| Maggie Harrison was assistant winemaker to Manfred Krankl of Sine Qua Non for eight years before moving to Oregon to take over the wine making position at Antica Terra. Lillian represents Maggie’s personal project and reflects everything that she learned during her time at Sine Qua Non. The White Hawk Vineyard is planted on ancient sand dunes on the south facing slope of Cat Canyon, a side of the Los Alamos Valley in Santa Barbara County. It’s 21 miles west of the Pacific and 2 miles north of Los Alamos and planted at 900 feet elevation. This region is recognized as a top producing wine region. Fog often embraces the small vineyard in the morning before gentle afternoon breezes chase it away to allow the sun's rays to slowly ripen the fruit. The vineyard is farmed using sustainable and primarily organic viticulture. The yields are minuscule and the berries intense with a strong core of acidity that is complemented by elements of meat and blackberries. Other wineries that source fruit from this venerable vineyard include Sine Qua Non, Ojai and Andrew Murray. |
| Syrah 05 - White Hawk vineyard |
| “The Lillian 2005 Syrah exhibits a beautiful deep ruby/purple hue in addition to a sweet bouquet of flowers, black currants, forest floor, and subtle road tar. Full-bodied and gorgeously textured with terrific fruit purity, outstanding depth, and an impeccably well-balanced, savory mouthfeel with no hard edges, this beautiful Syrah can be drunk now or cellared for another 7-10 years.” Rating: 92 Wine Advocate # 177 (Jun 2008) “Youthful inky purple. Intensely perfumed, exotic aromas of exuberant black and blue fruits, tobacco, smoky minerals, incense and Indian spices. Plump and juicy, with deep, sweet blackberry and boysenberry flavors, soft tannins and sweet vanilla and mocha qualities. A velvety palate-stainer with excellent finishing breadth and persistence. Maggie Harrison was an assistant winemaker at Sine Qua Non, and this wine shows that pedigree.” Rating 91 Josh Raynolds Nov./Dec/ 08 |
| Syrah 06 - White Hawk vineyard |
| GRAPES 100% syrah VINEYARD SOURCE 100% White Hawk Vineyard, Los Alamos, California HARVESTED November 1st and 6th 2006 BRIX AT HARVEST 26.9 and 26.2 pH AT HARVEST 3.46 FERMENTATION Completely destemmed without crushing. Seven day cold maceration. Native yeast fermentation in small, open-top fermentors Manual punchdowns. On the skins for 15 days. Into barrel warm, via gravity flow. Malolactic fermentation in barrel. RACKING Racked three times, including for bottling BARRELS 86% new french oak (Ermitage, Taransaud, François Freres, Seguin Moreau and Sylvain. Various forests.) 14% used barrels (1-2 years old) FILTRATION None FINING None ALCOHOL 15.6% BOTTLED September 9, 2008 (just shy of 22 months in barrel) TOTAL PRODUCTION 544 cases and 102 magnums OTHER The wine was moved only via gravity flow or nitrogen pressure. Minimal amounts of SO2 were used during the upbringing of this syrah. RELEASE DATE November 2009 “The second release from Maggie Harrison, previously an apprentice at Sine Qua Non, the 2006 Syrah from Lillian is even better than the excellent 2005. Totally sourced from the White Hawk Vineyard, and aged in 65% new oak for 23 months, there are 508 cases of this beautiful Syrah. Notes of creme de cassis, blackberries, spice, incense, flowers, ground pepper, licorice, and subtle smoke are followed by a full-bodied, layered, multidimensional, big (15.6% alcohol) Syrah. Beautifully balanced, elegant, and pure, it should age gracefully for a decade or more.” Rating: 94 Wine Advocate # 184 (Aug 2009) |
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