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Overlooking the Estrella River, "brave oak" is exactly 4 miles north of highway 46 east and 4 miles east of "bunny slope" and 2 miles north of the Paso Robles airport. This remarkable vineyard is owned and farmed by Tony Domingos, a young vineyard maverick raised in Santa Maria whom I met in 1994 while working for Bob Steinhauer and Meridian Vineyards. With two rows of vines per terrace "brave oak" is planted with 1,922 vines per acre, which is very rare for Paso Robles. Vines are planted 3.5 feet apart. The 1.08-acre block has a north-south row orientation. The 0.47-acre block has an east-west orientation. These blocks are planted with the Estrella clone of syrah on 1103P. The soil at "brave oak" is a medium drained clay loam weathered from calcareous shale. These terraces contain a large amount of limestone below the topsoil. In 2003 yields were 33.5 hectoliters per hectare (2.79 tons per acre). Harvest was the 10th of September. The sugar content in the grapes was 26.3° brix (north-south terraces) and 30.0° brix (east-west terraces). The grapes were 100% destemmed. The grapes were 100% treaded by foot. The wine was fermented with 100% indigenous yeasts. Total maceration was 59 days (north-south terraces) and 74 days (east-west terraces) exactly two and three full moons after harvest. The wine from the north-south terraces was aged in 225-liter Seguin Moreau barrels 3 and 4 years old. And the wine from the east-west terraces was aged in new 225-liter Seguin Moreau barrels. In August of 2005 I declassified the new barrels into the 2004 "petite rousse" syrah. Total time in barrel was 28 months. The wine was racked barrel-to-barrel one time on the summer solstice in 2004. This wine was never pumped, acidulated, fined or filtered. This wine was bottled by hand via gravity on Clos Mimi's own equipment. There is no press wine in the bottle. Alcohol content is 15.8%. 100% syrah. Total production is 122 cases.

The 2001 Bunny Slope Vineyard was hand harvested 24 August at 25.1 degrees Brix, 4.10 pH, and 4.1 grams per liter tartaric acid (2.7 grams per liter sulfuric acid). Just a couple weeks before harvest started I fell in love with a newer two-acre hillside block surrounded by a deep ravine at Rabbit Ridge. Similar to the block harvested in 2000, this larger parcel was also planted 6' by 5' to the Estrella clone on 101-14Mg rootstock. Yields in 2001 were 5.7 pounds per vine or 4.1 tons per acre. The 2001 growing season was the warmest in Paso Robles since the 1997 vintage. Berry shrivel, tannin maturity, sugar accumulation, and an increase in pH of the grapes occurred earlier than all previous vintages of Clos Mimi. At the winery the grapes were completely destemmed into ½-ton macrobin fermentors. The must was sulphured immediately at 10 g/hL (e.g. 100 ppm SO2). The bins were treaded by foot exclusively during both the cold soak and fermentation. In accordance with nineteenth century French winemaking traditions, fermentation was performed by native yeasts without the addition of nutrients, tartaric acid, enzymes, or water. Once the individual fermentor reached 1.0 degrees brix the macrobin was sealed for extended maceration. After 37 days total maceration (e.g. two full moons after hand harvesting the grapes) the fermentors were gravity drained into a stainless steel tank. Likewise, barrels were gravity filled with this vin de goutte exclusively after 48 hours of settling. As in years past the press wine was sold off in bulk to minimize herbaceous and astringent tannins going to barrel. The 2001 Bunny Slope was aged in Seguin Moreau "Yquem" château traditional 225L barrels for 30 months (e.g. 44% new barrels). Three and four year old "Yquem" barrels were purchased from Dolce expressed for the 2001 Bunny Slope. Why switch to the "Yquem" barrel, one that is used extensively at Château d'Yquem in Sauternes? Extended élévage. As Marcel Guigal's La Landonne became more of a

