We (Clare) have wanted to make a Rosé called “Laughing Pig” after meeting some pigs on a farm in Ireland in 2004. Clare did a quick sketch of those extremely personable and exuberant pigs, and hence all the “Laughing Pig” label needed was a wine.
Oregon 2007 Pinot Noir fit the bill for the Laughing Pig Rosé. Fall came early with rains that slowed ripening, dashing our hopes of making outstanding red wine. The grapes we purchased begged to be made into rose and we obliged. The wine was intended to be pink from the get-go. We fermented it briefly on the skins to pick up color and pressed it directly to four neutral French oak barrels. This Rose distinguishes itself from most by being barrel fermented to dryness and the malolactic fermentation was completed by mid May. The wine was then blended, and a great crew of friends helped bottle it on June 14th 2008. The wine was not filtered, fined or cold-stabilized, reflecting Brian’s desire it to allow the wine to express itself as fully as possible.
The barrel fermentation and sur lie aging give underlying complexity to the rich fruit on the nose, and to a structured wine with a crisp finish. The “old world” style used to produce this wine will allow it continue to evolve like a well-made white wine.
We made just 95 cases of this wine, and have enjoyed more bottles than we should have. It drinks too easily, especially when chilled on a warm afternoon. However this wine is substantial enough to stand up to food of all kinds – even spicy food – as the richness coats the palette while the acidity refreshes for the next morsel. Be careful.
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2006 - Syrah – Big Table Farm
2006 California Syrah
White Hawk Vineyard
15% Alcohol
3.4 pH
unfined and unfiltered
180 Cases Produced
90 Points - Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate
Despite the fact that we are now in Oregon, the fruit for this wine is from California (Brian does get homesick from time to time). Our dear friend Maggie Harrison carefully tends the syrah block of White Hawk Vineyard in Santa Barbara County and she offered us the opportunity to purchase some of this premium fruit.
The fruit was picked in late October to FYBs (little yellow bins that protect the fruit, but are loathed by all who have to deal with them - hence the ‘f’ in FYB) and brought to Oregon in a refrigerated truck. The grapes were hand sorted and cold soaked for five days to pick up flavor from the skins before fermenting. The grapes were then fermented in two lots – one completely destemmed, and the other 75% whole cluster. The resulting wine aged in 40% new French oak and was bottled after 14 months in barrel.
We were excited to learn that Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate had kind words to say about our 2006 Big Table Farm Syrah:
“Dense purple, with the nose exhibiting blackberry and acacia flower notes, this 2006 Syrah has good acidity, medium to full body, and beautiful purity and length…The wine is superb, drinks well already, but should age nicely for another 5-6 years.” – 90 points
We restrain ourselves (with mixed success) from drinking it now, and believe it will really begin to express itself fully this fall, when it will be released to you. We produced just 175 cases of the 2006 Big Table Farm Syrah – please let us know soon if we should reserve some for you.
The Label for the Syrah is printed by letterpress label printer Inge Bruggeman.
Inge hand printed each sheet and then hand cut the labels. The Labels are then hand glued and applied to each bottle. You will notice the labels are much thicker and have a wonderful texture due to the printing process used. These Labels are also more fragile than most so each bottle is then carefully wrapped in tissue. The art was drawn by Clare. You can count on the label art being as unique as each vintage of wine.
Dense purple, with the nose exhibiting blackberry and acacia flower notes, this 2006 Syrah has good acidity, medium to
full body, and beautiful purity and length. Amazingly, this wine was made in two lots - one with 75% whole clusters and the second lot completely destemmed. The wine is superb, drinks well already, but should age nicely for another 5-6 years. Brian Marcy makes this wine, which comes from the White Hawk Vineyard in Santa Barbara County. - The Wine Advocate
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