Winemaker Notes
The winemaker likes this wine a lot. Two great sites, one grower. Compelling, aromatic dark plum, briny olive, spice cake. Focused, fresh and exciting to drink. Black cherry, deep red rose petals, cool earth. Deep...a seriously good Syrah.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
From a site on the Wahluke Slope, the 2016 Syrah Milbrandt reveals a ruby/plum color as well as evolved, Graves-like aromas of tobacco, earth, iron, and asphalt, with plenty of earthy dark fruit. It builds nicely with time in the glass, has ripe tannins, and terrific balance, and it’s a steal at the price.
-
James Suckling
A blend of two plots, this is fermented as whole clusters in stainless steel and aged in puncheons (25% new) for 15 months. Savory and tarry notes with dried-cherry aromas and flavors, too. There’s freshness and long-form tannin depth from extended maceration here, which holds this wine long and even. Drink this for a decade from now.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Beginning with a fresh, ripe and juicy core of black plum, savory holiday ham and blackberry fresh from the bush, the 2016 Syrah Milbrandt Vineyard wafts with healthy fruit tones and a dusty black pepper note. Rich and inviting in the mouth, the wine is both ripe and tannic on the palate. It's a solid wine for the price and is structured to age just beyond its 10th birthday. Only 1,800 cases made for this value and quality-driven wine.
Located at the base of the Blue Mountains in Walla Walla Washington, K Vintners opened its doors to the public on December 3rd, 2001. The property at 820 Mill Creek Road where the winery sits was homesteaded in 1853 with the adjacent farmhouse built in 1872. The winery grounds with Titus Creek flowing through the lawn and the old pioneer planted trees, is a little slice of heartland Americana. The Winemaker: He loves to drink wine! Charles Smith, proprietor and winemaker, comes to Walla Walla after 11 years in Scandanavia. Originally from northern California, he has been involved with wine personally and professionally his whole life. And did we forget to mention... he loves to drink wine! The Vineyards: K Vintners is producing wines from 2 distinctive viticultural zones: Wahluke Slope and Walla Walla Valley. Each of these areas are unique and awesome for Syrah and the Field Blends produced. In April '02 two seperate blocks of vineyards were planted to Syrah adjacent to the winery in the rocky dry creek beds that run through K Vintners property.
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.”
Distinguished by a broad, south-exposed, uniform slope and landlocked by the Columbia River to its south and Saddle Mountains to its north, the Wahluke Slope AVA of Washington holds 15% of the total vine acreage of the state and takes its name from the Native American word for “watering place.”
Incidentally the Wahluke Slope AVA has one of the hottest and driest climates of the state so irrigation is not only essential, but also allows complete grower control of vine vigor. On top of its arid and warm environment, strong summer winds blow across this broad slope and ensure both smaller leaf size and grape clusters. The result is top quality wines with great concentration, phenolic ripeness, body and depth of flavor.
Vineyards cover the AVA from 425 to 1,480 feet along the slope. Its deep soils of wind-blown alluvium and sand with a depth, on average, of more than 5 feet along the continuous grade allow optimal drainage for the vines.
Thriving varieties include Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc.
Merlots are rich in sweet, ripe cherry, red currant, raspberry and cocoa. Syrahs tend to express black and blue fruit along with savory notes. Wahluke Cabernets are rich in stewed red and black berries.