Winemaker Notes
The 2016 Walla Walla Syrah is a blend of Holy Roller Vineyard in the Rocks District with our estate vineyard Forgotten Hills, at the base of the Blue Mountains. These vineyards are perfect compliments. Forgotten Hills brings elegance, freshness, acidity and structure while Holy Roller brings power and classic Syrah aromatics.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromas draw you into the glass, with notes of fine chopped parsley, smoked meat, citrus zest, dried stem and wet gravel. A low-alcohol, über flavorful, savory, acid-driven palate is followed by an extended finish. It's flat-out delicious and will shine at the dinner table. Pair it with roasted pork with root vegetables.
Editors' Choice -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Classic Syrah, the 2016 Walla Walla Syrah opens with a tight core of blackberry, redcurrant, dusty plum and crème de cassis aromas, with complex and subtle nuances of smoked meat, dusty black peppercorn and violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is structured and precise, with a rocky tension on the mid-palate. The wine is clean and expressive, finishing long and contemplative with hints of violets and leather on the aftertaste.
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Wine & Spirits
Drawn from Gramercy’s Walla Walla sources, including Forgotten Hills, Les Collines and a few Rocks sites, this is a low-alcohol gem, bright with tart berry and plum fruit seasoned with whole-cluster spice. Lean and crunchy now, this will become more elegant with age. Cellar.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Syrah Walla Walla comes from a mix of vineyards in Walla Walla Valley and spent 19 months in mostly neutral French oak puncheons and barrels. It has a classic Walla Walla nose of smoked meats, lavender, olives, and game, with building smoky red and black fruits. Medium-bodied, supple, and mid-weight on the palate, it has juicy acidity and a balanced style, although it doesn't have a huge amount of depth.
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.