2009 Donkey And Goat Winery - Recluse Broken Leg Vineyard Syrah

Donkey & Goat is a family owned and operated winery located in Berkeley California. Tracey & Jared Brandt craft their natural wines from Rhône varietals, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in the Anderson Valley, Mendocino Ridge and El Dorado appellations. Named one of five "Winemakers to Watch for 2011" by Jon Bonée at the San Francisco Chronicle, Tracey & Jared trained in France, and their maverick winemaking has helped pave the way for the natural wine movement.

The Recluse is what we call our Broken Leg Vineyard Syrah beginning with the 2006 vintage to immortalize that little spider. The 2009 is 100% Broken Leg Vineyard. Like all of our red wines, we only use the machine for whatever level of de-stemming is desired. In this case only we de- stemmed 65% leaving the rest whole cluster. The Broken Leg vineyard also has Viognier planted so we picked a few hundred pounds with the Syrah to result in approximately 3% co-fermented Viognier in our final blend. Crushing is achieved via pigeage à pied (foot stomping). We do not make wine in plastic. All of our reds are fermented in open top wood vats and here we used our 4 ton vat. Wild yeasts are employed without nutrients or other enhancers. We punch down by hand up to 3x daily which is an extreme work out in a 4 ton tank with 35% whole cluster! The cooperage was a mix of 1-3 yr old French oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation was natural and completed by early summer. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration on January 27, 2011 and left to bottle age for 9 additional months.

Charcuterie, white and black pepper, tobacco and leather seduce the senses immediately. Cherry, blackberry and blueberry all laced with floral hints and blood orange prepare the palate. An iron ferrous quality runs through with long and chewy tannins. The finish will linger with more notes of cured meats, smoke and mulberry. This Syrah illustrates why we love this varietal and will offer hours of enjoyment as she reveals her secrets (if you can wait that long).