Tasted side by side with the 2013 vintage. Deep purplish red. A bit floral on the nose with some cedar, blackberries and quite a bit of spices. Sweet and heavy tannins (7/10) and full bodied. Nice complexity on the palate with blackcurrants, blackberries, sweet spices, woody, a bit gamey and dark crushed gravel. A bit of red berries with some time. Long and lingering finish.

The Stagecoach Vineyard spans across one portion of Napa Valley that crosses Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley and Atlas Peak. Both the Syrah and Grenache sourced are Alban clones planted at an elevation of around 1500'. The soils are red Hambright complexes with Guenoc outcroppings. Hambright soil complexes are very shallow and drain well. Guenoc outcroppings mean that there is some soil/rock composition similar to the soil and rocks from the Guenoc Valley AVA just north of Calistoga. These vines also produce very low yields and resulted in extremely small black berries with intense flavors.

This specific bottling is a blend of 69% Syrah and 31% Grenache. The Syrah (10% whole-cluster) and Grenache were gravity fed into an open top stainless steel fermentor. A significant amount of Grenache is saignéed in order to concentrate the juice. Only native yeast was used. Gentle pushdowns were used to extract during the co-fermentation. Aged without racking for 20 months in neutral French oak barrels. Unfined and unfiltered. Only 301 cases produced and 14.8% alcohol.

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