Scotty Boy! Big Tang Syrah 2018

Big Tang is 100% Syrah sourced from White Hawk Vineyard in Cat Canyon, Los Alamos, Santa Barbara County. White Hawk sits at roughly 900 feet elevation on a south-facing slope of nearly pure sand — soils so nutrient-poor and free-draining that yields are low and berry concentration runs high. The proximity to the Pacific keeps the growing season cool and even, which preserves the lively acidity that makes this wine worth chilling.

Winemaking here is extreme by any measure: the 2018 spent 451 days on its skins before being racked to tank for two and a half months of settling. No inoculations, no additions, no added sulfur. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered, so expect cloudiness and sediment — both intentional and expected.

On the nose: ume plum blossom, desiccated violet, coriander, and black peppercorn. The palate delivers under-ripe dates, blackberry, and cinnamon with a tangy spine that holds everything together. Serve chilled — this is not a wine to overthink.

Scotty Boy! is the natural wine offshoot of the Central Coast Group Project (CCGP), operating out of Buellton, California. Winemaker Scott Sampler built CCGP around long-macerated, age-worthy Syrah and Grenache from Santa Barbara County before launching Scotty Boy! as a lighter-touch, drink-now counterpart to those bigger wines.