2017 Domaine des Chirats Syrah
A Yves Cuilleron Collaboration
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Each year, I feel Yves and I get closer to achieving the vision we have had for this project. This year is really showing finesse with a palate of elegance, depth, purity and sheer intensity.
I have always felt that this vineyard brings a very Hermitage aspect to the table, but this year I think there is a touch of Côte Rôtie showing through. A sensational deep red/purple color is followed by what I feel is one of the most fragrant noses for this wine that we have made. From the savory to the black/blue and red fruits to the cassis and mineral notes that intermingles throughout. Full bodied, rich and concentrated, but manages to stay light on its feet.
This wine fills your palate with black cherry compote, black and red currants, olive and a liquid mineral component that is the essence of Rockpile Vineyard.
Domaine des Chirats is produced from the oldest Syrah plantings in the Rockpile AVA.
221 cases produced. Will age effortlessly in the Cohn Zone: drink now - 2040.
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This is the oldest block of Syrah at Rockpile Vineyard. The original budwood came directly from Hermitage and was planted soon after.
After making this Syrah for many years and using it in the 'Haley' bottling, I decided to try a new project. This time, I wanted to work with another of my winemaking heroes, Yves Cuilleron of Côte-Rôtie. Yves and I wanted to take this wine in a different direction then what I had been making.
To really appreciate how different this wine is from the other Rockpile Syrahs I make, one needs to taste them side by side. I also recommend tasting it along side a bottle of Yves' Côte-Rôtie, helps to see and taste how the two styles come together.
I started Jeff Cohn Cellars with the help of my mother, Iris. One adorns the label as a tribute to her.
Appellation: Rockpile
Vineyard: Rockpile, sustainably farmed, vines planted in 1998
Planted at 2010-ft. elevation of granite, loam, clay, quartz, it's the heaviest, rockiest, and steepest vineyard at Rockpile. This elevation puts more stress on the vines producing thick-skinned and small berries. The granite adds a mineral backbone to the weight that the clay creates in the wine.
Learn More About Rockpile Vineyard
Vinification: 100% Syrah
The fruit is hand-picked then cold-soaked. I gently foot-stomp the fruit of which 30% is whole cluster, the rest is whole berry and de-stemmed. None is crushed. The wine goes through open-top, then 100% Malolactic fermentation and aged 18 months in large-format 30% new French oak and 70% neutral French oak barrels.
FedEx Ground:
$.01 12+ 750 mL bottles
$ 15 1 - 11 750 mL bottles
$ 15 per magnum
📦 Shipping Alert: We're watching the weather. If below 30° or above 70°, we won't ground ship your wine. We recommend FedEx Priority Overnight® to protect it from extreme temperatures.
96+ Jeb Dunnuck — Coming from a collaboration between Jeff Cohn and Yves Cuilleron, the 2017 Syrah Domaine Des Chirats is wound up and tight yet has wonderful purity in its blackberry fruits as well as notes of ground pepper, candied violets, bouquet garni, bay leaf, and gamey notes. Possessing a killer mix of ripe, sexy fruit and classic, Old World Syrah wildness, it’s full-bodied and flawlessly balanced, with ample tannins and a great finish. Hide bottles for 3-4 years if you can.
92+ The Wine Advocate, Erin Brooks — The 2017 Syrah Rockpile Cuilleron Collaboration Domaine des Chirats has touches of tar and scorched earth over cassis, blackberry pie, olive, thyme and violets. Full-bodied and grainy, it has well-tempered, nuanced fruits with good freshness and a long, menthol-laced finish. This still seems youthfully shy and may offer up more with time in bottle. Drink Date: 2020 - 2030