Hedges Family Descendants Liegeois Dupont Red Mountain Syrah

Tasting notes
Dark purple, almost black color. Dried fig and blueberry compote. Chocolate cherry, black licorice and cinnamon spice. Just a hint smoke, leather and cocoa make for an interesting nose that you could smell for hours. The palate is rich and lush with flavors of earthy cocoa, blueberry pie and a pinch of cinnamon. The finish is long and very well structured. The Syrah from Hedges continues to make interesting and complex wines with a wonderful balance of concentration and immediate drinkability.

Production notes
Grapes are from Les Gosses Vineyard, which is in the Red Mountain AVA, and has both the Joseph Phelps and Tablas Creek clones. The wine was destemmed and partially crushed into stainless steel fermenters where it was pumped over twice daily until desired tannin extraction was achieved. It was then pressed to barrels where it underwent malo-lactic fermentation, then racked off lees and 100% barrel aged for 11 months in 40% new American and French oak.

Other notes
Harvest notes: 2013 was another excellent vintage in Washington State, made slightly unusual by 80 plus temperatures in April and 90 plus temperatures in May. This uncommon early season heat caused bud break and growth to be early and rapid, exceeding average by about ten days. An average summer meant veraison and harvest began early, which led to ripe fruit throughout the state. Once again, “average” in Washington is everyone else’s “great”.