Winemaker Notes
Roasted meats. Spice. Tobacco. Green herbs. Bacon fat. Earth. Black pepper. Plums. Freshly picked blueberries. Mouth-coating tannins. Share with friends.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of menthol, black cherry, redcurrant and fennel seed. Full-bodied with fine tannins. Milk chocolate and cherry mix on the palate. Vanilla bean and cream at the finish. Very good depth.
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Wine Spectator
A handsome red that's structured yet open-knit, with vibrant blueberry, bacon fat and black olive flavors that propel toward refined tannins.
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Wine Enthusiast
Prepare to spin the black-fruit circle to play a beautiful Syrah tune with this wine. Black-cherry aromas explode from the glass, followed by waves of apricots, chalk dust, a bloody steak, Burley pipe tobacco and rosemary. The tannins are still chewy, so I suggest decanting for as long as you can before the wine’s aromas break your will. Flavors like blackberries, mocha powder, graham cracker pie crust and wet slate.
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.