2019 Syrah Lolita Ranch
Appellation
Russian River
Very fragrant nose with aromas of violets, milk chocolate, and blackberry compote. Balanced tannins and enticing acid on the mouth with flavors of wild berries and coffee. Long structured finish ends with Montmorency cherry.
Wine Specs
Vintage
2019
Varietal
Syrah
Appellation
Russian River
Vineyard Designation
Lolita Ranch
Alcohol %
15.8
Wine Profile
Vineyard Notes
The Lolita Ranch is located on Martinelli Road in Forestville. The property was part of the original Martinelli Homestead Ranch, belonging to Giuseppe and Luisa Martinelli who purchased the steep, forested land in the late 1800’s. Later, their eldest son Fred sold the parcel to his neighbor, Lolita Young’s mother. Eventually Bob and Lolita Young inherited it, and ran a herd of cattle on the land for many years. Lee Martinelli Jr. and his wife Pamela acquired the property in 1999 from Bob Young after Lolita’s passing, returning it back to the Martinelli estate and to the family’s continuing century-long legacy of viticulture. Lee Jr. decided to name the ranch after Lolita and planted the steep hillside in 2001 with four different grape varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Zinfandel.
Winemaker Notes
The 2019 season was overall very cool with record rainfall for Sonoma
County in February. The vines however were not affected by this
because they were still dormant at the time. Similar to the 2018 season,
spring and summer were moderate in temperature and ripening
developed gradually and under minimal stress. This year was in fact so
similar to 2018 that we began harvest the same day, on September 10th
.
Unfortunately, another wildfire hit the region at the end of October, but
luckily none of our vineyards were affected. The winery and many
employees were evacuated, but we were able to keep an eye on the new
vintage with a skeleton crew. The quality was not impacted, and we are
very excited at the concentration of flavors in this vintage.
