2009 Syrah Walla Walla Valley
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An all around gorgeous Syrah that is more open and ready to go that I anticipated, the 2009 Gramercy Cellars Syrah (100% Syrah fermented with 30% whole-cluster and aged for 18 months in 10% new French oak) delivers a spectacularly complex bouquet of smoked black and red berry fruits, ground black and white pepper, lavender, and hung game like qualities. This flows to a medium to full-bodied Syrah that has a seamless texture, excellent mid-palate concentration, and building richness that comes through on the lengthy finish. While excellent now, I think it will be even better with another 2-3 years of bottle age, and have an easy decade or more of prime drinking.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Jeb Dunnuck
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The 2009 Syrah Walla Walla Valley was sourced mostly from the Les Collines Vineyard. A brooding bouquet offers up notes of smoked meat, game, lavender, pepper, plum, and blueberry. On the palate it reveals a sense of elegance, excellent grip and volume, and enough stuffing to evolve for 2-3 years. It will provide optimum drinking from 2013 to 2024. Gramercy Cellars was started by Master Sommelier Greg Harrington in 2005. As these wines attest, he is not resting on his laurels. Tel. (509) 876-2427; www.gramercycellars.com
Coming mostly from Les Collines and fermented with 30% whole cluster, the 2009 Gramercy Cellars Syrah (100%) looks to be a rock star wine! Showing awesome complexity and intensity on the nose with perfectly ripe red and black berry like fruits, pepper, coffee, tapenade and assorted gamey notes, the wine doesn’t lose beat on the palate. Medium to full bodied and very fresh, possessing great acidity, an energetic, elegant profile, and fine grained, polished structure that comes out on the finish, this will certainly compete, and possibly eclipse the stunning ’08. The sweet spot here should be in 4-5 years, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see this still showing well at age 15.