Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 38

YEAR'S BEST US SYRAH & RHONE-VARIETY BLENDS
Les Collines, Lewis, and the newest, Ziggy
Stardust-this wine takes a day of air to come
into itself. Then the initial scents of delicate
purple flowers and candied plum work into
a complex weave of flavor-plum skin,
fruit leather and dried beef-supported by
succulent, grainy tannins. (W&S 4/19; 500
cases) -P.J.C. §

518881

91 | Tenet

$25

2017 Columbia Valley The Pundit Syrah
(Best Buy) ^ Tenet is Ste. Michelle's joint
effort with Philippe Cambie, a French wine
consultant and oenologist. The 2017 is a
lively red, with scents of smoked meat and
tobacco, and red fruit that feels both linear
and juicy. It's straightforward and irresistible;
for the grill. -P.J.C. §
518129

91 | W.T. Vintners

$30

2016 Horse Heaven Hills Gorgeous Destiny Ridge Vineyard Syrah (Best Buy) ^ Destiny Ridge vineyard, in the heart of the Horse
Heaven Hills, produces wines that are highdesert lean, with angular lines and austere
texture. This one has a strawberry scent and
flavors of cherry compote shaped by dusty
tannins, firm and windblown. For steak.
(W&S 10/19; 330 cases) -P.J.C. §

90 | Big Table Farm

$48

2016 The Rocks District of MiltonFreewater Funk Estate Vineyard Syrah ^
One taster called this wine Sasquatch, in part
because it's exotic and interesting, in part
because it's so big. Classic Rocks scents of
green olive and black pepper spice the black
plum and fig fruit, which has a savory mocha
depth of flavor. It's broad, chewy and dense,
ready for carne asada. (W&S 10/19) -P.J.C. §
518238

90 | Pursued by Bear

$60

90 | Watermill

$40

2015 Columbia Valley Baby Bear Syrah ^ No
one would mistake Kyle MacLachlan's Baby
Bear Syrah for a baby. It's rich and heady,
with notes of cassis and carob and the sort of
concentration normally associated with Port.
Still, there's a minty licorice-root spice lining
the flavors that gives it a compelling edge.
For lamb, roasted over coals. (W&S 12/19;
389 cases) -P.J.C. §
519214
2017 The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater Hallowed Stones Syrah ^ Exotic even by
Rocks standards, this wine has dark scents of
smoke, cinnamon and mocha. Glimmers of
fruit show through, like red apple and dried
peach, maybe from the five percent of viognier included in the blend. The texture is
dense, but a kind of dark freshness pierces
through that's oddly compelling. For roast
game hens. (150 cases) -P.J.C. §
518879

89 | Chateau Ste. Michelle

$15

88 | Airfield Estates

$18

88 | Boomtown

$19

88 | Luke

$25

2017 Columbia Valley Syrah (Best Buy) ^
This offers impressive complexity at the
price, with scents of licorice and smoked
meat, sumptuous oak flavors and sleek fruit.
Buy by the case for outdoor parties. -P.J.C. §
519200
2016 Yakima Valley Syrah (Best Buy) ^ Dark
and a bit leathery when first poured, this has
a blackberry sappiness, lined with black pepper and clove. For steak. (750 cases) -P.J.C. §
519213

519241

90 | Alexandria Nicole

$28

2017 Horse Heaven Hills Jet Black Destiny
Ridge Vineyard Syrah (Best Buy) ^ Dark and
a bit funky, with scents of carob, black fig and
plum, this is a tightly packed red with plenty
of flavor. There's a pleasant leanness to the
texture that will work well with flank steak.
(1,355 cases) -P.J.C. §
517742

WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2020

WALL A WALL A
518130

96 | W.T. Vintners

$49

2016 Walla Walla Valley Damavian Blocks
30 & 31 Les Collines Vineyard Syrah ^ Jeff
Lindsay-Thorsen refers to his allocation
at Les Collines as "the Damavian Blocks."
It makes this site sound vaguely Game of
Thrones (in fact, the word is a portmanteau
of three children's names), though fruit from
Les Collines, a cool, well-drained site in the
foothills of Walla Walla's Blue Mountains, is
always among the most aromatically expressive in all of Washington State, and may well
merit its own neologism. The aromas, goosed
by whole-cluster fermentation, are hauntingly savory, with scents of smoke, creosote,
violets, sage, peppermint, iodine, sassafras,
rosemary, lavender...it's the sort of wine you
could smell for days. It feels brisk, windswept, wild and structured for long aging.
(W&S 10/19; 190 cases) -P.J.C. §

519184

94 | Amavi

$44

2017 Walla Walla Valley Les Collines Vineyard Syrah ^ Jean-François Pellet has been
working with three mid-slope blocks in this
cool vineyard in the Blue Mountain foothills
since 2001. The wine is coolly savory and
builds in complexity, the blackberry flavors
taking on a feral note that's a Les Collines signature. The finish is cushioned and silky, with
subtle floral herb tones, like rosemary. Sexy
stuff; for lamb chops. (401 cases) -P.J.C. §

2018 Columbia Valley Syrah (Best Buy) ^
There's bang for the buck in this spicy syrah,
all of the pepper, unsweetened chocolate and
anise notes awash in raspberry jam flavors.
(4,795 cases) -P.J.C. §
518846
2017 Wahluke Slope Syrah (Best Buy) ^
Dark and intense, with a dusty black-plum
scent and flavors to match, this reminded
some panelists of grippy Italian reds, like
aglianico, only with Wahluke Slope ribbons
of heat. (1,195 cases) -P.J.C. §

518995

94 | Gramercy Cellars

$85

2016 Walla Walla Valley John Lewis Syrah ^
Composed of fruit from Les Collines, Forgotten Hills and Red Willow vineyards, this

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Wine & Spirits - February 2020

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