We proudly present our brand new 2009 "Le Barrettage". The name came to me last winter while driving up to Tahoe to go skiing. It's a fusion of my last name with the classic Rhone wines from L'Hermitage. Just makes ya smile. Even more so when you taste this amazingly rich, silky and absolutely delicious wine. We have kept the Rhone style bottle but the new label has some delightful surprises. The blend comes from our Barrett Vineyards Syrah as well as another favorite Syrah vineyard north of St. Helena plus a pinch of Petite Sirah. I was only able to make 200 cases of this special bottling so I hope you will get a chance to enjoy it. The wine has a very deep ruby color with aromas of black plums, pomegranate, spice, and smoked duck. It is fully ripe and concentrated. The flavors are intense and mouth filling matching the aromas. Nice layering and a big ripe expression of this gorgeous variety. This is quite a hearty big red wine that is begging for grilled meats, ribs!, steak, venison, duck, spicy sausage, or rich pastas or lasagna. Flavors persist with lovely balance and a long silky finish. The wine shows its "terroir" from our tiny 2- acre Barrett Vineyards block, where the soil is quite rocky, with some steep sections that produce tiny, intensely flavorful grapes. The second vineyard site adds lush pure fruit and the resulting blend is greater the sum of its parts showing the dense, rewarding concentration and the magic of skilled blending.