Winemaker Notes
Olsen Brothers is located on the Northwest bend of the Yakima River as it turns North at Red Mounatin. The elevation averages about 1000 feet and the soils are sandy with broken basalt.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Lastly, and from tiny yields, the 100-case 2013 Syrah Olsen Vineyard was fermented with 100% whole clusters and aged in 20% new puncheons for 18 months. Gamey, spice and complex, with gorgeous crème de cassis fruit and a touch of graphite, this beauty is full-bodied, layered and elegant, with ripe tannin, a stacked mid-palate and a great finish. This is a serious wine that will benefit from short-term cellaring and drink well through 2028.
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Wine Spectator
Focused, polished and intense, centered on blackberry and red plum flavors, with hints of pepper and caramel as the finish extends. Best from 2017 through 2022.
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.”
As the first recognized wine-growing region in the Pacific Northwest, Yakima Valley is centrally located within Washington’s vast Columbia Valley. The region also includes Washington’s oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines, Otis Vineyard, planted in 1957, and Harrison Hill Vineyard, planted in 1963. Yakima Valley contains three smaller sub-regions: Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, and Snipes Mountain and is ideal for both red and white wine production. In fact, Yakima Valley is Washington’s most diverse region, boasting more than 40 different grape varieties over about one hundred miles.
The cooler parts of the valley are home to almost half of the Chardonnay and Riesling produced in the state! Both are made in a wide range of styles depending on the conditions of the vineyard site.
But its warmer locations yield a large proportion of Washington’s best Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The finest Yakima Valley reds are jam-packed full of red cherry, currant, raspberry or blackberry fruit, as well as cocoa, herb, spice and savory notes, and exhibit a supple texture, great body, focus and length.