Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
All varietal, the 2023 Syrah En Cerise Vineyard is meaty in lavender and pretty in cherry blossom, medium-bodied and well-balanced in funky acidity. From a densely planted vineyard, it's brooding in oak and tannin, with lasting salinity, with additional components of peat, chamomile, and sanguine iron. I love these wines and this is a particular standout.
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James Suckling
Leading with barnyard-like reductive aromas, this takes a while to open, showing mainly the savory side of syrah, including smoked meat, peppered beef jerky and a hint of violets and lavender. Flavors of juicy raspberries and wild blackberries mingle with thyme and sage.
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Wine Spectator
A wine with personality and detail that offers dynamic tones of blackberry, tapenade, cured meat and garrigue while gathering tension and richness toward big but polished tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Syrah En Cerise Vineyard comes from biodynamically farmed vines planted in 1998 in silty loam and basalt cobblestones. Matured for 18 months in around 20% new French oak, its aromas are somewhat mute at this stage. The medium-bodied palate is understated and juicy with chalky tannins and a soft 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.