Rotie Cellars Northern Red Blend 2017
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
A deep crimson, inky color. Unmistakable Rocks nose with a freshness unlike vintages past. Dark fruits. licorice, and black currant with underlying cocoa powder and roasted coffee beans. Forest ?oor, dark and dense fruit linger into a long, rich ?nish–displaying elegance from beginning to end.
Blend: 95% Syrah, 5% Viognier
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Fruit for this wine comes from the winery's estate vineyard in the Rocks District and includes 5% Viognier. The aromas start off brooding, opening to reveal notes of firepit, charcuterie plate, blueberry, freshly peeled tangerine and black pepper. Sweet, full-bodied, palate-coating flavors follow, while never getting overweighted. It's downright delicious, with impeccable balance and length.
-
James Suckling
A laid-back and fragrant style with plenty of savory aromas, around bright red fruit and a lacy, spicy, soft palate that has plumpness, medium body and immediate charm. A blend of syrah and viognier.
Other Vintages
2015-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Robert
Parker
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
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.