Syrah

Generous rains returned to Paso Robles in 2017, with the Gesture Syrah blocks receiving over 40 inches of precipitation prior to bloom. Cooler than normal temperatures prevailed in the spring, but were offset by high heat accumulation in the months of August, September and October. This warming trend included a 10-day period above 100 degrees and was sufficient to place 2017 with the highest number of growing degree days we have seen in Paso Robles in over 20 years. Syrah is prone to early sugar accumulation prior to true phenological ripeness. We saw daily temperatures seesaw between the mid 70s to over 95 degrees, over several 5-day periods from late September into early October. We made each of our two picking decisions to coincide with the cool cycle between heat spikes to best preserve the fresh fruit character of these blocks.