2021 PRINCIPIA
WINEMAKER’S NOTES
Opaque purple color with bouquet of ripe blackberry, huckleberry, black plum. bacon fat, game, and violet. .The palate is both powerful and elegant. The flavors are well delineated with notes of blackberry, bacon fat, black pepper, aged cigar tobacco, leather, garrigue, black olive, espresso, and dark chocolate. The exquisite finish resonates with savory notes of truffle, violet, bacon fat, and cigar tobacco. Perfectly balanced with slightly dusty tannins and lively acidity. This wine will continue to improve for the next 8-10 years and should drink well for the next 20+ years.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
The wine had a pre-fermentation maceration of 122 hours and a post-fermentation maceration of 114 hours. The wine was punched down by hand 2 times each day during macerations and fermentation. 100% native fermentation; 100% Whole clusters. All individual wine components, including free run and press fractions, were kept separate until final blending. The wine had an elevage of 24 months in French Oak. The oak profile is 30% new French oak (predominantly from Troncais and Alliers) and 70% neutral French oak. The wine achieved its sparkly brilliance from 3 judicious rackings, no fining agents were employed. The wine was very lightly filtered to capture any remaining lees.
CASES PRODUCED 42
VARIETALS 100% Syrah
APPELLATION Columbia Valley
LABEL STORY
Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage 1989 and 1990; Guigal’s La La wines (La Landonne, La Mouline, and La Turque) 1978, 1985, 1990, 1991; Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon and L’Ermite 1990, 1991; Chave Hermitage 1990, 1991; and many vintages of Penfolds Grange are some of the best Syrahs we’ve been fortunate to taste. These are reference point wines. They inspire us.
In 2007, we wanted to make a small amount of reserve Syrah, just 3 barrels. We didn’t want to use “Winemaker’s Reserve” or “Artist Series” to depict our reserve wine because it’s been done to death. So, we decided on calling our reserve line the Celebrate Excellence series. The idea is to celebrate something profound that changed the way we look at things. Since we already had a math/science theme with QED, we decided to stick with it.
Paul Gregutt, wine critic, happened to be visiting with Billo to taste our wines and talk about what we were doing. He suggested calling the wine Principia to honor Sir Isaac Newton’s Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica first published in 1687. The Principia is a seminal work that changed the way we view the natural world. Newton’s laws of motion form the basis of classical mechanics – the study of bodies in motion. The Principia stands as testament to the genius of Newton. It also stands as inspiration to mankind that with our minds we can achieve unbelievable things.
Each year, we change the graphic on the label. I’m geeky enough to go through the Principia every year to pick out a new formula to put on the label. My brother Billo thinks I’m crazy because I spend days trying to understand the stuff (and then forget it shortly thereafter). The wine is always 100% Syrah from multiple vineyard sources.