2022 Peay Vineyards West Sonoma Coast Syrah, West Sonoma Coast

We do not buy Syrah from other vineyards but grow six acres at our vineyard in the Annapolis–Sea Ranch region of the West Sonoma Coast. It is a bear to get Syrah ripe in a such cold, wet location but the flavor and structure found in our Syrah cannot be mistaken for any other place in the world. One of the main struggles, however, is yield. We hardly get a yield for Syrah which is typically a robust plant. Disease has been an issue and we started replanting Syrah in 2023 but even with healthier, non virus-ed plants our yields are half the average for Sonoma County. This is bad for my bottom line but good for quality! We make about 1,000 cases of Syrah split into three wines: Les Titans, La Bruma, and the West Sonoma Coast Estate. We make the Les Titans and La Bruma blends first, focusing on blocks and clones that represent the style of each wine. We make the blends without knowing potential case production, % new oak use, % whole cluster, nada. Keeps the finance guy and avowed oak hater (me) honest. (You would be amazed how often the least oaky tasting wines have the most oak, and vice versa.) Anyway, for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, only when we settle on the named Estate cuveés have we made the West Sonoma Coast blends. They often have many barrels from lots that go into the named Estate blends. These wines usually have softer tannins and plumper fruit expression and are readily approachable. What doesn't make a Peay West Sonoma Coast wine goes into a Cep bottling. Well, all the barrels of the 2022 Syrahs were such excellent examples of Peay Estate Syrah, we decided to make our first Peay West Sonoma Coast Estate Syrah. The green olive, meat, and new leather aromas on the nose sit on top of a plum and blackberry core of fruit. The wine is fresh and energetic and the tannins are supple making it approachable and enjoyable right now. I had a bottle with a juicy burger and the pairing was perfection.