Tenet The Pundit Syrah 2015
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Suckling
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Spirits
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Dunnuck
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Spectator
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a layered and very pretty wine with blackberries, cloves and black peppers. Lavender, too. Medium-bodied, tight and driven-down. Shows depth and beauty. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Syrah The Pundit (88% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 4% Mourvèdre and 2% Viognier) continues to over-deliver in every vintage, showing loads of dark, earthy fruits, pepper and hints of olives in a medium to full-bodied, pure, layered style. It tastes like an Old World wine made in the New World, and that's just what it is. Buy a case and drink it over the coming 4-5 years.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: New World Syrah and elegance are always happening, but in this case- It is! The 2016 Tenet Wine "The Pundit" certainly makes a case for itself as one of best on the West Coast of the United States. TASTING NOTES: This deeply colored wine shows up with beautifully ripened black fruits in its aromas and flavors. The long and lively finish suggest it would pair well with an aromatic braised meat dish. (Tasted: July 25, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine & Spirits
From the joint venture between Ste. Michelle and two French Rhône masters, Michel Gassier and Philippe Cambie, this is syrah in the plush, ripe mode, leading with plums and grilled fig scents, finishing smoky, almost slatey. It has the dark fruit flavors and intensity that will set you up for barbecue.
Best Buy -
Wine Enthusiast
The aromas bring a sense purity, with notes of mountain blueberry, high-toned herb and whiffs of smoked meat. The flavors are fruit forward, showing a pleasing approachability and sense of freshness, with a finish that glides.
Editors' Choice -
Jeb Dunnuck
Checking in as a blend of 89% Syrah, 5% Grenache, 4% Mourvèdre, and 2% Viognier (co-fermented with Syrah), the 2015 Syrah The Pundit spent 13 months in a mix of French and American oak. Its deep purple color is followed by terrific Syrah notes of blackberries, black olive tapenade, lavender, and pepper. It's medium to full-bodied, plump, layered and rounded, with terrific fruit and length. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years.
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Wine Spectator
A snappy and sturdy red, with black currant and smoky mint notes that finish with big but refined tannins. Drink now through 2022.
Other Vintages
2019-
Suckling
James
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Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
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Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spirits
Wine &
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Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
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Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
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Spirits
Wine &
Tenet Wines is a partnership with the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winemaking team, along with Rhône Valley collaborators, winemaker Michel Gassier and the late enology consultant Philippe Cambie. It is a collection of wines from both the Columbia Valley in Washington state and the Costiéres de Nîmes AOC featuring Rhône-style varietals. At Tenet wines, they convinced that Washington state is an exceptional terror for Syrah and its Rhone Valley brethren. This partnership project establishes a parallel between Syrah’s cradle and most renowned region, the Rhone Valley, and its tremendous potential on Washington’s basaltic slopes.
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.”
A large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.