Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Rich chocolate, dried chile, blackcurrant, black olive and walnut aromas. Full-bodied with fantastic intensity and firm tannins holding everything together.
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Vinous
The 2021 Syrah Estate Seven Hills Vineyard entices with a nuanced blend of wild herbs, spiced citrus rinds, olives and earth tones. It’s soft textured and pliant, with a mineral tinge up front. Zesty acidity further enlivens its tart wild berry fruits. This is distinctly savory and intense. A primary concentration lingers along with edgy tannins as violet inner florals and tart black raspberry notes fade. There is simply so much going on here, yet the 2021 is still so young. The future appears to be very bright.
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Wine Spectator
Expressive and precise, this red unfurls with black cherry and raspberry flavors laced with stony mineral and white pepper notes, building tension toward medium-grained tannins.
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Wine Enthusiast
The attractive one-two aromatic punch of blackberry popsicles and bacon fat is joined by floral notes of violets and freesia. Juicy red apple and pomegranate seed flavors mix it up with blackberry jam, nutmeg, cedar and chocolate. Elevated acidity and brawny tannins provide plenty of support. Try this wine with a muffuletta and any Trombone Shorty record.
Editors' Choice -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Syrah Seven Hills Vineyard Estate delights with notes of black raspberries, olives, nuances of red and black peppercorns, dried lavender and hung sausage. This medium-bodied Syrah boasts a balanced structure and a juicy and dusty mid-palate that promises to remain food-friendly until the end of this decade.
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.