Wine & Spirits - February 2021 - 41

Year's Best US Syrah & Rhône Varieties
structure, but the tannins are more tender
and chewy than the structure would lead you
to believe. Cellar. -P.J.C. §
522299

90 | Tenet

luscious waves. It feels elegant and seamless,
poised between assertive flavors and delicate
structure. -P.J.C. (W&S 10/20; 385 cases) §

$40

2017 Red Mountain The Pundit Syrah ^
Dark and concentrated, with scents of clove,
carob and cassis, this syrah, like others from
Tenet, is lavish in its oak treatment. Its flavors
are dark and compact, but the wine remains
nimble with fine, claylike tannins cradled in
caramel and mocha, balanced for skirt steak.
-P.J.C. §

WALL A WALL A VALLEY

95 | Gramercy Cellars

95 | Prospice

$85

2017 Walla Walla Valley John Lewis Syrah ^
John Lewis in 2017 is drawn primarily from
Greg Harrington's slice of Les Collines
Vineyard, blocks 36 and 46; this year, he
added a small amount of viognier (three
percent) to the blend. It's low in alcohol (12.7
percent) and takes days to unfurl, leading
with scents of violets, cedar and rye grain,
all overlaying a dark and tightly coiled bluefruit scent that gathers dimension the longer
the wine is open. By the third day, the wine
has let in light; the structure feels like an
exterior shell, rendering the core of the wine
weightless and fresh; the texture is seamless
and spiced with oak. It's still years from peak
expression. -P.J.C. §
521408

95 | W.T. Vintners

521429

$49

2017 Walla Walla Valley Damavian
Les Collines Vineyard Syrah ^ The 2017
Damavian is just as impressive as the 2016,
reflecting, for starters, the consistency of
Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen's winemaking, which
is gentle and hands-off, a healthy rendering
of whole clusters, and cool, ambient-yeast
fermentations. This is a very cool expression
of Les Collines, tense and endlessly flavorful,
with notes of blackberries and peppercorn,
violets and smoke, all coming in generous,

$45

2018 Walla Walla Valley Resurgent
Vineyard Syrah ^ Jay Krutulis and Matt Reilly
draw this wine from a refurbished vineyard
planted in the mid-nineties. It has pickbreaking cobblestone and fractured basalt
soils similar to those of the Rocks District
some (eight miles away, but the elevation
(about 1,400 feet) and proximity to the
Blue Mountain foothills make this a unique
terroir, producing fruit with more nerve than
the Rocks typically achieves. This is a wine
with exotic aromatics-smoke and olive,
licorice and dried beef. The fruit flavors of
acai are fine and attenuated, lean, purple,
and mouthwatering, with elegant tannins
and acidity (all at 13.3% alcohol). Thrilling
stuff from a winery to watch. -P.J.C. §

93 | Amavi Cellars

$45

2018 Walla Walla Valley Les Collines
Syrah ^ Amavi has been making a Les Collines
syrah since 2003; this wine serves as a kind
of ur-Syrah from the property. You'll be
impressed by two seemingly contradictory
impulses in this wine, its concentrated
density and its precision. Scents of black
plum and cured meat have a fine-grained,
nimble display of tannins, lively and on point
for lamb chops. -P.J.C. §

93 | Big Table Farm

$48

93 | Saviah Cellars

$55

92 | Big Table Farm

$48

2017 The Rocks District of MiltonFreewater Funk Vineyard Syrah ^ Big Table
Farm's foray into the Rocks feels true to form,
delivered with winemaker Brian Marcy's
hallmark clarity. It smells of carob and cocoa,
clove and allspice, a rich interpretation of the
Rocks' exotic profile. The fig and blackberry
flavors are generous but decidedly not rich,
offset by impressive acidity and sinewy
tannins. -P.J.C. (W&S 10/20; 145 cases) §

2018 Walla Walla The Stones Speak Estate
Syrah ^ Saviah's " Stones Speak " allows for
other voices in 2018, with wood-tones added
to a plush and funky Rocks signature in this
assertive wine. Scents of clove and mocha
lead; its dark purple fruit bears a whiff of
smoke. The flavors are rich as mulled wine,
as dark as fig skin, and held together with
sumptuous, caramelly oak. Cellar. -P.J.C. §
522099
2018 The Rocks District of MiltonFreewater Funk Vineyard Syrah ^ Big Table
Farm's excursions from Carlton to MiltonFreewater fall within winemaker Brian
Marcy's aesthetic leanings: generous wines
that nevertheless hew to fine, delineated
structures and finessed tannins. This one is
smoky and mildly herbal, redolent of licorice
and clove, the plum flavors drily delivered
for something sumptuous, like porchetta.
-P.J.C. §

WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2021

https://www.bigtablewine.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showlist&productcategoryid=7434BEBB-0935-4DA3-914B-9F7D4D0FFC97 https://www.prospice.wine/tasting https://www.gramercycellars.com/shop/?view=products&slug=current-releases https://www.saviahcellars.com/wine/estate/2018-syrah-stones-speak/ https://www.amavicellars.com/wine/2018-les-collines-syrah/

Wine & Spirits - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - February 2021