Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Sequel is a deep, dark ruby color in the glass with wild blackberry and spicy black pepper aromas. Full-bodied and rich on the palate, black currant flavors weave around a core of black olive tapenade. Mouth-filling viscosity and a refined texture complement the wine’s backbone to coat the palate. A vibrant and lively impression carry the long, generous finish.
Blend: 100% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Syrah Sequel is a big, rich, meaty, powerful beauty offering copious amounts of ripe black fruits as well as ground pepper, chocolate, graphite, and spicy oak all soaring from the glass. It packs a punch, as always, with its ripe, sexy style, yet it shows the cooler, elegant style of the vintage beautifully and is balanced, has ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's going to cruise for 10-12 years in cold cellars.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Overflowing with elegance and varietal purity, the 2019 Syrah Sequel offers a crystalline and focused nose with elements of dark cherry, baked earth and dusty flowers with a harmonious and floral lift from 30% whole clusters. Full-bodied and clocking in at 15% alcohol on the label, it doesn’t seem as heavy-handed and bold on the palate. The wine demonstrates considerable restraint, exuding elegance and finesse with succulent red fruit and subtly spiced potpourri tones. If you’re looking for a big, beefy Syrah with black peppercorns in your face, this is not it. However, if you're looking for a floral, fresh, elegant style of Syrah, look no further! Just over 25,500 bottles were filled after the wine rested for 18 months in all French oak, 65% new. Give it a try!
Rating:95+ -
James Suckling
Aromas of dark berries, ground pepper and leather. Full-bodied with chewy tannins. The palate is rich, but there is lift and good definition within the fruit profile. Nuanced. Black licorice and spice. Best after 2024.
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Wine & Spirits
Big and burly, with oak-heavy accents of carob and caramel, this syrah fills that frame with smoky purple-plum flavors and fruit-skin tannins. Give it time in the cellar to knit.
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Wine Spectator
Refined and handsomely built, with dark raspberry, bitter chocolate and smoky herb flavors that finish with fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2029. 2,130 cases made.
Long Shadows Vintners is a collection of seven ultra-premium wines, each built on the unique expertise of some of the world's most highly-regarded winemakers to showcase the viticultural quality and caliber of Washington State's Columbia Valley.
Founded by Washington wine visionary Allen Shoup in 2002, Long Shadows is the continuation of Allen's ongoing ambition to bring international recognition to the Columbia Valley. His idea for Long Shadows was as simple as it was complex. Recruit seven internationally acclaimed winemakers; give each access to Washington State's best grapes; and outfit a winery to the vintner’s exacting cellar specifications. The result, in effect, is seven stand-alone wineries, under one roof.
Since the beginning, Long Shadows' director of winemaking and viticulture Gilles Nicault, has overseen the operations of the winery and worked closely with the vintners to bring each winemaker's vision to completion. Internationally renowned winemakers Randy Dunn (Feather Cabernet Sauvignon); John Duval (Sequel Syrah); Philippe Melka (Pirouette Red Wine); and Michel Rolland (Pedestal Merlot) are active partners in their respective wines. Gilles now crafts Poet’s Leap Riesling and Saggi (Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon) in styles that remain true to their original winemakers, Armin Diel and Giovanni Folonari respectively. Gilles crafts Chester-Kidder, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend, independently.
Gilles works closely with the state's top growers to execute a diverse winemaking protocol at Long Shadows' state-of-the-art facility in Walla Walla to produce wines of exceptional quality, true to the Columbia Valley's terroir.
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.