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Gearhead Wines

Managua Syrah 2017

Sale price: $24.95 Regular price:$25.95
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Tasting notes

This Syrah from Love Ranch punches above its weight: granitic schist soils at 1,300 feet keep the wine taut and energetic rather than heavy, delivering vivid black fruit and a streak of red licorice at just 13% ABV. Zero additions, 12 months on lees in neutral oak, and no fining or filtration keep the texture alive and the finish genuinely long.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
BlackberryRed LicoriceBlack PepperEarth
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; black fruit and red licorice; soft tannins; 13% ABV; zero sulfur added
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Syrah; CCOF-certified organic, dry-farmed; Love Ranch Vineyard, Madera AVA; granitic schist soils at 1,300 ft elevation
  • Winemaking: Foot-trodden; open-bin fermentation with daily punch downs for 12 days; 12 months in neutral oak on heavy lees; unfined, unfiltered, zero additions
  • Serving: Serve at 62-65F; 20-30 min decant optional
  • Pairing: Lamb merguez, duck confit, mushroom lentil stew, aged Manchego
  • Similar To: For fans of Cotes du Rhone Syrah or Northern Rhone-style wines who want a California take with minimal intervention

The Managua Syrah comes from the CCOF-certified Love Ranch Vineyard in Madera, California, established in 1994 by Steve and Diana Love. Sitting at 1,300 feet in elevation, about 35 miles south of Yosemite, the vineyard is planted to Rhone varieties in thin soils of granitic schist and is dry-farmed.

Craig West trucked the grapes himself to his Richmond production space, where he foot-trod them and fermented the must in open bins with daily punch downs for 12 days. The wine was then pressed directly to neutral oak barrels, where it rested on heavy lees for 12 months before bottling. No additions were made at any stage, including sulfur dioxide. The wine is unfined and unfiltered.

The wine is bright and energetic on the palate, with high-toned black fruit, red licorice, and soft tannins leading to a warm, lingering finish. Despite its Syrah base, it drinks lighter in body than the variety often suggests, a quality driven by the thin, low-vigor soils at Love Ranch and dry farming that moderates sugar accumulation.

The name Managua comes from a painting Craig bought at the Managua, Nicaragua airport while on vacation, which he reproduced as the label by hand.

The wine's lifted acidity and soft tannins make it versatile at the table. Serve it alongside lamb merguez, duck confit, or a mushroom and lentil stew. It also works well with aged hard cheeses like Manchego or an aged Monterey Jack.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Syrah
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2017
Alcohol:, 13%
Country:, United States
Region:, Madera County
Appellation:, Madera AVA
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Gearhead Wines

Craig West launched Gearhead Wines in 2007 after working in distribution at Semifreddis Bakery in Alameda, California. His entry into winemaking came through Noel Diaz of Purity Wines in Richmond, who invited West to tread grapes in an open-top fermenter. West made his first barrel of wine in his garage and has since scaled the operation, producing from the Les Lunes space in Richmond, California.

West sources certified organic fruit from small California vineyards, handling transport himself and working in tiny lot sizes. All Gearhead wines are foot-trodden, made without added sulfur, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. He designs the labels himself, often incorporating personal imagery, including the painting from a Managua, Nicaragua airport that gives this wine its name.

For the Managua Syrah, West sources from the CCOF-certified Love Ranch Vineyard in Madera, a dry-farmed site at 1,300 feet elevation on thin granitic schist soils. Grapes are foot-trodden and fermented in open bins with daily punch downs before being pressed to neutral oak barrels. The wine ages for 12 months on heavy lees with no additions before bottling.

Wine region

Madera County, United States

The Madera AVA sits in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California's Central Valley, in Madera County just northwest of Fresno. The AVA received official designation in 1984 and is one of the older established viticultural areas in the state. The region is characterized by a hot, dry, continental climate with warm summers and minimal rainfall; most of the flat valley floor is planted on deep alluvial soils and relies on irrigation.

The Madera foothills are a distinct sub-zone within the broader AVA, where the terrain rises toward the Sierra Nevada and soils shift to shallow granitic schist rather than the deep loam of the valley floor. Love Ranch Vineyard, at 1,300 feet elevation and about 35 miles south of Yosemite National Park, sits in this foothill zone. Afternoon winds that develop during late spring and summer moderate daytime temperatures and help retain acidity in the grapes. The Madera AVA is known primarily for Rhone varieties, Zinfandel, Muscat, and fortified port-style wines, though the foothill sites show particular suitability for Syrah and other Rhone reds.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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