I can text Sean and ask him, but I’d hazard the guess zero different in celllar, all the difference in vineyard.
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Rotie is making an intentional shift to use more estate fruit, which is the vineyard in The Rocks where their tasting room is. Where the Northern Red (Syrah co-fermented with Viognier) was the only real “Rocks” wine of the lineup in previous vintages, more and more of their wines are going to be from The Rocks, including their Southern Red (GSM) and I would guess the Dre and Homage. Little G will probably continue to be non-Rocks, as they now have Big G, which is all Grenache from The Rocks.
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Not sure how to post CT reviews anymore but we had a 2017 Va Piano Vineyards Syrah Black Label Reserve Portteus Vineyard last night which was very tasty. Aerator a couple glasses and they opened up in about 15 minutes and the bottle was drinking great after being open for 30 minutes. Full bodied with dark blue and black fruits, licorice, and black pepper on a long finish. Smooth, succulent and mouth coating with good minerality on the finish.
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I always note black pepper in wines from Portteus Vineyard, so it’s neat to see you post the same, Philip.
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Those Va Piano black label syrahs (Stoney Vine, Portteus [used to be Lewis I think], and Les Collines) are a great study in what terroir can do to syrah. All excellent but very different. Alas, another wine club I had to regrettably drop due to space.
Yes, they are all quite different. I think Justin’s winemaking style is to try not to get in the way too much, which probably helps bring out the different terroir you note.
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2011 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah Foothills Reserve - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (10/11/2022)
Day 1: Aromatic! Strawberry, wet stones, black pepper, violets, earth, green olives and pepper corn. While not a powerhouse the finish on this wine is quite long. Complex and a thinking wine drinkers’ wine. Outstanding effort and many more years of drinking. 94 points
Day 2: Nice evolution of change on day 2. This is a bit bigger in style than the elegance of day 1. Blueberries, cherry, black pepper, earth, black olives, exotic spices, rose petals and wet stones. Super complex and even better than day 2. Yes 10 plus years from vintage good wines improve on day 2 and there is a solid glass waiting day 3. 95 points
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2015 Kevin White Winery Pionnier Boushey Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley (10/11/2022)
Day 1: Wow is this good. Christmas spice, raspberries, exotic spices, black pepper and floral notes. Medium plus finish and nice acidity. What a wonderful wine for $30. 93 points
Day 2: Wonderful and one of the better Kevin White’s I have tasted which is a lot. Bramble, Christmas spice, raspberries, black pepper, floral, tar and menthol. Medium plus finish. Concentrated and long finish. 94 points
Day 3: This is showing very similar to day 2. This wine has a ton of life left.
Recommendation: Name 3 wineries for the money better than Kevin White in Washington? **(94 points)
Planning on drinking a ‘07 Quilceda Creek tomorrow for my 15th anniversary. Thoughts on decant/air time?
2-3 hours should be plenty.
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Following. I’ve still got several of these socked away.
2012 Sheridan Vineyard “Boss Block” is a Cabernet Franc dominant blend from Yakima Valley. At 10 years of age this bottle was very good, but is past peak. Soft and round with plum, black cherry, and licorice notes, has fully resolved tannins giving it a plush mouthfeel with good palate weight.
Overall a very nice wine which needs to be consumed if you still have any.
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Good update, Kris, thanks. There was a stretch there around 2014-2016 (admittedly, very hot vintages) where, to me, Sheridan was making overly-ripe and soft wines that I imagine would take a turn into the prune category. Glad this 2012 wasn’t like that.
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Should have bought some Singularity on a recent auction but got so much Washington I did not pull the trigger.
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2017 Novelty Hill Winery Oxbow GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) Stillwater Creek Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (10/17/2022)
Day 1: Novelty Hills makes some really nice wines and this is no exception. Floral, spice, rose petals, chalk, dark berries and charcoal. Medium plus finish and full of life. This is an outstanding GSM blend. 92 points
Day 2: Spices, raspberries, rose petals, charcoal, soy, red currants and dark berries. Beautiful expression of a Washington State GSM. 92 points
Day 3: Holding form and these will age through 2028. Spice, soy, charcoal, minerals, rose petals, dark berries and dust. Medium plus finish. 92 points
Recommendation: A solid well-made wine. Love it when my niece got 50% off on these wines. (92 points)
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Definitely not pruney, but I wouldn’t be sitting on any more if I had them. I don’t have a ton of experience with Sheridan, got a few more to try with some age, but I wouldn’t be cellaring these for 10 years if I owned them from release. Seems like this would have been better from 5-7 years old.
I had a 2010 Sheridan Boss Block Cabernet Franc recently which was just singing, both nicely balanced and delicious-- and that is coming from someone (me) who has been gradually moving away from certain Washington Bordeaux-style wines.
Anyway, the 2010 very much exceeded my expectations and was definitely not past peak, though admittedly 2010 was a significantly different and cooler vintage vs. the comparatively warmer 2012. Personally, I would have welcomed a touch of pyrazine “character”, as I like that in my Cab Franc, but again, that’s just me.
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Recently opened a 2016 Cayuse syrah Cailloux vineyard. I don’t usually open them this young but I needed something quickly for a BYO dinner. This was open for business upon opening and just got better over two hours. Interestingly it was more lifted on the nose and mor forward with fruit on the palate than most other Cayuse syrahs perhaps from the viognier co-fermentation with this cuvee. 4 (out of 5) but will definitely improve with more age.
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These two for under $25 with shipping are about as good as Syrah gets in the world. Ordering a few more cases.
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2019 Result of a Crush Syrah The Unnamed Series - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (10/21/2022)
Day 1: 100% Syrah. Unique nose of matchstick, charcoal, green olive, black pepper, dust, blue fruits and exotic spices. This is amazing stuff. Complex and long finish. I am thinking 1/3 of my cellar will be Result of Crush Unnamed Series wines very quickly. Thanks to Trevor M. for suggesting a tasting room visit. 92+ points (92 points) -
2018 Result of a Crush Syrah The Unnamed Series - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (10/21/2022)
Day 1: This is singing and just off the UPS truck. It is a myth that wines need time from transited. Older bottles or Champagnes yes but newer bottles with over 100 notes and then 100 later no worries on these younger wines. Medium purple. This is complex like the bigger brother Reynvaan wines and for $25 a bottle one of the top wines of the year for the money. Black olives, dust, white pepper, spice, minerals, roasted meats and red currants. Medium to long finish and complexity is off the charts. 93 points (93 points)
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You got me John…just ordered 6 bottles of the 2019. $5 shipping to California??? I had to look more than a couple times and make sure I put correct address in!!
Website only shows 2017 and 2019, no 2018. Must have sold out.