Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lots of Graves-like smoked earth, tobacco, and cold fireplace notes emerge from the 2018 Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard. It shows more classic gamey Syrah notes with air, offering ample amounts of bloody blue fruits, iron, and peppered meat nuances. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and nicely concentrated on the palate, with gorgeous tannins, it has the purity and elegance that's the hallmark of the vintage, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's just another spectacular, singular Syrah from this estate that will benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for 20+ years.
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James Suckling
An intense, richly flavorful red with aromas of dried violets, raspberries, currants, porcini, barbecued meat, cloves and cumin. It’s full-bodied and chewy with tight, sleek tannins framing a concentrated, spiced and earthy core. Chocolate. Keeps going. Try from 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Boasting a firm, dense and serious nose, the 2018 Syrah en Chamberlin Vineyard expresses notions of peppered beef jerky, cured venison, roasted plum and wilted lavender in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is sturdy and broad with elements of crème de cassis, bone broth, impressive mineral tension and healthy tannins that grip the gumline. It conclude with a long, lingering and subtly smoked finish. The wine aged for 19 months in mostly neutral French oak. Let this one rest for another year in the cellar before opening, and drink through the next decade and a half. Decanting is recommended. Rating: 95+
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Wine Spectator
A distinctive style, showing richness and detail, with expressive raspberry and blueberry flavors gathering accents of crushed rock and smoky white pepper on the way to polished tannins. Drink now through 2030.
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.