Owned and farmed by Jane and Steve Sinton, "shell creek" is a very remote vineyard on the eastern plains of San Luis Obispo County. This vineyard is tucked in a saddle beneath large calcareous badlands formations. In 1999 "shell creek" planted a wee 0.97-acre block of syrah for Clos Mimi after selling me grapes from a nearby 4-acre block. Vines are planted 3.5 feet apart. Rows run southwest-northeast along a limestone syncline. This block is planted with the UCD#1 clone of syrah on 5C. The soil at "shell creek" is a well drained sandy clay loam with of truffle-sized chunks of white limestone hiding in the topsoil. In 2003 yields at "shell creek" were an amazing 27.2 hectoliters per hectare (2.19 tons per acre). Harvest was the 17th of September. The sugar content in the grapes was 26.7° brix. The grapes were 100% destemmed. The grapes were 100% treaded by foot. The wine was fermented with 100% indigenous yeasts. Total maceration was 74 days exactly three full moons after harvest. The 2003 "shell creek" was aged in 225-liter Seguin Moreau barrels 3 and 4 years old. Total time in barrel was 26 months. The wine was racked barrel-to-barrel one time on the summer solstice in 2004. This wine was never pumped, acidulated, fined or filtered. This wine was bottled by hand via gravity on Clos Mimi's own equipment. There is no press wine in the bottle. Alcohol content is 15.5%. 100% syrah. Total production is 72 cases.

Clos Mimi's only wine from the 2002 vintage comes from "white hawk vineyard," a vineyard containing 15-45% slopes located 18 miles from the winery. Jeff Newton planted this vineyard in 1998 on ancient sand dunes. Jeff farmed "white hawk" from 1998 thru 2002 and Clos Mimi had been on the waiting list for these grapes since 2000. The soil at "white hawk" is pure sand deposited over soft sandstone. The climate here is very cool thanks to the vineyard's proximity to the Pacific Ocean and Point Conception. Clos Mimi purchased grapes from a 1.29-acre block. Here vines are planted 5 feet apart. This block is planted with the UCD#6 clone of syrah on 140Ru. In 2002 yields were 25.6 hectoliters per hectare (1.64 tons per acre). Harvest was the 29th of October. Sugar content in the grapes was 24.0° brix. The grapes were 100% destemmed. The grapes were 100% treaded by foot. The wine was fermented with 100% indigenous yeasts. Total maceration was 51 days exactly two full moons after harvest. The wine was racked barrel-to-barrel one time on the summer solstice in 2003. Greatly inspired by Guigal's La Landonne, the 2002 Clos Mimi "white hawk vineyard" is my first syrah to spend 42 months in barrel and my first syrah to be aged in 100% new Seguin Moreau barrels. The wine was never pumped, acidulated, fined or filtered. The wine was bottled by hand via gravity on Clos Mimi's own equipment. There is no press wine in the bottle. Alcohol content is 14.5%. 100% syrah. Total production is 90 cases.

The 2005 vintage marks the fifth vintage of "petite rousse" Syrah. The 2005 "petite rousse" symbolizes the first vintage produced and bottled entirely at Clos Mimi's state-of-the-art winery and the second vintage to benefit from a cellar designed with multiple elements of feng shui. By channeling positive energy throughout the winery, I believe the 2005 "petite rousse" is the most aromatic vintage to date. Some of the credit goes to harvesting 94% of the grapes on "fruit days" per Maria Thun's biodynamic calendar. However, a little credit must go to playing hundreds of Bach, Beethoven, Bizet, Chopin, Corelli, Handel, Mozart, Pachelbel, Puccini, Satie, Tchaikovsky, Telemann, Uccellini, Vivaldi and Wagner compact discs literally day and night to the fermentors, the barrels and the bottling tank. Throw in a dozen or so Gregorian chant cds for the summer and winter solstices. Toss in two dozen Christmas cds for the month of December. Plus I keep several Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan meditation cds on hand for the days when I am stressed. I like to create a calming yet stimulating environment for "petite rousse" as well as for myself. Like a baby in the womb, my wines respond positively to classical music. I am the first to admit John Konsgaard is a mentor when it comes to playing 18 th and 19th century music in the cellar. Classical music gives the wine instant culture. It takes me back to France. Long days at Lynch-Bages in 1991. Long days in Vosne in 1856. And it takes me back to "La Bohème" in San Francisco with Mimi in 1993. I have seen amazing results exposing Maggie and Tristan to classical music both "in utero" and since birth! So why wouldn't Beethoven's Fifth Symphony help produce a Syrah with more memory of its vintage?