Nose

Dark, seductive aromas of black licorice, fig and tar, meld with sweet, spiced notes of violet, clove and star anise.

Palate

The wine is powerful and seamless in texture, with brooding black fruits that slowly give way to rich, savory flavors of smoked venison, flint and scorched earth. Silky, fine-grain tannins combine with a crushed rock minerality, drawing out the palate to a long, luxurious finish.

Winemaking

The 2012 Corliss Syrah is a blend of fruit from Stillwater Vineyard on the Royal Slope and our Canyons Estate Vineyard on Red Mountain. Syrah blocks were hand-harvested along with a small amount of Viognier to be used for co-fermentation. After carefully sorting into small concrete and oak fermenters, the must underwent a three day cold soak to bleed intense color and supple tannins from the skins. Twice-daily pumping over of the cap during fermentation was followed by gentle basket pressing into new and used French oak puncheons and barriques.

Aging

The final blend was assembled and aged a total of 26 months in barrel.

Appearance

Ink-black in color with a deep magenta hue.