Âmevive - 'Ibarra-Young Vineyard' - Syrah - Los Olivos District, Santa Barabra, CA - 2023

Notes from the Winery/Importer

The friend you never want to go home. Caring, funny, inquisitive, genuine, and a little talkative. Ripe red fruits, subtle violets, some girth, some grip, this wine will age and cellar exceptionally well. The Syrah is part of the original planting at Ibarra-Young Vineyard, planted in 1971. It is own-rooted, it’s been farmed organically since 1993, and it’s possibly my favorite block-it certainly is the soul of the property! This Syrah block is located on a sandy loam slope in the most fertile section of the vineyard. These vines produce tight and dense clusters averaging the size of your palm. When they are ripe, the cluster’s dainty golden stems pop off with a small tug - you don’t even need sheers to harvest! The Syrah was harvested in three picks in order to gain depth, acidity, and layers of different tannin structures in the final wine. Considering the cool growing season, we were able to spread the picks out considerably. The first pick was harvested around 20.5B. The second pick was harvested a week later, and the third pick came in a week after that. All the picks were fermented 100% whole cluster ranging from 16 to 23 days on skins. The three lots were blended about a month before being bottled unfined and unfiltered in July of 2024 13.4% ABV 235 cases produced Regenerative organic grapes managed holistically, minimal effective sulfites

Notes on the Producer

Pronunciation: "ahm-veev" ​ ​Translation: soulful, lively soul, living soul ​ the emotional part of human nature; the seat of the feelings or sentiments. high-mindedness; noble warmth of feeling, spirit or courage. the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity and separate from the body; the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part.

We lease and farm the Ibarra-Young Vineyard in Los Olivos District A.V.A.

This vineyard was planted by Charlotte Young in 1971 and is still owned by her three daughters. Charlotte's right-hand man, Miguel Ibarra, Helped her plant the vineyard in 1971 and continued to work on the vineyard for more than 40 years. Today, we celebrate this duo by designating these 10 acres as the Ibarra-Young Vineyard.

Ibarra-Young Vineyard was one of the first vineyards planted in the Santa Ynez Valley and has so much soul you can feel it. The first 3 acres were planted in 1971 and 3 more acres were planted in 1973. In the late 90's and early 2000's Bob Lindquist completed Ibarra-Young's planted acreage with the "young" vines in the rockier section of the vineyard.

The vineyard is planted to Syrah and Mourvèdre planted in 1971, Marsanne planted in 1973, as well as suitcase clone Tempranillo and Graciano planted in the late 90's. Everything on the property is own-rooted and has been farmed organically since 1993. We began leasing and farming this special place at the beginning of 2020 and employ regenerative organic and biodynamic practices.
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Our goal is to rebuild an ecosystem of native species that live alongside our vine rows, regenerate soil health, and grow the highest quality grapes this site can give. We believe the best wine grapes are grown with minimal inputs and conscious vineyard management. We reject a systematic schedule for viticulture and farming in general. We believe that by working in conjunction with nature we can increase biodiversity and soil health, minimize unnecessary sprays, minimize tractor passes and compaction, decrease water use, and reduce our carbon footprint.

We look forward to taking you along on this journey of unconventional viticulture with us. We hope to convince you that with a lot of passion and hard work, world-class wines are made with minimal intervention in a vineyard that grows alongside a healthy living ecosystem.
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