Winemaker Notes
Force Majeure Red Mountain Estate Syrah is grown predominantly at the top of their hillside vineyard, where it is steepest and rockiest. The vines must put put down deep roots to gather moisture and nutrients, and the soil helps to create a powerful but elegant wine with a volcanic soil backbone. There are a variety of Syrah clones and trellising methods employed, including gobelet sur echalas. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Blend: 98% Syrah, 2% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Co-fermented with 2% Viognier, the 2020 Syrah Red Mountain Estate reveals a deed purple/plum color as well as gorgeous aromatics of red and black fruits, chalky minerality, ground pepper, and smoked meats. This rich, full-bodied, concentrated, structured Syrah has plenty of mid-palate density, building tannins, and a great finish. It needs 2-4 years of bottle age, but this brilliant Syrah will have two decades of overall longevity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made with 2% Viognier, the 2020 Estate Syrah is firm, floral and spicy with notes of plum and cherry reduction with hints of oak and bitter dark chocolate. Full-bodied, mineral and expressive, the palate is juicy with a food-friendly and spicy finish that will need some time in the bottle to settle. The wine rested for 18 months in 25% new French oak, all larger format.
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.”
A coveted source of top quality red grapes among premier Washington producers, the Red Mountain AVA is actually the smallest appellation in the state. As its name might suggest, it is actually neither a mountain nor is it composed of red earth. Instead the appellation is an anticline of the Yakima fold belt, a series of geologic folds that define a number of viticultural regions in the surrounding area. It is on the eastern edge of Yakima Valley with slopes facing southwest towards the Yakima River, ideal for the ripening of grapes. The area’s springtime proliferation of cheatgrass, which has a reddish color, actually gives the area the name, "Red" Mountain.
Red Mountain produces some of the most mineral-driven, tannic and age-worthy red wines of Washington and there are a few reasons for this. It is just about the hottest appellation with normal growing season temperatures commonly reaching above 90F. The soil is particularly poor in nutrients and has a high pH, which results in significantly smaller berry sizes compared to varietal norms. The low juice to skin ratio in smaller berries combined with the strong, dry summer winds, leads to higher tannin levels in Red Mountain grapes.
The most common red grape varieties here are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, among others. Limited white varieties are grown, namely Sauvignon blanc.
The reds of the area tend to express dark black and blue fruit, deep concentration, complex textures, high levels of tannins and as previously noted, have good aging capabilities.