Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Made from 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier, all from the Rocks region of Walla Walla, the 2016 Syrah Estate In The Rocks is slightly deeper colored than the Contender release and has an incredibly complete, balanced style that checks in near the top of the vintage. Blackberries, ground pepper, olive, and smoked meat notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, ultra-fine, pure Syrah that has a terrific mid-palate, superb balance, and a great, great finish. Reminding me of a mature Hermitage with its aromatic style and complexity, it's great today and will be great in 15 years.
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Wine Spectator
Bold aromas of blackberry and bacon fat lead to densely layered and vibrant huckleberry, river stone and licorice flavors that take on richness toward polished tannins
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Syrah In The Rocks has a tart core of black fruit on the nose, with a touch of flowers and a firm base of minerality that almost overpowers the black pepper and oak spices. The wine is medium to full-bodied on the palate, with some good minerality and grippy tannins that show the same seriousness as the "In the Hills" bottling of the same range. It has a focused, linear expression on the finish with a mineral grip and tannic edge. 673 cases made.
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromas offer lively notes of freshly peeled orange, potpourri, black pepper, fresh flower, wet stone and smoked meat. It coats the palate from end to end, bringing a sense of freshness and subtlety, with a persistent, plum- and smoked meat-filled finish. It shows a lot of grace and depth, with a finish that will not quit.
Editors' Choice
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.