Winemaker Notes
Les Titans pays tribute to the magnificent and enormous old growth redwood trees that surround Peay Vineyardsand play a vital role in creating the timeless magic of their place. Les Titans is the more muscular of their two estate Syrah featuring dark fruit, charcuterie, black pepper, leather and game. It is not a bruiser, however, with the refreshing acidity and brightness lending the wine grace and elegance. Les Titans is a blend of four of the six clones they grow on their eight steep, terraced acres each clone playing a key role in the blend’s profile.
Cold climate Syrah – like Peay Syrah – is really the red wine you want to drink when you head to your cellar for something that pairs well with food. It has the flavor profile that plays well with a piece of red meat (iron, blood, red and black fruits, herbal notes, high acid) while also being light enough on its feet to complement tomato dishes, fowl, pork, and roasted vegetables.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Estate Syrah Les Titans is made in a classic cool-climate style, with pure violet perfume that floats across fresh blackcurrant fruit, plus notes of aniseed, chargrill and earth. The medium-bodied palate is firm, fresh, pure and perfumed, with a long, layered finish. If you enjoy Syrah with more perfume and uplift than overt, ripe fruit, look no further than this. 275 cases were made.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.