Melville Estate Syrah Santa Rita Hills 2022

Profile & Story

Melville Vineyards & Winery is an estate winery in the Santa Rita Hills that farms its vineyards organically, crafting its wines by hand in small batches to let the purity of the fruit shine through. The 2022 Estate Syrah is sourced exclusively from Melville's Sta. Rita Hills estate and blends five different Syrah clones — Estrella, Beaucastel 99, 1, 383 and 470. The Estrella, 383 and 470 clones grow on nutrient-poor, well-drained sand that lends an intoxicating, high-toned bouquet of white pepper, flowers and spice, while Clone 99 from Block I sits on denser sandy loam soil that contributes depth and richness. The fruit, from 26-year-old vines yielding 2.75 pounds per vine (2.5 tons per acre), was harvested mid to late November and fermented with 60% of the clusters gently de-stemmed and 40% left whole, in small 1.5-ton open-top fermenters. Total skin and stem contact averaged 35 days, comprising a seven-day cold soak, more than two weeks of fermentation and over two weeks of extended maceration. From the press, the wine went directly into neutral, 15-plus-year-old French oak barrels, where it rested sur lie without sulfur until August, when it was gently pressure-racked for the first time ahead of bottling in September 2023. Alcohol is 13.8%, and production totaled 1,046 cases.

Pairing Recommendation

This wine pairs well with an array of hard cheeses or roasted rack of lamb.