Kale "Broken Axle" Stagecoach Vineyard Syrah 2013
(Napa Valley, California) - [RP 92] [WS 90] [WE 90]

Notes From the Winemaker:
Grapes were hand - harvested and arrived at the winery at dawn. Once received, the grapes were sprinkled with dry ice to keep c old and protect from oxidation. Syrah grapes (15% whole - cluster) were gravity - fed to a stainless steel open top fermenter. A significant saignée was taken to concentrate the fruit. Gentle pump - overs extracted what we needed during the co - fermentation, and we pressed when primary fermentation was complete. Secondary fermentation finished natively by spring 2014. The wine was aged without racking for 20 months in neutral Taransaud 225L barrels, and one 500L puncheon. Bottled unfined and lightly filtered.

Analysis:
Composition: 95% Syrah, 5% Grenache
Alcohol: 16.1%
Production: 150 cases

Tasting Notes

Intensity. The aroma matches the color with asphalt, fresh blackberries, and slate. This is the plushest wine to date with fig compote and crème - de - cassis. The exposure at 1500’ on Pritchard Hill smooth e s the tannins into a cacao - like texture. A wide mid - palette gains momentum through the finish. Nuance of white pepper minerality holds together the tight core of this wine suggesting age - ability like other wines from this region.

Ratings & Reviews

92 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"From the Napa Stagecoach Vineyard the 2013 Broken Axle Stagecoach Vineyard is a blend of 95% Syrah (15% whole-clusters included) and 5% Grenache from John Alban’s clone in Arroyo Grande. The clone is believed to have been taken from the famous Château Rayas Vineyard in Châteauneuf du Pape. The wine was bottled unfined, but slightly filtered, after having spent 20 months in puncheons and smaller Taransaud barrels. A rich wine made with the Syrah and Grenache fermented together, there is no doubt about the heftiness and punch of this wine, although it is not hot. It finishes at 16.1% alcohol. The wine exhibits blackberry and cassis fruit, spring flowers, a touch of pepper and lavender. It is a sexy, lush, hedonistic style of wine to drink over the next 7-8 years." - Robert M. Parker, Jr. (28th Oct 2016)

90 Points - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"Ripe but well-balanced, with black cherry and dusty herb aromas and layered flavors of smoky raspberry, white pepper and licorice. Syrah and Grenache. Drink now through 2026. 150 cases made." - TF (Web Only - 2016)

90 Points - Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
"This is serious, ripe wine at its most heady and extreme, a gripping, fleshy wine that's dusty and tight in leathery black fruit and pepper, a gaminess lurking in its hinterlands. The addition of 5% Grenache adds plushness and lifts the blackberry and notions of fig compote." - Virginie Boone (10/1/2016)