench gives it some protection form the strong winds blowing through the Santa Maria Valley. The soils of the vineyard are rather varied: well-draining sandy loam, chalk and sedimentary rock. Vines are being currently re-oriented in a north-south orientation to optimize sun exposure and thereby replace the original east-west arrangement. In addition, vine density has been doubled with planting of rows between the previously 12-foot spaced rows. At this time, almost all usable land is under vine, planted to U.C. Davis - certified virus-free vines. Varieties at Bien Nacido include: some 300 acres of Chardonnay, 250 acres of Pinot noir, as well as Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Roussanne, Tocai Friulano, Viognier (10 acres), Barbera, Merlot (30 acres), Nebbiolo, Petit Verdot, Refosco and Syrah (just over 28 acres). Because over 50 producers rely on Bien Nacido for quality fruit, the vineyard custom farms allotted blocks per specifications of individual producers.
The 365-acre La Purisima Mountain Vineyard was purchased, unplanted in 1996. With elevations reaching 1250 feet, the hillside vineyard in the Ballard Canyon area of the Santa Ynez Valley, is situated some 20 miles east of the Pacific Ocean and just southwest of the town of Los Olivos and neighbors the Stolpman Vineyard. The climate of the south-facing vineyard is subject to the marine influence of the ocean to the west, with morning fog and ocean air cooling the vines in the afternoons. It is also the combination of 1-3 foot deep top soils and limestone that make the vineyard a desirable site. Vine roots cannot easily penetrate limestone. This forces them to make the best of the thin topsoil. This "stress" results in smaller vines, lower yield and greater concentration of flavors. In these conditions, Tom and Steve Beckmen grow: Grenache blanc (0.6 acre), Marsanne (3.5 acres), Roussanne (3.6 acres), Sauvignon Blanc (8.75 acres), Cabernet Sauvignon (15.6 acres) Grenache (just under 7 acres), Grenache noir (18.4 acres), Mourvedre (4.7 acres) and Syrah (55 acres). The various lots of the large vineyard is managed individually.
The 82-acre Vogelzang Vineyard sits in the warmest part of Santa Barbara - Happy Canyon at the foot of the San Rafael Mountains and the Los Padres National Forest. This is the eastern-most end of the Santa Ynez Valley - east of highway 154. The vineyard is one of several off Happy Canyon Road just northeast of Lake Cachuma. It is common for temperatures to exceed 100 degrees for extended periods during the day at Vogelzang Vineyard. This location receives short-lived early morning fog which burns off earlier than in any part of the Santa Ynez Valley. That makes for greater duration of high temperatures. A marine wind cools the area in the late afternoon allowing the vines to rest overnight. It is this climate that makes Vogelzang Vineyard well suited to growing Bordeaux varietals and warm-weather Rhône grapes. The vineyard soils are rocky, gravely loam having been deposited by a landslide - before recorded history in the area. This soil is well draining and encourages development of concentrated fruit. It is the combination of climate and soils that have been the foundation for wine growers in the area to pursue AVA certification. Planted in in 1997 by Mary Beth Vogelzang, the vineyard produces Cabernet franc, Cabernet sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Syrah, Roussanne, Sauvignon blanc and Viognier. To further capitalize on the conditions in the vineyard, there have been efforts underway since 2003 to replant the vineyard with higher density. High density spacing further reduces the nutrients and resources available to individual plants and results in better quality fruit with better structure and concentration.
Syrah is an ancient variety proven by DNA analysis (in part at U.C. Davis) to be a native of the northern Rhône region of France. Prior to this evidence, its origin was disputed between the Rhône region and that around the Persian city of Shiraz – hence the two names for the grape. Syrah gives tannic and spicy red wines with significant longevity. Because of its weight, it contributes body and structure to blends with the softer, fruitier Grenache and Mourvèdre. It was first planted in California in 1971 from cuttings from the Hermitage appellation in northern Rhône and Australian Shiraz cuttings (which are said by some to be of Hermitage origin themselves). Current reports indicate total California Syrah acreage to be approaching 13,000 acres. The thick-skinned, very darkly pigmented grapes give inky, deep colored wines described as violet or nearly black. Syrah is very tannic, rich, chewy and textured and is typified by high alcohol and a spice-over-fruit character. The latter tends to be more accentuated in cooler climates where the grapes develop a higher skin-to-pulp ratio. Syrah typically shows black (sometimes white) pepper, licorice, clove, thyme and bay leaf as part of its spice component. The dark fruit typically expressed are blueberries, black currants and blackberries. Syrah may also show cedar or sandalwood notes. As with just about all wines, bottle age brings out terroir and cedar, tobacco, earth and leathery notes.
The 2003 year was marked by climatic challenges that kept growers and vineyard managers on their toes. Reported early bud break, rain during fruit set and August heat were part of the 2003 roller coaster but at harvest time, temperatures became moderate. Despite the ups and downs, the resulting crop was one of particularly dense and flavorful fruit. Read More
Rating
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Color |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Nose |
4 points |
(5 points max) |
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Palate |
3 points |
(5 points max) |
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Finish |
4 points |
(5 points max) |
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Astringency/Minerality |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Acidity |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Alcohol |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Aging potential |
3 points |
(5 points max) |
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Overall quality |
9 points |
(10 points max) |
Cumulative Score:92
Rating System & Scoring Criteria explained
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