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Similar to our first two vintages, our 2004 Barbera possesses deep color, exotic fruit aromas, a juicy mouthfeel and zippy acidity. It will remind you of drinking an exciting modern-style Barbera from Piemonte. The wine’s low tannin and vibrant acidity make it extremely versatile with food. Shame on anyone who ages this wine longer than 2 years.

The wine was fermented in 4-ton open-top tanks. We drained a portion of the juice, a method commonly used in the Rhone called saignée, to intensify color and structure. The wine was racked only once to preserve fruitiness. As is done in Chateauneuf du Pape, we blended Syrah and Mourvedre for color, body and complexity. This wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered after 13 months in older, neutral French oak.

The method of obtaining the Grenache and Mourvedre juice for our Rose' was through saignee or bleeding juice from the tank of red must immediately after crushing. In order to make bone-dry Rose' we feel it is important to have a short skin contact to minimize tannins. The wine is fermented completely dry, and kept 5 months in a stainless steel tank until bottling. The malo-lactic fermentation was stopped half-way to preserve the natural fresh acidity.

We use standard modern fermentation techniques - after destemming and light crushing, the Sangiovese received a five-day cold soak. We inoculated with BM45 (Brunello) yeast and did aerative pump-overs during the ten-day fermentation in stainless steel tanks. To preserve Sangiovese's delicate fruity quality, we try to handle it as little as possible. It was racked only once during its life in French Oak barrels; 25% new.

Segromigno is a blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Barbera. We make this wine from our less structured, more fruit driven batches of Sangiovese, coming from the lower section of our hillside Sangiovese Grosso clone vineyard planted in 1992. The Barbera is grown on our creekside vineyard, planted in 1998. The 2004 vintage gave us very ripe flavors and slightly higher than normal acidity, due to some dehydration of the grapes. This resulted in a wine with jammy and spicy fruit with a crisp finish thanks to the acidity. The low to moderate tannin level makes Segromigno a no-brainer for daily use at the table.

This is clearly the most complex and concentrated Syrah we’ve ever made, which makes sense given the additional vineyard sources. It is darker, juicier and more aromatic than any previous vintage. You’ll recognize the classic Unti blackberry/smoked meat character, here, with this 2002, it is accented nicely by violets, lavender and raspberry liqueur. This full-bodied Syrah has excellent depth, richness and balance. The wine will age for 7 to10 years, though it won’t make it that long in my house.

Our "Little "Bro" syrah is everything you would expect from a younger sibling: easy going, and unpretentious. It is dark with sweet blackberry/raspberry fruit. Will it age? Very well... but who cares? Grip it and rip it.

While the Benchland Reserve will currently satisfy those of you who are longing for a full-throttle Unti Petite Sirah, in 4 to 6 years it should be much less audacious. In time, the oak will retreat to where it belongs (the background), in exchange for the wild Syrah aromas/flavors of bayleaf, blackberry and smoked meat; descriptors that have always been part of the wine’s vineyard pedigree. This is definitely one for the cellar.

Because we have such a great tradition of blending Petite Sirah into Zin here in Dry Creek, this wine will appeal to those fanatics of this appellation. It is quite dark, with jammy berry fruit with a touch of spice, and a warm, rich finish. It should improve from 2005 to 2006; then don’t waste anymore time and just drink the stuff.