Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Dark and earthy in the glass, the 2022 Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard smolders with a beguiling bouquet of undergrowth, wet stones, and black cherries. It's slightly backward today, with stony mineral tones and soothingly round textures hosting a mix of graphite-infused wild berries and sage that swirl throughout. Exceptionally long, structured yet balanced, the 2022 echoes with blue and purple inner florals, leaving a tart sensation on the mouthwatering close. It's harmonious to the core. What a gorgeous wine.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and detailed, with compelling flavors of raspberry and huckleberry laced with tapenade, lavender, river stone and black olive as this builds a plush texture on the savory finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard has tension and dark fruit character for days, evoking meaty butcher shop in its layers of sanguine bacon fat and petrichor. Spicy and brooding, its tannins are broad-shouldered and long, gripping the palate through the peppery finish.
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James Suckling
This has an earthy, savory profile with aromas of smoked bacon, plum skins, charcoal, black peppercorns and stones. Full-bodied and wide on the palate with massive, compact tannins. It’s refined and textured yet finishes tight and firm, lingering with notes of iodine and seashells. From biodynamically grown grapes. Better from 2028.
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.