So, we are having a tasting of this vineyard at my golf club next month. Our wine Nazi (who thinks he knows all things wine), has invited them - they are also going to be in town at one of the best restaurants in town (in the country), suggesting they are a decent, if not great winery. I’ve never heard of them, and a Parker search brings up 1 review from a years ago which isn’t amazing, but neither of those ultimately mean anything.
Any real world experience with their wines, and what they’re known for, would be appreciated. I am a fan of Walla Walla wines generally.
Hi Will - I enjoy Reynvaan and buy their Syrahs every year. They have vineyards in The Rocks AVA on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla valley. The Rocks produces a very distinct Syrah with a slightly funky, very savory side that I really like. They used Christophe Baron of Cayuse fame as an advisor for several years. Points aren’t everything, but their Syrahs routinely receive scores in the mid- to upper 90’s from most of the critics. Take a look at their website for more info. Cheers!
The guy knows his stuff. Easily one of the best producers in all of Washington state. I just drank a bottle of “In the Rocks” the other day and it’s one of the best domestic syrahs in the country. But you got to love the savory side of Syrah to like Reynvaan. This isn’t Saxum, this is a whole other Ballpark.
I bought many starting with the '08 vintage through the '10 when the prices went up by 50% or more. A buyer in the $40, not the $60 and up.
Have shared and gifted many, '09s gone. Only one note from early on:
2008 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah The Unnamed- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (10/16/2010)
A tasting at StoryTeller. Initial impressions were very favorable for a young wine. Nice fruit, very drinkable. Better notes will follow when an actual bottle is consumed. Suffice to say that I added 2 more to the ones on order from the winery. As a prelude to the more senior offerings from Reynvaan, this was superb and they should be quite stellar and greatly anticipated. (91 pts.)
Not only does your wine Nazi know his wines apparently he’s both well connected and very fortuntate to have arranged a tasting with them.
As for scores, searching the Parker site by “Reynvaan” yields 71 wines reviewed with scores topping out at 98 of which 33 had Parker scores of 95 or better. How many 10 year wineries come even close? Side note is that I speak from experience, have enjoyed well over 100 different bottles of Reynvaan and over 60 of a similar winery - Cayuse.
But reviews are just that, opinions of others. You need to taste for yourself. I’ll bet you’ll be blown away! Almost guarantee it. As for the family they are very special, wonderful, gracious and very generous! If you like the Walla Walla style of Syrah and Cabernet as well, it will be a tasting you’ll long remember.
I’ll stop here with an unconditional recommendation to be there and thank your wine Nazi. He hit a grand slam.
Their wine is really really good, it’s more sauvage than Cayuse in my experience but in the same vein, but I have heard some say it’s to animal-y for them. Their winemaker trained under Christophe Baron.
The owner of a local wine bar discovered them several years ago on a visit up to Walla Walla and was an early retail client of theirs. It was love at first taste for me and has become my favorite domestic Syrah of late. I was fortunate to get in before they became a wait list wine.
Ive been a buyer the last 4 vintages of their Cote Rotie style syrah. I am particularly fond of the wines they co-ferment with viognier and marsanne. I suspect they will age well but have a tough time keeping my hands off because they drink so well out of the gate. Been increasing my purchases via wishlist grants so hopefully I’ll age a few.
Purchases are on a futures basis so I just ordered my 2016’s to be delivered November 2018. Looking forward to the 15’s arrival soon. Prices have been climbing pretty rapidly because of all the recent acclaim with the highest scores for WA Syrah. Hopefully they will settle where they are for a while as they are approaching my breaking point.
Great stuff, I was in a well known wine shop in Seattle a number of years ago looking for Cayuse. The owner said he was out, but suggested if i liked Cayuse to try the Unnamed Syrah. It was an 09. Loved it and immediately signed up to their mailing list. No waits back in those days. Been purchasing regularly ever since and happy I did. I agree with all of the above comments on their style, and also particularly love their Syrahs that are co-fermented, but the 100% Stoneessence is no slouch either. Cannot comment on their whites, not their cabernet as I have not had any. They also age well in my short experience. The 2010’s are still drinking beautifully. Also-they are really nice folks, and their customer service is great. I will say they you need to pre-order and pay for their offerings a good deal earlier than many other domestic syrah producers.
Attend the tasting. If nothing else you will get a good feel for “Rocks” syrah. They are typically very good, very well made wines, though I question the price point for many of them. Very nice people as well.
I regularly buy the Result of Crush which is made by the sisters. The brother probably gets the best grapes for his wines, but the pricing is in my range. The wines are more reserved for my Pinot centric tastes.
We had a tasting at the winery with Matt a few years ago and it was a great experience. He only opened one bottle…but we did five or six barrel samples. I was on the list but they did not ship to South Carolina so I had to order from retail sources. I finally gave it up due to price increases, but is is good wine and Matt is a great guy.
I was on the their list too but never ordered anything as I have been able to find the wines at retail at or significantly below (for the 2013s especially) their list prices.
I don’t recall why I signed up for their mailing list, but I did. Now I have an email to buy some whites, and a Bordeaux future. I’d appreciate a general description of their wines? Are they fruit-forward, or more earthy? Need cellar time, or good out the gate? For what it’s worth, I do get Cayuse.