Winemaker Notes
The En Cerise Vineyard when literally translated, means "cherry," appropriate since this 10-acre vineyard planted in 1998 was a cherry orchard in its former life.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is meaty, with ripe dark berries, plum skins, smoked bacon, cocoa and ground spiced and pepper. Medium- to full-bodied with firm, chalky tannins and a polished texture, with crushed-stone minerality and dried orange peel. Lengthy and persistent, with a savory finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine’s blackberry and tangerine aromas blend with equally compelling notes of espresso, saline and leather. Joining dark raspberries on the palate are flavors of tart red apples, bergamot tea and peppered bacon. Lemony acidity with tannins on the plush side.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Bright black cherries, peppery herbs, black tea, and wildflower notes, as well as some classic Rocks scorched earth, emerge from the 2020 Syrah En Cerise Vineyard, a medium to full-bodied, elegant Syrah with wonderful purity, fine-grained tannins, and outstanding length. It doesn't have the density or concentration of a truly great vintage here, but it shines for its elegance and finesse. It's going to evolve for 10-15 years
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Savory, smokey and dusty, the 2020 Syrah en Cerise is firm, mineral-driven and expressive with potpourri and dark red fruit aromas, hints of pink and green peppercorns and a spicy and mineral essence. Medium-bodied, the palate gives way to a balanced and spicy core of dark red fruit with savory flavors of sage and wild brush before offering notes of umami and dusty flowers across the mid-palate. The wine continues to open and evolve, revealing more spicy and savory notes before ending with a soft hint of iodine and leather. Enjoy with food.
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Wine Spectator
Richly structured and detailed, this red opens with vibrant raspberry and blackberry flavors laced with savory pepper meat, black olive and river stone notes, which build toward the brooding finish.
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.