Winemaker Notes
From an outstanding vintage marked by a long, slow ripening season, the 2018 Baby Bear Syrah is a handsome, intensely colored wine loaded with wild blackberry, fresh blueberry, and dark, spicy aromas and flavors. A streak of olive tapenade, smoked charcuterie, and freshly cracked black pepper add interest across a textured palate laced with silky tannins and vibrant acidity. The finish is long and refined.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Impeccably balanced and refined yet plump with personality, this red offers multilayered blueberry and huckleberry flavors accented by black olive and smoky cracked pepper. Finishes with rich, polished tannins.
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James Suckling
A tad reductive on the nose, so be sure to let this breathe. Hot stones, wild herbs, ripe plums, blackberries and vanilla on the nose. Full-bodied with fine tannins. Vibrant and complex. Atop the core of ripe dark fruit there is ground baking spice, oregano and white pepper. Very steady.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Ripe black fruits, smoked herbs, graphite, and spicy, peppery herb and floral notes emerge from the 2018 Syrah Baby Bear, a medium-bodied, elegant, incredibly pretty, balanced Syrah that can be drunk today or cellared for 8-10 years. This estate continues to play at a very high level, and this is another terrific wine. Best After 2022 Rating : 91+
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Firm and focused, with classic aromas of roasted meats, lavender, soft plummy tones and black pepper, the 2018 Syrah Baby Bear is delightful and spicy in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, the wine unpacks across the palate, revealing a broad and juicy fruit-forward mouthfeel with fine-grained tannins before ending with a long, spicy finish. Bravo! Rating: 91+
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.