Winemaker Notes
A deep, intensely colored wine, with juicy boysenberry, fresh blueberry, wild raspberry and a ribbon of dark cocoa flavors complemented by delicate hints of olive tapenade and freshly cracked black pepper. Breathe in the aromas and sip to savor each of these flavors as they gain focus on the palate. Beautifully textured, with refined tannins and vibrant acidity reflective of the vintage, the finish is long and generous. Handpicked grapes were de-stemmed and then traveled through an optical sorter to ensure only the finest fruit was moved to stainless steel tanks for primary fermentation. The wine was then transferred to new, Taransaud puncheons (600L) and allowed to mature slowly and integrate the fruit and oak fully, further developing the wine’s refined, complex flavors and lush mouthfeel.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Black fruit, cracked pepper, smoked meat, olives and leather on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with sleek tannins and fresh acidity. Juicy, savory and spicy with saline undertones. Drink now or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Syrah Baby Bear is all Syrah and spent 30 months in Taransaud 600-Liter puncheons. This medium-bodied, balanced, elegant Syrah has fine, polished tannins as well as complex notes of jammy blackberries, leafy herbs, and foresty, earthy nuances. It’s impeccably made. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Coffee, chocolate, vanilla, wood spice and dark fruit aromas are followed by smooth, sultry flavors. Fruit and barrel play equal parts in the show, with the vintage's bright acidity keeping them both in vivid focus.
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.