Leitmotif x Satellite - 'Slide Hill Vineyard' - Syrah - Edna Valley, San Luis Obispo County, CA - 2018

The 2018 Syrah comes from the Slide Hill Vineyard in the cool reaches of Edna Valley. Planted in 2005 by Bob Linquist of Qupe, this site has been farmed biodynamically from its inception. Our Syrah grows on one of the steepest sections of the vineyard, in shaley, sandy loam soils. Distinctively cool-climate, this wine tends toward the peppery and savory end of the flavor spectrum for Syrah. Balanced, with integrated tannins and acidity, it is drinkable as a young wine but should age gracefully for many years. Fermentation with 100% stem- inclusion, and neutral oak aging provide tension and purity. This Syrah was allowed to ferment spontaneously, with native yeasts indigenous to the Slide Hill Vineyard, further showcasing the character of this unique terroir.

• Soil: Tierra loam, shale, quartz
• Grape: Syrah (100%)
• Clonal Selection: Estrella
• September 29, 23.8 Brix, 3.42 pH
• Fermentation: Spontaneous fermentation with native yeast lasting 16 days, after 3- day cold soak. 75% whole-cluster foot-stomped.
• Elévage: 18 months in neutral, large-format, French oak barrels
• 14% by volume
• Bottled unfined and unfiltered on May 1, 2020
• 80 cases produced

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Leitmotif is made by Stephen Searle, our friend and head winemaker at Jaffurs wine. The Leitmotif project is his personal passion project.

Designed to showcase and honor the most extreme, marginal, cool-weather sites in the county - all of the wines are grown pesticide free, naturally fermented, aged in neutral barrels, and are not filtered, fined, and only hit with minimal effective sulfites.