Winemaker Notes
Immediately hits you with savory notes of bacon fat, roasted meat, black olives, tar and black peppercorn backed by fruit notes of marionberry, ripe bing cherry, black currant and wild mountain berries. Subtle hints of fresh thyme and violets. On the palate this wine is all about mouthfeel. There are no hard edges. It’s smooth and silky. Tannins pick up a bit on the back end and the acid compliments the palate weight to give this wine a seamless finish. Blend: 85% Syrah, 15% Carignan
Professional Ratings
-
Wine & Spirits
This is from Greg Harrington's tier of wines meant to broaden the winery's regional reach to the Columbia Valley. The blend comes from Les Collines, Forgotten Hills and Holy Roller vineyards—the latter a new parcel owned by Chris Figgins, in The Rocks. The wine leads with scents of mocha and olive—the Rocks showing its stuff—while the flavors feel a bit warmer, with a seductively plush texture, limned by violet-and-rosemary-scented tannins. Drinking beautifully now; serve with lamb.
-
James Suckling
Aromas of spicy red fruit, cream and suede. Medium-bodied with melting tannins. Juicy red fruit on the palate is complimented by hot paprika, clove and nutmeg. Thyme, too. Hot-stone mineral character. Bright and refreshing.
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 large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.