For Vintage Year 2007

Wild Oak, the site of our Winery in Sonoma Valley, was named to honor Sonoma’s Heritage Oak trees. Wild Oak wines by St. Francis are created from grapes that have been hand-picked from small lots of elite terroir bordered by these Heritage Oaks throughout Sonoma County. The majority of the Syrah grapes selected for our 2007 Wild Oak Syrah come from our estate Wild Oak Vineyard, located on the fertile Sonoma Valley floor. This Sonoma Valley fruit gives the wine a rich mouthfeel with hints of smokey blueberry and plum. Its vibrancy and luscious charm comes from the addition of fruit grown in the fog-filled sunshine and sandy marine soil of the Russian River Valley. The selected lots were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks, then racked in 70% French and 30% American Oak barrels. Older oak barrels were selected for aging to allow the wine’s intense fruit flavors to shine.

Rhone enthusiasts will adore this supple wine, perfumed with notes of violets, blackberries and essence of graphite. Fully textured on the mid-palate, it coats with flavors of Chambord, leather and mocha.

HARVEST Sept. - Oct. 2007
AGING Twelve Months
STORAGE French & American Oak
pH 3.61 TA 0.62g/100 mls
BOTTLING April 2009
ALCOHOL 14.6% by volume
AGING POTENTIAL 5 to 8 years
CASES PRODUCED 1000 cases

Wild Oak, the site of our Winery in Sonoma Valley, was named to honor Sonoma’s Heritage Oak trees. Wild Oak wines by St. Francis are made from grapes that have been hand-picked from small lots of elite terroir bordered by Heritage Oak tress in Sonoma County’s most outstanding AVA’s.

Syrah is one of the most adaptable varietals, suited to both warm and cool growing regions as well as mountainous and fertile valley floor sols. Wherever it is grown, Syrah dramatically expresses the personality of the terroir with its unique and variable flavor profile.

In our 2006 vintage, 85% of the Syrah grapes were selected from our very own Wild Oak Vineyard, located on the fertile Sonoma Valley floor. The fruit from this vineyard gives a lush strawberry and mineral flavors as well as a soft rich mouthfeel. 15% Petite Sirah from the Russian River Valley.

Grapes are fermented separately in stainless steel tanks then aged in new, one and two year oak barrels. A higher percentage of older oak barrels are selected for this blend in order to allow the wine’s intense flavors to shine through.

Syrah is one of the most adaptable varietals, suitable for both warm and cool growing regions and both rocky mountainous and fertile valley floor soils. Wherever it is grown, Syrah dramatically expresses the personality of the terrior with its unique and variable flavor profile.

In the 2005 vintage, 70% of the Syrah grapes were selected from our very own Wild Oak Vineyard, located on the fertile valley floor of Sonoma Valley. This fruit gives the 2005 Syrah its lush strawberry and mineral flavors as well as a soft, rich mouthfeel. The remaining 30% of the grapes are grown on our estate mountain-side Nuns Canyon Vineyard, growing high above the fog line on the Sonoma Valley side of Mount Veeder.

This mountain grown fruit is first to ripen and is characterized by firm tannins and sweet blueberry and ripe black cherry flavors. All grapes were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks and were then aged in new, one and two year old oak (95% French , 5% American).

We selected a high percentage of older oak barrels for this blend in order to allow the wine’s intense fruit flavors to shine.

Winemaker Notes:
Syrah is one of the most adaptable varietals, suitable for both warm and cool growing regions as well as rocky mountainous and fertile valley floor soils. Wherever it is grown, Syrah dramatically expresses the personality of the place with its unique and variable flavor profile. In 2004, grapes from our mountain-side Nuns Canyon vineyard, growing high above the fog line on the Sonoma Valley side of Mount Veeder, ripened first and were characterized by firm tannins as well as sweet blueberry and ripe black cherry flavors. The tiny valley floor Fahey Syrah vineyard, near the winery in Sonoma Valley, ripened shortly after with lush strawberry and mineral flavors, along with a soft, rich mouthfeel. The Feeney Syrah, from the cooler Russian River Valley, ripened last and was characterized by the white pepper, plum and tart pie cherry flavors typical of cooler climate Syrah. Petite Sirah from the Zichichi Vineyard in the Dry Creek Valley was also selected for this blend, and contributes aromas of chocolate and coffee along with a deep black color and tannic intensity. All grapes were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks and were then aged in new, one and two year old oak (95% French, 5% American). We selected a high percentage of older oak barrels for this blend in order to allow the wine’s intense fruit flavors to shine.

Tasting Notes:
Wild Oak Syrah gains its assertive Rhone character from the altitude and volcanic soil of Nuns Canyon Vineyard, high above Sonoma Valley. Its vibrancy and luscious charm come from the fog-filtered sunshine and sandy marine soil of the Tom Feeney Vineyard in Russian River Valley. Peppery spice and deep purple hues are contributed by a small percentage of Petite Sirah from old head-trained vines in Dry Creek Valley.

Harvest Date: September/October 2004
Aging: 14 Months
pH: 3.72/0.61 g/100ml
Storage/Barrels: 95% French, 5% American
Bottling Date: June 2006
Alcohol: 14.8%
Composition: 95% Syrah, 5% Petite Sirah
Case Production: 700 Cases