Back for 2008 is The Banshee, composed of 30% Mourvedre/ 26% Grenache/ 26% Syrah and 18% Alicante Bouschet. Once again this wine captures the essence of our vineyard without the limits of varietal expectations. This wine brings together the unique characteristics of each varietal in a seamless package. Generally speaking we ferment each varietal separately, but this year we opted to co-ferment the Mourvedre and Alicanted Bouschet. The result was a wine with beautiful color, with layers of cocoa and earth highlighted by wild floral notes. We then introduced at blending the bright fruit and silky mid palate of the Grenache and the blueberry, spice and round tannin of the Syrah. The wine was then aged for an additional 8 months after blending in a combination of once used Puncheons and Barriques. For those of you Banshee fans, the Alicante Bouschet was suffering from Leaf Roll Virus and had to be pulled. While this is the final farewell to the Alicante Bouschet, fear not The Banshee lives on!
With a blend of 80% Grenache from James Berry Vineyard and 20% Syrah from Torrin Estate Vineyard, the 2008 once again delivers. This wine always blows me away in its ability to be such a big expression of the varietal yet carry itself with almost feminine grace. Due to poor set in the spring of 2008, yields on both the Grenache and Syrah were in the 1.0 to 1.5 ton per acre range. For 2008 we opted to de-stem all of the fruit so no stems were included in the fermentation. The grapes underwent a 7 to 10 day cold soak until native yeast initiated fermentation. The wines were gently punched down over the course of ferment and basket pressed at dryness. the wines were then aged in 400L and 500L French Oak puncheons for approximately 14 months prior to bottling unfined and unfiltered. This wine will age gracefully over the next 7 to 10 years, but can certainly be enjoyed for all of its lush fruit in its youth.
I've always had a soft spot for Syrah. It is really the wine that got us here, and while it does well in a number of places, it truly shines in our little micro climate. Again 100% Syrah for 2008, we managed to keep a bit of our clone 174 from an incredibly high lime east facing hillside on our vineyard. This paired up with the clone 877 on our north facing hillside and the small, but potent, contribution from James Berry Vineyard had created what is certainly our sexiest Syrah yet. With incredible volume and texture the black fruits, spice and savory notes are an experience from the front of the palate long into the finish. Unlike previous vintages, we opted to de-stem all of the fruit. I felt the stems were too bitter and green so they were excluded from the fermentation. With long 10 to 14 day cold soaks and upwards of 5 week fermentations the wine is rich and dense. Our high lime soils and cool nights insure the grapes retain acidity, so while the wine is incredibly big it manages to stay fresh and balanced. Aged in 228L French Oak barriques for roughly 14 months and bottle aged for over one year the 08 Akasha is a beauty now, but will no doubt age gracefully for a decade or more.
A Maven is one who has "special" knowledge or experience. Grenache is without a doubt one of the most difficult wines to make. It takes a great deal of attention and an unwielding degree of patience both in the vineyard and in the winery. It is a winemakers wine. A wine you donÂ’t necessarily make, but rather confront each year. We are fortunate to have some of the most promising Grenache vineyards I have worked with both on our estate and at the esteemed James Berry Vineyard. While this certainly gets us started on the right foot we are weary of any claim of expert. The Maven is our tribute to the select group that have willingly risen to the challenge and emerged with expressions of geneous.
Akasha is a word that represents the belief in an element from which all other natural elements; earth, wind, fire, and water are derived. For us at Torrin, Syrah was the element that drew us into the Templeton Gap and what is now Torrin Vineyard. From that, Grenache, Mourvedre, and other Rhone Varietal based wines have gloriously emerged. Mother nature deals us a new hand each year so while it may not be 100% Syrah, Akasha has settled into our portfolio as our Syrah dominate blend.
A Maven is one who has "special" knowledge or experience. James Berry Vineyard is the result of lessons learned by sifting through dirt and rocks and reading vines rather than pages. Pebble and Justin Smith truly possess a special knowledge of the vines and the land that sustains them. We are fortunate to receive ½ acre of Grenache and ½ acre of Syrah from this spectacular vineyard. 65 cases produced.
