Winemaker Notes
Olsen Brothers is located on the Northwest bend of the Yakima River as it turns North at Red Mountain. 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
The 2014 Syrah Olsen Brothers Vineyard checks in as 100% Syrah, all from rocky, volcanic soils, that was fermented with 100% whole cluster and aged in 20% new puncheons. This full-bodied, concentrated, low acid, sex-pot of a wine sports a deep ruby/purple color and terrific notes of liquid violets, pen ink, blueberry, graphite and hints of plums. Like all of Brennan's wines, it’s impeccably made, has first-rate purity and is well worth its going rate.
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Wine Spectator
Deeply structured and slightly brooding, with expressive huckleberry and black olive aromas and persistent smoky plum, bitter chocolate and earthy mineral notes. Best from 2019 through 2023.
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.