NACHISE, youngest and fiercest, warrior and freedom fighter for the Chiricahua Apache. 52% Syrah  27% Grenache  15% Petite Sirah  6% Mourverdre The bulk of the grapes that went into this wine came from the middle aged and “Norte” blocks of Arizona Stronghold Vineyard. The middle aged block is planted to an unknown syrah clone that was acquired by Al Buhl of Dos Cabazas in the early 1990’s. At picking, this fruit had very rustic flavors with good acidity and a lot of earth, spice, dark fruit and leafy characters. The syrah from the Norte block is a clone from Australia known as Shiraz-1. It showed more tannin on the palate with brighter, fresher fruit characters as well a lavender and pepper. Norte was also the primary source for the grenache and petite sirah that went into this wine which lent red fruit and a deep color, respectively. The finished wine bears resemblance to a medium to full bodied Rhone blend. Spices and herbs typify this wine ranging from lavender to toasted sage to white pepper round out an earthy nose packed with blueberries, blackberries and aromas from the desert landscape, including tree bark, dried juniper berries, pine cones and dusty earth. Plush dark fruit gives way quickly to an exceptional, old world, drying tannin midpalate with dark dusty mocha notes that lead to a lingering black raspberry finish.