WTN: Four days, two Syrahs - Walla Walla and Valais

This was fun. We have started doing more quasi-blind experiments with our wine at home, where one us picks the wine and the other--sharing their thinking as they go along in a process of elimination--tries to identify it. I am rather pathetic at blind tasting identification and I was trying to name the first wine (I found it much easier to identify the French barrique than the varietal, but then again I haven't had many syrahs in the recent past--nonetheless I was outshone by my partner's correct identification of the varietal for the Valais). It was also very educational for us as we had these two syrahs over a short period of time (the Walla Walla over days 1 and 2 and the Valais over days 3 and 4) making for good comparison.

2005 Amavi Walla Walla Valley Syrah (Walla Walla Valley, Columbia Valley, Washington, USA) 14.1% –

DAY ONE: appears heavy purple, viscous on side of glass, smell candied, oak, warm climate, bit vegetal, fragrant, very nice, taste cool on tongue at first, moving toward very interesting flavors as heat and oak come in, bitter asparagus tips on finish, intense and hot in flavor and tasty, the first glass felt like more potential than actualization and the vanilla of what I assumed what was French oak was not quite integrated, so I decided to put the rest of the bottle away for the next day, I am glad I did.

DAY TWO: appears same, smell more meaty, more peppery, very very nice on the nose, could focus on that for a while, taste more integrated, good blackberry, cocoa powder, really nice texture was somewhat silky but still really gritty, great liveliness on finish, a bit of sweetness lurking in there but overall felt lively and interesting to me, as the website of the producer does not seem to indicate that the wine is intended for aging, I would go for a long decant, I felt like it gave the wine a chance to really come together, even at $28 I really enjoyed this wine and I am glad I made the purchase, great to see how it changed over the course of one day.

From producer: 100 percent syrah, 47% Seven Hills Vineyard, 15% Pepper Bridge Vineyard, 32% Les Collines Vineyard, 6% John LeFore Vineyard, 100% French oak, 36% new oak, 64% used oak, 1601 cases and 15 magnum cases, bottled February 2007

2005 Cave du Vieux-Moulin (Romain Papilloud) Valais Syrah (AOC Valais, Switzerland) 13% –

DAY ONE: appears ink purple thick on glass, reflective, smell bare blackberry, cocoa, lots of drying meats, powerful very interesting very savory nose, wonderful, taste incredible acid upfront, wonderful dense yet still flowing texture, gamey, rich, bare hints of black pepper in background and on sides of mouth, gamey elements combined with lots of acid (somewhat like sucking on a lemon) provide for a very interesting wine, the first time I tried it, it screamed for food, mighty interesting stuff

DAY TWO: appears same, bit more bubblegum on the nose, taste had quieted down and integrated quite a bit, here on day two there was a suggestion of barrique, which I never detected on day one, great to wash down pork roast, I rather liked this wine, I think I preferred it a bit more on day one when the wine grabbed your palate and would not let go (think of a puppy playing tug-of-war with a towel), exciting and different for me on day one, but perhaps more approachable and nuanced on day two, for the 28 Swiss francs I paid, I was very happy with this wine

Other information on label: élevée en barrique, vigneron-encaveur, Vétroz

[Jenise]

$28 is a good price for the Amavi, Keith, that's about what it goes for here.

Anyway, interesting note, I haven't tasted that wine since the 02 vintage where it was my favorite among six WA syrahs in a blind tasting. I can't find my notes on that, but I remember that what I liked was that it had almost no extract, and was very savoury and spicy. Most syrahs here tend to go the other way.

I did find Clark's TN on an 04 while searching for my own that you might be interested in comparing to your experience: Their 2004 Columbia Valley Syrah ($28) is very dark, with an awesome aroma; it is a big wine that delivers complex flavors without over extracted jaminess. This was the best Syrah for the price we tasted during this visit.

