Arrowhead Spring's Estate Syrah Makes a Bold Statement

By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor

Duncan Ross is not one to get too visibly excited or emotional when he’s discussing his Niagara Escarpment winery in Lockport, NY.

Arrowhead Spring Vineyards had just released their first 100% estate-grown red wine when I stopped in to speak to him about his 2008 Estate Syrah. Just as I expected, he was calm, cool and collected -- until the end of our interview when I asked him his overall impression of this wine. To which he responded, “It’s the best wine I’ve ever made.”

If I weren’t sitting there with a glass of it in front of my nose, I would’ve thought it was just a calculated response to promote his new wine. Ross has made some impressive reds with sourced fruit for the last few years, which only adds to the impact of him declaring it his best.

Even though the decision to go against the grain and plant syrah in an area that didn’t have any already may seem bold, there’s been some success in Niagara, Ontario with the grape. It turns out that syrah actually ripens just after merlot and before cabernet franc, so ripening isn’t the biggest question mark.

As with any grape variety in such a cool climate, winter survivability is the issue when planting a vineyard.

After hearing Andy Reynolds of Brock University give a seminar at Schulze’s farm in Burt, NY, Ross was convinced that he could add syrah to the Bordeaux grapes and chardonnay he was planting. “It seems to winter well," he says. "It’s a little more cold hardy than merlot." So he decided to plant 650 syrah vines separated in two different areas of his vineyard.

His first full harvest came in 2008 and Ross was rewarded with a fantastic crop to make his first estate wines. "Everything lined up in our favor and 2008 was a phenomenal year for us," he says. Phenomenal because Mother Nature was generous enough to let many varieties hang into November, achieving a ripening level in which other areas like the Finger Lakes couldn’t replicate. “We are just a bit warmer on average, not to say that happens every year, but on average we do get a couple of extra weeks," says Ross.

Ross didn’t rely on his twenty years of experience working with Bordeaux grapes either while working with this syrah in the cellar. “This syrah is different. It’s a northern cool-climate syrah so it’s not that big Australian shiraz," he says. "It’s not a South African shiraz or not a California syrah, so you want to make sure you protect the fruit qualities. Which to me says French oak, but we had done a lot of experimentation with other wineries on American oak.”

He found that Keystone Cooperage in Pennsylvania had some low-intensity, low-impact American (Pennsylvania and New York) oak and he brought some in for the 2008s. After getting some advice and some research he went for larger-format barrels. “We ended up doing American oak which is really counter intuitive to retaining the fruit but we did it with the 500-liter barrels, and I think it just worked perfect with a little bit of oak. It was very controllable and there wasn’t a point I thought I’d over-oaked it, which can happen in a smaller barrel.”

The final blend for his 2008 Estate Syrah also included a barrel in year-old Francios Freres French oak, as well as a half barrel of Hungarian oak which only contained pressed juice. He’s convinced he made the right choices in the winery as the wine has been outselling his popular Apogee red blend in the tasting room, even at $34.95 a bottle.

 “We have had people come in and try our syrah after trying those other ones and say they are really excited to have a locally grown syrah," he says.

Ross’s excitement for this wine is obvious when he talks about the future of his vineyard. “It’s definitely on the short list of things I want to plant more of. That will be one of the first ones to go in and we are thinking about planting again in 2011.”

Until then if you want to taste his first effort, you’ll have to get a bottle from the 150 cases he made from the 2008 vintage. It has ample blackberry fruit with black pepper and vanilla. There’s no doubt that it’s plush mouthfeel and overall volume is going to make it a popular red this season.

Thanks to Ross, more are sure to follow with syrah plantings in a region still looking to carve out its identity with red grape varieties.

Comments

[Lenn Thompson]

Bryan: So things went nearly perfect in 2008. What do you (or Duncan) think the potential is for syrah in Niagara in a more "typical" year?

Does he think he'll be able to make red table wines every year, or can he see a situation where he ends up making rose or using it as a blender rather than varietal?

Here on Long Island, the only varietal (red) syrahs that I've enjoyed (a small group) were from vintages like 2005 and 2007. Even those were good-not-great, so I'm looking forward to trying this one from Duncan.

[Bryan]

To be honest since I moved here, 2008 was a typical year. It was very wet through most of the summer, then it dried out and luckily there wasn't an early frost. Not everyone got the ripening in 08, I know of a few growers that weren't happy enough to make reds from their CF.

2007 was obviously hot and 2009 was cool, so 2008 wasn't too much of either.

I think he will be able to make reds every year. There are a few Ontario producers that do it consistently but it has to planted at the right site.

In a year like 2009 where a crop was thinned out on purpose or thinned out by disease, I guess a such a small quantity of wine could be used for blending.

[Duncan Ross, Arrowhead Spring Vineyards]

Every year is different here- challenging in 2008. It rained 3-4 times per week through July leading to lots of foliage growth, weed growth and the need for many additional sprays. August - October were very nice, making up for the early rain. In 2009 it never warmed up and we lost some Syrah and Merlot to mildew. The other reds were thinned several times and the result was a harvest of 1/3 the capacity of the vineyard in a more favorable year (like 2008 or 2007). The 2009s are very nice in structure and quality, the volume is just low.

There are a number of wineries in Ontario with Syrah planted and a couple that specialize in it. With 100 Canadian wineries in the same geography as the Niagara region USA, I think it's safe to say this area is good for reds every year. Growing techniques like multiple thinning passes are standard practice in Ontario - they have invested heavily in improving viticultural techniques. We all benefit from this research work - especially since they have been working closely with Cornell.

I think the (usually) warmer days and cooler nights lead to unique flavor development as compared to other regions in the state. It's a unique place capable of growing a very wide variety of varietals.

[Duncan Ross, Arrowhead Spring Vineyards]

In general, I also think NY reds get an undeserved bad rap because they taste different form warm climate reds. This isn't a warm climate, so the flavors and texture will be different than California, but that doesn't mean the wines are not good. NY is more like Washington State from a flavor profile standpoint than California. Different and Delicious!

[Lenn Thompson]

Duncan: I don't think that NY reds get that bad rap anymore, so I'm surprised to hear that you do. New York wineries (in general) clearly have nothing to be ashamed of. There are some terrific wines being made.

The NYCR editor were impressed across the board by the Niagara reds we tasted a few weeks ago as well. Yes, those were the best of the best, but they still impressed.

How much cooperation is there between the two Niagara regions?

[Duncan Ross, Arrowhead Spring Vineyards]

When doing tastings in stores I often hear "I don't drink red wines from NY, they aren't good" more often that I would like. The response after they taste is always very positive and a bottle or 2 are sold. Unfortunately, it's common attitude or perception.

As for the Niagara samples you reviewed, this is a small region and you have a representative sample of what we produce in vinifera. The wines are very good overall partly because many ventures are new, including new vineyards.

[Lenn Thompson]

I'd love to know what they are tasting to make them say that. Middling Finger Lakes reds? I doubt many Long Island wines get up there, right?