An ugly ducking becomes a beautiful swan in Hans Christian Anderson’s fable — a metaphor for a royal lineage and an inner beauty. All of our barrels of estate syrah have a noble lineage, but in crafting our Cygnet Syrah we discover some have an inner beauty ready to be released sooner rather than later. A cygnet is the baby swan, like that found in Anderson’s tale. Our barrel selections for Cygnet Syrah create our most forward syrah. We named this wine after the lovely young cygnets that our pair of swans in our pond brought into the world this year. We hope that both Troon and our swans will give birth to many cygnets in the vintages to come. No ugly duckling, Cygnet Syrah is always ready to enjoy upon release. 

Nate Wall’s Winemaker Notes

Troon Vineyard embraces syrah as a variety capable of being very expressive of different aspects of a site's terroir, much like a warmer climate version of Pinot Noir. This wine contains three different clones of syrah grown on three different soil types on our estate - ~ 50% Joseph Phelps clone, 35% clone 174, and 15% clone 470.

The 2023 Cygnet Syrah picks up on syrah’s ability to express savory and herbal elements in the wine and the fruit. This wine was made using approximately 33% whole cluster fermentation, meaning the entire grape bunch was used without destemming. The whole cluster adds some spiciness and interesting herbal characteristics, bringing more depth to the readily available fruit flavors. The 2023 Cygnet Syrah has slightly less structured tannins, meaning it is more enjoyable now and is not intended for prolonged aging.