2015 Domaine des Chirats Syrah
A Yves Cuilleron Collaboration
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The 3rd vintage of our Rockpile Syrah "collab" with my dear friend and fellow vintner Yves Cuilleron of the Northern Rhône.
The saying "third time's a charm," is exactly what this wine has turned out to be. Each year I feel Yves and I keep fine tuning what we want to achieve with this block of fruit. Each year I see a wine with more freshness and sense of place.
Why This Wine?
It is the oldest block of Syrah at Rockpile (RP) Vineyard. After making this Syrah for many years as the 'Haley' bottling, I decided to try a new project. This time, I wanted to work with another of my winemaking heroes, Yves Cuilleron of Côte-Rôtie. I met Yves in 1998 at Hospice du Rhône in Paso Robles. Yves and I wanted to take this Syrah in a different direction than what I had been making, so we did.
The original budwood came directly from Hermitage in the northern Rhône and was planted soon after. To really appreciate how different Domaine des Chirats is from the other RP Syrahs I make, you really need to taste them side-by-side. I also encourage you try it alongside a bottle of Yves Cuilleron Côte-Rôtie to see how our two styles come together.
Domaine des Chirats is translated in old French to "home of the pile of rocks". What a fitting name for this special wine.
Vineyard Information
At 2010 ft. elevation, our vineyard sites that we source from are rocky, and stressed. This gives me amazing fruit to make our Rockpile Vineyard Syrahs.
This is the oldest block of Syrah at Rockpile Vineyard. The original budwood came directly from Hermitage and was planted soon after.
After making this Syrah for many years and using it in the 'Haley' bottling, I decided to try a new project. This time, I wanted to work with another of my winemaking heroes, Yves Cuilleron of Côte-Rôtie. Yves and I wanted to take this wine in a different direction then what I had been making.
To really appreciate how different this wine is from the other Rockpile Syrahs I make, one needs to taste them side by side. I also recommend tasting it along side a bottle of Yves' Côte-Rôtie, helps to see and taste how the two styles come together.
I started Jeff Cohn Cellars with the help of my mother, Iris. One adorns the label as a tribute to her.
Appellation: Rockpile
Vineyard: Rockpile, sustainably farmed, vines planted in 1998
Planted at 2010-ft. elevation of granite, loam, clay, quartz, it's the heaviest, rockiest, and steepest vineyard at Rockpile. This elevation puts more stress on the vines producing thick-skinned and small berries. The granite adds a mineral backbone to the weight that the clay creates in the wine.
Learn More About Rockpile Vineyard
Vinification: 100% Syrah
The fruit is hand-picked then cold-soaked. I gently foot-stomp the fruit of which 30% is whole cluster, the rest is whole berry and de-stemmed. None is crushed. The wine goes through open-top, then 100% Malolactic fermentation and aged 18 months in large-format 30% new French oak and 70% neutral French oak barrels.
FedEx Ground:
$.01 12+ 750 mL bottles
$15 1 - 11 750 mL bottles
$15 per magnum
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96 Jeb Dunnuck — A collaboration with Yves Cuilleron in France's northern Rhône Valley, the 2015 Syrah Domaine des Chirats Rockpile Vineyard is a sensational, rich, layered Syrah that does everything right. Crème de cassis, blueberries, smoked meats, white flowers and exotic spices all flow to a full-bodied, powerful Syrah that would be a dead-ringer for a top Hermitage. It's certainly not for those craving lightweight aromas and flavors, but it has extraordinary purity, awesome depth of fruit, and a great, great finish.
93+ The Wine Advocate — The 2015 Syrah Domaine des Chirats Rockpile Vineyard is deep garnet-purple colored with quite a savory nose of smoked meats, tapenade, truffles and cardamom over a core of crushed blackberries, crème de cassis and blueberry pie with wafts of mocha and dried herbs. Full-bodied with tons of vivacious black fruits in the mouth, it has a plush texture and oodles of freshness, finishing very long and savory.