
So why does he make Syrah instead of Pinot Noir? "Because Syrah does well in the heat of Paso Robles, and Pinot doesn't," he says. "And global warming is going to change winemaking in Burgundy."
It would be easy to make fun of Spear. He talks about myths and pagan rites. He times his harvest by the phase of the moon. He seeks tips from "The Witches' Almanac: The Complete Guide to Lunar Harmony." But he is serious about his wine, and you don't have to accept his theories on reincarnation, witchcraft or anything else to appreciate his wines. This is Tim's second-label - Syrah "Petite Rousse" - named for "the little red-headed girl from Montmartre who enchanted Renoir in the mid-1870s," Her picture is printed on the cork - a fact that I'm sure would either amuse or infuriate Renoir were he alive to see it.
The Blend (From Tim Spear's notes)
These trusty barrels preserve the wine's fruit first and foremost. They further allow a tremendous amount of evaporation and concentration in my experience. The filling, the topping and the emptying of the barrels were done by hand (my hands exclusively) with 100% gravity and without the use of a pump.
Indigenous malolactic fermentation took place in barrel 100%. The barrels were transported from CCWS to the new winery on a Saturday as soon as Clos Mimi's bond was officially transferred by the TTB. The wine was transferred to its very own brand new bottling tank between the 16th and 25th of August. The wine married for 7 to 16 days before being bottled with Steve Rasmussen's spotless mobile bottling line the 1st and 2nd of September. This was as close to the new moon as Steve would bottle my wine since the new moon rose on the 3rd of September, which happened to be a Saturday during the Labor Day weekend. "Tant pis!"
The Winemaker
Winemaker/Owner Tim Spear takes his wines seriously. But he is convinced his current wines - as good as they are - are training him for making wine in his next life. You see, Tim believes in reincarnation, and has been able to recall his first life as a winemaker occurred in northern Burgundy, where he made world-class Pinot NOir. He is just as certain he'll be a Burgundy winemaker again in his next life.
Six different lots make up the final blend. And five of those six lots saw maceration times beyond 20 days. The final 100% Syrah blend includes 4% of Brave Oak Vineyard which adds a very concentrated essence of Northern Rhone "je ne sais qu' a" to the "assemblage." The Rolling Hills component witnessed 10 months in four to seven year old Seguin Moreau 225-liter "château" barrels. The Brave Oak component witnessed 7 months in 4 to 8 year old Seguin Moreau 225-liter "château" barrels.
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