Coldest Syrah Vnyd in Calif??

Just got an e-mail from BruceNeyers (now Trinchero Family) in which he states (without supporting data) that Garys’ is the coldest Syrah vnyd in Calif.
My guess would be (based on the taste of the wines) would be Stolo/Cambria. Or QueSyrah. Or Peay. Or Bassetti. Or Hudson/LasMadres. Or Ehren Jordan.
Anybody have any real hard facts??
I have no hard data but…hey… I’m a LosAlamos guy… we can come up with definitive conclusions based on zero data points!!
Tom

The wines I’ve had certainly don’t come across that way, but coldest can be defined several ways, and none of them tell the whole story. (What about sunlight, diurnal shift, temps as harvest approaches rather than looking at the whole season, etc. etc.?)

A good example is how some Santa Rita Hills growers like to talk about how cool their climate is. Maybe Sea Smoke, Brewer-Clifton, and many others didn’t get the message.

And would suggest that Presidio/Melville and BienNacidio might be in that mix.
Degree-days might be the easiest measure.
Tom

Interesting topic. Based on taste alone, I some ideas, I would be curious to find out the correct answer.

McEvoy Ranch?

Then again, in 2011 I got Ascona Vyd. Syrah on the under-ripe side Nov.13th (before an extended rainstorm). It’s got a very similar aspect as the Chaine d’Or Vineyard, which Stefania always picked in November and thought the coldest CS site in CA. Anyway, I’d be looking around the coast-side Santa Cruz Mountains for candidates.

Halcon is cool and really lags in ripening, so that’s another good candidate to look at.

Halcon Vineyards (Alturas)?

Yup, Wes. Forgot about McEvoyRanch.
Never had a Syrah from AsconaVnyd. Should I??
Tom

For wine growing it’s the only valid measure IMO. Not, for example, who has the coldest days. That’s weather, not terroir.

I would think Halcon Vineyard would trump them all. Paul could give us figures. It snows there regularly.

Peay?

What a weird claim.

Maybe John Cabot or Andrew Morris will see this thread. I think most of the Humboldt vineyards are up the valley far enough they wouldn’t qualify. There might be something towards the coast though.

What exactly does “coldest” mean? Lowest single temp yearly? Lowest average? Most days below a certain temp? Could mean many things.
I would bet that some Sierra Foothills sites would be in the running, in any case.

It goes to Madson, the '16 was the best carbonic maceration wine I’ve had. (That’s Cole Thomas, pictured in the SCMV article.) Looks like the '18 is sold out. Maybe check K&L, since they’ve carried his wines. (The site has been down all day. Grrr…)

Didn’t like the Martella Syrah from there, but his Sangios and SBs from there were the best CA examples I’ve had of those grapes. It’s a great site. I was going to go back for grapes in '12, but Michael Martella bought everything - there’s several more varieties. That was because it’s on the ridge top above their (Fogarty’s) Gist Vyd. Ken Swegles (The other young 'un in the SCMV article) took over managing and has some prestigious wineries sourcing various stuff and put in a big new block on a purdy steep slope.

From the Madson site:

Located at the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Ascona Vineyard has only 3 rows of Syrah planted. The Syrah is cooled by onshore winds, promoting a fresh acidity with low sugars at peak maturity.

Probably degree-days.

Interesting thread. I am enjoying a 2015 Wilde Farm Halcon Syrah right now. Had some nicely aged Cabot recently too. And glad to get my hands on some Madson 2017 and 2018 Ascona Syrah - good stuff. I guess I like these cool climate wines or something. Thanks to all of you enablers here.

I was gonna guess halcon

Well, Nate…degree-days would be a first good start. And if one stands out on that basis, then good enough. But other factors (wind, sunlight, diurnial cycle) also play a role in producing that cracked black pepper/ c-c Syrah black olive tapenade character.
Tom

And… after we define “coldest”, we can bring all these brilliant minds to bear on the easy problem to define “natural”!!! :slight_smile:
Tom