WTN: Two wonderful Northwest oddities

[Jenise]

A friend of mine who reps for heavily-Europeanized distributor Cavatappi poured a few wines blind last night after our Italian tasting. I was made to guess what I was tasting, and they could have been from anywhere.

The first: Burgundy shaped bottle. Elegant and smooth, almost pinot-ish but not quite. There's something else in the nose and that palate is so silky. Whoa, it's gamay noir! It's a 2010, called Celebration. The story is that the Lafon kid whose been making so many waves with his Evening Land label in Willamette got ahold of some gamay and called up his buddy Marcel Lapierre and said how do I make this. From those instructions came this wine, and if you're familiar with Lapierre bojos you'll recognize that Dominique, I think his name is, nailed the style. It certainly doesn't taste domestic. I ordered three bottles.

The second: another Burgundy shaped bottle. Very black wine in the glass. Nose was all animal and violet, and there was a lot of tar on the palate. So, Syrah? Yes. But too rich and supple for a young northern Rhone, so I went to South Africa. Wrong: Walla Walla. Wild! Didn't catch the vintage but I think it was 09, and winery is one I've never heard of, Reynvaan Family Vineyards. $35 wholesale.

Which of the Reynvaan bottlings was it? Heard a lot about them (apparently Christophe Baron works a lot with them as a consultant), and a few people have told me that if I like the wilder, more funky Cayuse Syrahs, I should be trying them. (Haven't gotten around to it yet, but will eventually.)

[Jenise]

Salil, they must have a basic bottling and this must be it--I didn't see any vineyard designations or anything. Thanks for the extra information. Perhaps I should look into acquiring a few?

Looking at their Syrahs on Cellartracker, they have various bottlings called The Contender, In the Rocks, Stoneessence and the Unnamed, but no base level bottling.

I do plan on grabbing one of their Syrahs some time soon... would be interesting to try alongside a bottle of the Cailloux.

Some of the Syrahs---and Cabernet-Syrah blends, for that matter---coming out of Walla Walla can be pretty damned impressive. And many of them, imo, veer more toward the old world feel than the new. Buty and Rotie are among my favorites right now. Rotie especially does an impressive stylistic range in what may be a little too much homage a Rhone, but sure as hell results in some mighty fine wine. And I include the whites in that assertion as well.

[Jenise]

Some of the Syrahs---and Cabernet-Syrah blends, for that matter---coming out of Walla Walla can be pretty damned impressive. And many of them, imo, veer more toward the old world feel than the new. Buty and Rotie are among my favorites right now. Rotie especially does an impressive stylistic range in what may be a little too much homage a Rhone, but sure as hell results in some mighty fine wine. And I include the whites in that assertion as well.

My first couple of impressions of Washington syrah were formed by wines like McCrea (lavish with vanilla oak, high alc and sweetness), Isenhower (almost export-Aussie in extract and fruit-forwardness), and L'Ecole 41 (modern). It has literally taken me eight years to unearth some syrahs that "veer more toward the old world than the new" and stop lamenting the fact that all the great old merlot vines were ripped out to make way for this grape which still hasn't put Washington on the map the way it was supposed to. So my experience is more like 'few' than your "many" that aspire to old world standards, but the few I've found lately, like this Reynvaan, do give hope. I've not tasted the Rotie yet, but I have a bottle in the cellar that I'm looking forward to.

I've tasted a couple of vintages of the Reynvaan range, and they are on the big side, like most WW syrah, and reflecting the Cayuse style, but some of them really do have that gamy notes of Old World syrah. They are definitely getting lots of buzz now, after only two (maybe three?) vintages. They usually co-ferment with a fair bit of viognier and/or roussanne, and it shows in the wines.

Jenise, one of the troubles with that Merlot you bemoan is that it had a distressing tendency to freeze every few years, thus making it unsuited to the terroir...as well as being unsuited for profit purposes.

I'm not sure....in fact, I don't believe...that Syrah is the 'saving grace' of the Walla Walla. I don't think the Walla Wallans are convinced of that these days either, in that they know they need more than Syrah to hang their rep on. And I believe they have the wherewithal, given soil and climate, to produce some amazingly good Rhonish reds...the Grenache and other Rhone varieties are just now getting the attention they deserve, and are helping produce some stunning blends.

