The Rocks Syrah
Zoran Milin
“The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts ... half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”
George Eliot
The Rocks Syrah
The Rocks District demands commitment from its growers. It's not easy to work through the endless fist-sized basalt cobbles. But, in return, it yields Syrah like nowhere else: dark and inky fruit layered with savoury pepperiness, and the stony minerality that defines this singular region.
Walla Walla Valley AVA
VINEYARD
This is brutal ground to farm, endless cobbles that are hard on tools and harder on people, and the growers who commit to it plant almost nothing but what the stones reward. Syrah leads by a wide margin, farmed in low-vigor, deficit-irrigated blocks where the struggle itself is the point: small crops of thick-skinned fruit that carry the district's unmistakable signature.
SUB-REGION
The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, a sub-appellation within the larger Walla Walla Valley AVA, is widely considered one of the most coveted wine regions in North America. Because of its stony vineyards, you might even think you’re in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. These rocks lead to the establishment of the aptly named The Rocks District AVA in 2015. It’s the only AVA whose boundaries were drawn around a single soil series and landform: basalt cobbles. This Syrah-lovers destination is located in northeastern Oregon just south of Walla Walla.
Soil
The Rocks District AVA sits on an ancient alluvial fan created by the Walla Walla River. Over thousands of years, the river deposited massive amounts of basalt cobbles and gravel eroded from the nearby Blue Mountains. These cobble layers extend deep beneath a vineyard's surface. The fist-sized volcanic stones absorb heat during the day and radiate it back into the vineyard at night. For Syrah, this extreme vineyard environment threads a stony minerality through the wine along with dark, inky fruit and a savoury pepperiness.
Elevation
The Rocks District AVA sits on a relatively flat valley floor between 800-1000 feet above sea level. Here, Syrah grows among rapidly draining ancient basalt cobbles, forcing vines to root deeply and naturally reducing vigor. All of this leads to Syrah with intense concentration and complexity.
Our Note
vintage
2024
grape varieties
Syrah
Winemaking
Hand-picked in the cool early morning and sorted at the winery. Destemmed to small fermenters and cold-soaked before a slow, temperature-controlled fermentation with daily punch-downs for gentle extraction. Pressed off and settled, then aged in French oak, predominantly neutral, to preserve the vineyard's dark fruit, pepper and stony character.
PRODUCTION
107 cases
Alcohol
13.7
RS
0.02
Free SO2
15 ppm
pH
3.8
TA
5.3
Behind Søren
Søren is the project of Geoffrey Moss MW (Master of Wine) and winemaker Ryan McKibbon, who select standout small-lot wines barrel by barrel. Every bottle reflects their shared obsession with site, craft, and wines that have something to say.
Meet the winemakers
