"Colossus of Rhones" vineyard

Planted in 1998 to the 877 clone of Syrah, as well as a few other awesome things that don't make enough grapes for me to take my cut of, this vineyard is on the west side of Paso Robles, on Peachy Canyon Road at an altitude of 1600 feet, and so is several degrees cooler than the great majority of the appellation.  In addition, the poor, thin calcareous soil has restricted yields to a range of 1.1-2.3 tons/acre (roughly, bottles per vine) during the last decade.  After the owner asked me to consult in 2010, we immediately changed the canopy from 'California Sprawl' (0-25% direct sun exposure of clusters) to 'Swilly Idle Wingnut' which is roughly 50% exposure until I am willing to trust the weather forecasts enough to expose the clusters 100% to maximize flavors without danger of sunburn or acid-reducing extreme heat (roughly, 100F+).

Oh, and to keep your attention:

That's the north block of the vineyard, with special guests.  You should come visit;  appointment required :-)