Wylie Vineyard

Ron Mansfield put in Syrah vines at Butch Wylie's property (also 2800" in elevation) on a hilltop site near Georgetown, back in 1996. It's a remarkable site; from the highest point in the vineyard the ground falls steeply away in all directions, and the views to the west, south and east are truly eye-popping. So there are some serious slopes here, some of which required terracing. and the ground is extremely rocky, the soil quite shallow.

My first visit, in late summer of '98, a few weeks before the very first grapes from the vineyard would be picked, was unforgettable. When we began the ascent up the driveway I knew it would be dramatic, and when we parked, and I climbed out of Ron's pickup truck, before I'd even taken five steps, I said to myself, "I want as much fruit from this vineyard as I can get, for as long as I can get it." (I said the same thing to Ron a few moments later, as we walked among the vines.) Judging from the wine that's come from these vines, so far, my intuition was on the mark. It's dark, powerful, and intense, yet it, too, has nerve and suppleness, and pretty aromas. As they used to say, somewhere in Butch Wylie's neighborhood, "there's gold in them thar hills."