Bonny Doon Syrah Le Pousseur 2004

What's so funny about peace, love and whole cluster fermentations? Whether due to an evolution of our vinification techniques, which favor longer skin contact and the inclusion of more whole clusters, or a turn of the thermostat to the left, we seem to have rendered a very serious and, perish the thought, authentic syrah. One strongly senses that the Northern Rhône is not terroir incognito to this wine. The expanded employment of whole cluster fermentations has endowed the wine with more and richer tannins, smoky meatiness and a clear ping! of wintergreen. Additionally, with the 2003 vintage we drop the fairly generic "California" tag now that we are operating under the aegis of the Central Coast appellation with the exclusion of a particular lot of grapes from the rough and tumble [and bloody scorching] inland side of the Altamont Pass. While the inclusion of whole clusters has served to augment the size and structure of the wine, the use of only coastal, cooler climate fruit preserves the nuance and complexity which allows one to daydream without guilt of sexy, well proportioned, and sophisticated côtes blondes et brunettes.