I visited the Amavi winery last time I was in Walla Walla, tasted their Syrah (it was the 2004 vintage), liked it very much and bought a bottle to take home and age, because it seemed to me like it would improve with some years under its belt. My impression is that they're one of the better winemakers in W2, less prone to overoaking and overextraction than some others. Do they actually export to Germany or did you buy it on a trip in the U.S.?

where one us picks the wine and the other--sharing their thinking as they go along in a process of elimination--tries to identify it.

Sounds like fun. Although I imagine you both know what wines you have in the cellar, so perhaps that helps with identification?

Or are purchases also made to keep the other person in the dark?

Keith, I really like the experiment you conducted. I should try this with some friends some time.

I recently had the 2005 Amavi Walla Walla Valley Syrah as part of a larger blind tasting of 8 different Washington Syrah's. It came across as buttery and somewhat lacking in complexity. Perhaps it just needed time in the decanter or (better yet) in the cellar.

I think it is time for me to sample some of the 2004 Amavi Syrah I brought back from Walla Walla a year ago. They had two different Syrah bottlings from the 2004 vintage, Columbia Valley and Les Collines Vineyard. The latter was their Fall 2006 Wine Club selection, which we joined.

Just FYI, their winemaker, Jean-Francois Pellet, was born and raised in Switzerland and is also the winemaker at Pepper Bridge Winery in Walla Walla.

Speaking of that WA Syrah blind tasting, I easily identified two of the wines on the list: 2004 Spring Valley Nina Lee Walla Walla Syrah (monstrously alcoholic at 16.1% ABV), and 2003 McCrea Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Syrah (intensely powerful flavors). One of the tasters paid very close attention and got 6 of 8 correct.

-- Clark

Sounds like fun. Although I imagine you both know what wines you have in the cellar, so perhaps that helps with identification?

Oh, it gets even easier than that, Rahsaan, as we are not only aware of what's there, but usually have tasted the wine previously, which is a huge advantage. But the Swiss syrah was a bit of a ringer in this case, as I had tried it before but she had not . . . and she still was able to identify it as a syrah though she couldn't believe it came from the New World (and she was not aware that we had any syrah from anywhere else).

I recently had the 2005 Amavi Walla Walla Valley Syrah as part of a larger blind tasting of 8 different Washington Syrah's. It came across as buttery and somewhat lacking in complexity. Perhaps it just needed time in the decanter or (better yet) in the cellar.

Clark, I imagine that might be the case, as the character of the French oak was one of the dominant characteristics when I popped and poured, but much more of interest came with a bit of time and air. Thanks for the info on the winemaker -- I was aware of the connection to Pepper Bridge, but had not heard about the Swiss background of the winemaker.

Do they actually export to Germany or did you buy it on a trip in the U.S.?

We actually bought it on a visit to the winery earlier this year (which, of course, explains why the price is suspiciously similar!). We sought out this winery thanks to good reports from you, Bruce, and from Clark in the WLDG archives, so many thanks for the good tip--we really enjoyed this wine.

I can't find my notes on that, but I remember that what I liked was that it had almost no extract, and was very savoury and spicy. Most syrahs here tend to go the other way.

Jenise, I have a follow up question on this for you or Clark or anyone else who wishes to chime in. I have never really used the terms extract, extracted, or overextracted to describe a wine and I am not 100 percent clear what sort of taste sensations they describe (though another thread where I asked about extraction did provide me with an excellent summary of the winemaking practices behind it). If one had two Washington syrahs and considered one to be more extracted and the other less so, how would this translate into other descriptors? Would extracted be a synonym for jaminess and less-extracted be a synonym for more savory elements less reminiscent of cooked fruit? Or is it something else?

Oh and thanks to everyone for your insights about aging this bottle/this producer. Aging wine is something I have very little personal experience with (but a great degree of interest in), so learning of your perspectives on that front is educational and very, very helpful. Thanks!

