Spring Valley Nina Lee Syrah 2011
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Wine Enthusiast
Coming from a cool vintage, this thriller of a wine has generous notes of black pepper, plum, orange rind and cranberry. It's concentrated, rich and flavorful with the oak (50% new French) giving some gruffness to the tannins that should soften with additional time in the bottle. Best after 2017.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Syrah Nina Lee (same blend and elevage), it offers more pepper, raspberry, violets and meatiness to go with a medium to full-bodied, focused and overall fresh and classy feel on the palate. It doesn't have the back-end depth of the 2010, but is beautifully focused, elegant and balanced. I'd lean towards enjoy bottles over the coming 5 to 7 years, but suspect it will evolve nicely for longer as well.
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Wine Spectator
This savory style emphasizes green peppercorn and balsamic overlays to the blackberry fruit at the core, persisting against lively acidity on the refreshing, medium-weight finish. Best from 2016 through 2019.
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Spring Valley Vineyard is located just outside of Walla Walla, amid the scenic wheat fields of southeastern Washington. The family-owned land dates back to the late 1880’s when original owner Uriah Corkrum started farming wheat in the area. In 1993, Shari Derby, granddaughter of Uriah and husband Dean Derby planted the first grapes at Spring Valley. The first vintage of Estate grown, and bottled Spring Valley Vineyard wines were produced with the 1999 vintage. In 2007, 66 acres of new vineyards were planted & now consist of 111 acres of grapevines including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec.
Spring Valley was built on the strong foundation of grit, authenticity, hard work, love for the land, and love for family. The names given to the Spring Valley Vineyard Estate wines are in tribute to the family members who struggled and succeeded in farming in the same land for over 150 years. True to the family’s vision, the Spring Valley Vineyard and wheat fields are family-farmed this day to the 6th Generation. Katherine Derby, the granddaughter of Spring Valley vineyard owners Dean and Shari Derby and great-great-granddaughter of Spring Valley Founder Uriah Corkrum is carrying on the family’s legacy with leading winemaking operations – 30 years after planting the first vines.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.