Nose
The nose
offers a complex mix of mineral, earth and leather layers, as well as beautiful black
cherry, dark raspberry, anise and violet aromas.
Palate
2010 delivered a profound expression of "the stones,” showcasing both
the savory and sweet elements of great Walla Walla Valley syrah, the high-tone floral
perfume of cabernet and the mid-palate weight and game notes of mourvèdre. Though intense, there is a lovely
perfumed quality, and uplifting acidity, that lead to a long, rich finish with a mineral and
spice core.
Growing Conditions
A cool spring resulted in a late bud break, which was followed by a
wonderful, mild summer in the Walla Walla Valley. Not only were there no heat events,
the weather was very dry. So, while it was the coolest vintage in Buty’s history, we had
picture-perfect weather in September and October, which allowed for great hangtime,
excellent ripeness and good preservation of acidity.
Harvest
We harvested syrah from River
Rock on October 14th and cabernet on October 16th and 21st. Our Rockgarden syrah
came in October 16th, with the mourvèdre on October 21st.
Bottling
December of 2011.
Winemaking
Grapes were harvested by hand and hand-sorted on shaker tables, with
gravity transfer to tank. As is our style with this wine, the syrahs fermented whole cluster
by native yeast for two weeks. The cabernet was destemmed and also fermented with
native yeast. The ferments were kept cool, and only free-run wine was used.
Aging
The lees
were excellent, so we aged the wines with them in predominantly neutral puncheons and
barrels. Cellaring lasted 14 months, and the wines were blended a month prior to bottling.