Jenise, I have a follow up question on this for you or Clark or anyone else who wishes to chime in. I have never really used the terms extract, extracted, or overextracted to describe a wine and I am not 100 percent clear what sort of taste sensations they describe (though another thread where I asked about extraction did provide me with an excellent summary of the winemaking practices behind it). If one had two Washington syrahs and considered one to be more extracted and the other less so, how would this translate into other descriptors? Would extracted be a synonym for jaminess and less-extracted be a synonym for more savory elements less reminiscent of cooked fruit? Or is it something else?

For me, it is more of a subjective feeling. If a wine feel over-the-top in terms of flavors, I get the immediate impression of it being overly-extracted. However, Jansis Robinson defines it this way:

Extraction: Usually refers to the extraction of desirable PHENOLICS from grape solids during and after FERMENTATION, although over-extraction is an increasingly common fault in an era when colour is associated with quality. Such wines lack FRUIT and BALANCE.

-- Clark

Many people aren't aware of the fact that the Rhône valley starts in Switzerland, where the river runs east-to-west, not north-to-south (that part starts in Lake Geneva), and where the south-facing villages like Chamoson or Vétroz have some of the world's best sites for syrah.

[Jenise]

Jenise, I have a follow up question on this for you or Clark or anyone else who wishes to chime in. I have never really used the terms extract, extracted, or overextracted to describe a wine and I am not 100 percent clear what sort of taste sensations they describe (though another thread where I asked about extraction did provide me with an excellent summary of the winemaking practices behind it). If one had two Washington syrahs and considered one to be more extracted and the other less so, how would this translate into other descriptors?

Keith, you know what, this was the hardest thing for me to grasp when I first started studying wine seriously, and even now I sometimes see a tasting note that describes a wine as extracted that I thought was merely concentrated, so there seems to be some room for disagreement, but I'll try to explain how I get there. Okay, a grape has a skin, and a pulp center, right? The skin is usually a bit tart compared to the pulp. This is an oversimplification, but as I use the terms, concentration is the flavor that comes from the pulp, extraction is the flavor that come from the skin. Certainly, some flavor SHOULD come from the skin, some extraction is neccessary, it's over-extraction that usually makes the issue. I find it often brings out black currant, Ribena-like flavors. It's possibly easier to detect in syrah than in any other grape. Or at least, I finally had my light bulb moment when, after being used to Australian Shiraz, I finally had some Northern Rhones.

Keith, you know what, this was the hardest thing for me to grasp when I first started studying wine seriously, and even now I sometimes see a tasting note that describes a wine as extracted that I thought was merely concentrated, so there seems to be some room for disagreement, but I'll try to explain how I get there. Okay, a grape has a skin, and a pulp center, right? The skin is usually a bit tart compared to the pulp. This is an oversimplification, but as I use the terms, concentration is the flavor that comes from the pulp, extraction is the flavor that come from the skin. Certainly, some flavor SHOULD come from the skin, some extraction is neccessary, it's over-extraction that usually makes the issue. I find it often brings out black currant, Ribena-like flavors. It's possibly easier to detect in syrah than in any other grape. Or at least, I finally had my light bulb moment when, after being used to Australian Shiraz, I finally had some Northern Rhones.

Jenise, Thank you ... definitely a light-bulb moment here. You are correct in that over-extraction is not to be confused with flavor concentration. In fact, I am sure I have been guilty of confusing/interchanging these terms in the past. So, I thank you for adding clarity here.

Now, as I think about this more, I would be willing to guess that wines made with grapes already loaded with concentrated flavors should less likely be over-extracted, simply because there would be little/no need for a winemaker to attempt to pull out every last flavor molecule. This assumes, of course, that the winemaker is competent and astute.

-- Clark

Jenise and Clark,

Your explanations and illustrations help enormously. Though I don't yet feel confident enough to use these terms in my own notes, you have both given me useful guideposts for reading the notes of others and developing an understanding for these terms. Very useful!