2 Brothers Big Tattoo Syrah 2005

This wine comes from two brothers, Alex, a wine importer, and Erik, a tattoo artist, who wanted to pay homage, in a non-serious way, to their late mother who suffered from cancer. They decided to label and bottle their own wine and donate the proceeds to a good cause. With their combined talents and effort, they created Big Tattoo Red. For every bottle sold, 50 cents was originally donated to Capital Hospice in Arlington, Virginia, and a breast cancer research foundation in the name of Liliana S. Bartholomaus.

Donations have since expanded to include 501(c)3 organizations benefiting the communities in which the wine is sold. Introduced after the success of Big Tattoo Red, Big Tattoo Syrah has helped increase donations from Big Tattoo Wines to over $940,000.

The vineyards are located in Colchagua, in the Central Valley. Vineyard management is ecologically friendly. The vines are vertically-trellised and yields are controlled in order to maximize the quality of hand-picked fruit.

Rich, with lots of dark currant and boysenberry fruit and muscular tannins. Layers of bittersweet cocoa, coffee and game are here too, and they all run through the lengthy, muscular finish.