2007 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah In the Rocks- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (12/3/2010)
Been a little over a year since I last had this one, popped and poured, wine in glass saw about 30 min of air. I had a few bites of a Lamb Pot Pie with this and it was an amazingly good pairing, though drinking on glass two after dinner it is a bit more primal. Nose has moments of barnyard, baking spices, red fruits. The palate has firm (but not astringent) tannins with tar, blackberry, black olives, black cherries. I really think this is in a bit of a dumb phase, I can see a lot of great things on the nose and palate, but none of them are broadcasting at the frequency of prior bottles. Leaving 1/2 bottle for the next night or two, see if some air time opens this up. (90 now, 92-94 potential?) (90 pts.)
I’m a fan of syrahs that have character. The blueberry oak monsters floating around have little appeal, but wines with personality are always welcome. As a WA wine drinker, Reynvaan and Cayuse never disappoint.
Barnyard, baking spices, red fruits, tar, blackberry, black olives, black cherries… that’s a 95’er for me right there. I can’t think of any '07 syrah from WA that can match that complexity right now that didn’t involve Christophe. (Charles from K is a close second and I’m searching for a third…)
Have yet to have a Reynvaan or Cayuse from any vintage that appeared closed to me. I enjoyed the note but you are a tough grader!
I agree Tom, these types of wines are right in my wheelhouse. Re-reading my TN, the impression I wanted to convey is that this just fell in that spot between the bright youth a year ago and the great secondary and tertiary elements to come. still an enjoyable quaff!
And yes, I’m a bit of a conservative scorer, which ranks this pretty decently wrt my other TN but makes me look like a low-baller wrt Jay Miller…
Edit: Wasn’t able to revisit the remaining 1/2 bottle on night 2 which appears from other TN to be a great point to drink this, but at 48 hrs open I find this wine absolutely singing. Try to imagine taking a sip and then arguing with yourself “was that bacon? No, Blackberry! Wait, it was tar and a hint of kirsch…” All perfectly in balance, no heat, no tannic grip, medium long finish. I think this might have even been better at 24 hours, but no sign of oxidation at 48. What I felt was missing on night one from an intensity standpoint has integrated seamlessly on night 3 into a beautiful wine. 50+5+12+16+10= 93
Was this really 3rd leaf? Man it is glorious Syrah! We knew we needed something really good and different after Rivers Marie Summa Old Vines last night and oh boy, did this hit the spot. Yummy meat notes with a hint of barnyard, tons of blue/black fruit and some olives. Just delicious, and that’s not a crime.
Had this wine earlier in the week and can echo the others.
Scott, I didn’t see much upside for me as I enjoyed it with about an hour of air and found that it hit it’s stride at about hour 3.
Saved half the bottle for the next day and it seemed a bit closed and tight, certainly not the fun stuff on day one, clearly I should have left it another 24 hours.
Glad to see this was showing well, I’ve only got one more in the cellar cause they are too good to keep the hands off of. I am really hoping to check in on that one in 2017 or so as I think they will go that long given the acidity in the bottle.
The wife mentioned everything was set up for the tasting in WW2 so glad to hear that is squared away.
I’ve retried some of this bottling and not been quite as impressed as I was on release. still enjoyable, but lacks the excitement I felt on release. I do think that we need to be patient. Hell, if this wine was from France, we wouldn’t touch it for ten years. I agree that it’s in a slightly shut phase.
The resurfacing of the TN caught me off guard, good to see others with some recent TN data points.
I don’t think I’ve had a Reynvaan since trying this one, but I know Carrie has been popping away the new releases on her FB posts, I might just have to go hunt one down here soon.