Winemaker Notes
The grapes were picked by hand, sorted in the field. At the winery the grapes were hand sorted into a 5 ton open top redwood fermenter whole cluster. After pigeage (foot crushing), pump overs were done once a day for 10 days before pressing to tank for settling. The still fermenting wine was racked into old barrels for 16 months aging on lees, before getting racked for bottling. Unfined, unfiltered.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Stirm Miers-Kuenster Vineyard Syrah is appealing from start to finish. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows bright black fruit aromas and flavors. Serve it with grilled short ribs. (Tasted: June 22, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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.”
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.