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Gramercy Cellars, Syrah

Washington, United States 2015 (750mL)
$36.00
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Gramercy Cellars, Syrah

If you were to make a list of the best places in the world to make wine from the Syrah grape, Washington State would be near the top. With each new vintage, in fact, I’m tasting more and more Syrahs from appellations like Columbia Valley and Walla Walla that belong at the top of the top—right up there next to the Syrah icons of France’s Northern Rhône Valley. 
Today’s Columbia Valley Syrah from Gramercy Cellars, a perennial SommSelect favorite, is becoming an icon unto itself, as is “Washington State Syrah” in general. If you’re trying to figure out where to place it among the established world’s best, think of the most fragrant, mineral, high-wire wines of Côte-Rôtie and Saint-Joseph, add a well-modulated dollop of added concentration, and you’re there. As expected, Master Sommelier-turned-winemaker Greg Harrington and his Gramercy Cellars partner, Brandon Moss, continue to raise the stakes with this Columbia Valley Syrah. Especially when you factor in the price, you couldn’t ask for a more spot-on expression of this variety—nor would you be surprised if you mistook it for a classic Northern Rhône red in a blind tasting. This 2015 is the third edition of this wine we’ve offered on SommSelect, and it cements its reputation as a regional and varietal benchmark. If you haven’t yet tried it, you must.
We’ve told this story before, but just in case you’re new to Gramercy Cellars, we’ll tell it again: Greg Harrington is a Master Sommelier who, with his wife, Pam, launched Gramercy Cellars in 2005. He passed the MS exam in 1996, at the age of 26, and enjoyed a long restaurant career that included stints with Emeril Lagasse in New Orleans and Wolfgang Puck in Las Vegas. But the pull of wine and winemaking was strong: He was especially drawn to Washington’s Walla Walla Valley, where he worked harvest in 2004 and established a foothold for Gramercy. Over the years, the Gramercy team has assembled an all-star roster of vineyard sources across the state, including the high-elevation “Red Willow” in the Yakima Valley and “Forgotten Hills” in Walla Walla. Today’s wine, carrying the broader Columbia Valley AVA designation, is based on fruit from Forgotten Hills, a cool site at the base of the Blue Mountains with soils of volcanic basalt. Three other vineyards factor into the blend—the “Oldfield, (managed by Dick Boushey) and “Minick” vineyards, both high-elevation sites in Yakima Valley, and Gramercy’s “JB George Estate” vineyard in Walla Walla.
 
Do you taste rocks along with dark fruit in this wine? Oh yes. The 2015 was fermented in cement vats and incorporated more than 50% whole grape clusters, which adds some snap and spice to the finished product. Aged for 15 months in neutral French oak barrels, it shows a unique mix of fruit concentration and mineral savor, with lots of freshness and quite moderate alcohol to boot. The way it displays intensity without excess weight is I think what makes it such a successful wine—and it continues improving with time in the glass.

My experience with this floral, impeccably balanced 2015 was consistent with past editions of this wine—it strongly resembles top-tier Saint-Joseph grown on granite, with neither excessive oak or extract distracting from its exceptional varietal purity. It displays a deep ruby-purple core with hints of garnet at the rim, with high-toned aromas of blackberry, blueberry, red and black plums, damp violets, grilled herbs, tapenade, black pepper, roasted meat, and crushed stones. Medium-bodied and full of freshness, it has loads of depth (despite its modest alcohol) and a long, spicy finish. It is truly superb, spot-on Syrah that can be enjoyed now and over the next 5-7 years, perhaps longer. Open a bottle soon and decant it about 45 minutes before serving in large Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees, pairing it with the attached recipe for lamb meatballs. Food-friendly, lively, and full of savor—this is a Washington wine that really breaks new ground. Cheers!
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Country
United States
Region
Washington
Sub-Region
United StatesColumbia Valley
Soil
Various
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Syrah
Alcohol
13.3
OAK
Neutral French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2030
Decanting
45 Minutes
Pairing
Lamb Meatballs

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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