Mueller Block Eleven Syrah 2003

This is a delicious, distinctive and decadently fruit laden wine. Intense aromas of blackberry, black cherry and mocha are echoed in rich and supple flavors. Toasted oak, vanilla and caramel flavors pipe in on the complex, smooth finish. While immensely enjoyable now, this wine will continue to age beautifully and gain in complexity over the next eight to ten years

The 2003 Block Eleven Syrah is produced from a single block in a vineyard near the banks of the Russian River. The vineyard is located on a well drained, gravelly site less than one mile from the Russian River. This vineyard experiences the full impact of the cooling fog which travels up its banks. The fruit is harvested in the cool morning hours and transported to the winery (about 15 minutes away) for crushing into the winery's small, two-ton custom designed fermenting tanks. A portion of juice is fermented using pure strain yeast. The balance ferments spontaneously with wild (indigenous) yeast. During fermentation, they punch down the cap by hand several times each day to gently extract the grapes flavors and aromas. The wine is aged in French oak barrels, of which about 50% is new.