Likewise, the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot blended with Syrah can be stunning too. I think that will be a big part still of Walla Walla.

[Jenise]

but some of them really do have that gamy notes of Old World syrah.

I've certainly never tasted that kind of animal element in a Washington syrah, and it was a huge component in the one I tasted. Definitely an eye-catcher.

[Jenise]

Which of the Reynvaan bottlings was it? Heard a lot about them (apparently Christophe Baron works a lot with them as a consultant), and a few people have told me that if I like the wilder, more funky Cayuse Syrahs, I should be trying them. (Haven't gotten around to it yet, but will eventually.)

Salil, since posting this note I've 1) learned that this wine I reported on was an In The Rocks bottling, 2) tasted the same vintage of The Unnamed which I liked a lot but it lacked that animale thing the Rocks had in spades, and 3) rounded up all four remaining bottles of In The Rocks left in captivity which took a fair bit of driving as they weren't even all in the same place or even in my county. I understand that the third syrah they make, The Contender, tasted, at least to the guy who told me where to find the Rocks bottles, very good but seemed the most Washingtonian of the three.

Looking at their Syrahs on Cellartracker, they have various bottlings called The Contender, In the Rocks, Stoneessence and the Unnamed, but no base level bottling.

I do plan on grabbing one of their Syrahs some time soon... would be interesting to try alongside a bottle of the Cailloux.

Next time we meet up, I'll bring some. Their wines remind me a lot of Cayuse, and as it's been pointed out, Christophe is a consultant for them. I go back-and-forth on whether I like their style. Sometimes, they're just too big, alcoholic and extracted, but other times there's definite allure to their unique profile. I think there are similiarities to some of the more modern Northern Rhone syrah producers - the bacon and spice, but Reynvaan's flavors are built on top of a massive core of dark, rich fruit.

If you're looking for alternatives to the Cayuse style in Washington, may I recommend the Stellar Syrah from Cougar Crest. Talked to their winemaker Deborah Hansen a couple weeks ago and it turns out that the vines she uses for this cuvee came directly from Cayuse (she didn't divulge the specific vineyard). While not as wild as some of Cayuse's syrahs, it's a nice alternative.

So I finally got around to trying one of the Reynvaan Syrahs - the 2007 In the Rocks. I can certainly see the similarities with Cayuse - floral, exotic, meaty and tarry with a lot of character - but the fruit came across too ripe, heavy and roasted, lacking freshness and elegance. Don't think I will be buying any more.

[Jenise]

Salil, 07 was a warm vintage and where I can't speak to the wine made in that year, I'm fairly sure you'd have been more positive about an 08. Which, btw, is what the wine I had turned out to be. (I now own four bottles.) Still ripe enought that one wouldn't mistake it for a Northern Rhone, but with all that wild animal stuff nothing like (Cayuse possibly aside--I've had but one Cayuse syrah and that was 10-12 years ago, and I don't remember it well enough) anybody else's Washington syrah would prepare you for.

The Unnamed was 180 degrees different, I've had it twice now. Less fleshy, little extract, more sedate.

3) rounded up all four remaining bottles of In The Rocks left in captivity which took a fair bit of driving as they weren't even all in the same place or even in my county.

Sounds like a great ringer and candidate for a lunch wine, Jenise...

[Jenise]

Bill, plans are definitely afoot....

Salil, 07 was a warm vintage and where I can't speak to the wine made in that year, I'm fairly sure you'd have been more positive about an 08. Which, btw, is what the wine I had turned out to be. (I now own four bottles.) Still ripe enought that one wouldn't mistake it for a Northern Rhone, but with all that wild animal stuff nothing like (Cayuse possibly aside--I've had but one Cayuse syrah and that was 10-12 years ago, and I don't remember it well enough) anybody else's Washington syrah would prepare you for.

Will keep an eye out for the 08, as there was certainly enough in there as far as depth/complexity went but I reckon I'd like the wine a lot more in a cooler/less ripe year.

Re. Cayuse Syrah... you've really got to try a bottle of one of their recent vintages of the Cailloux Vineyard. I'm not a huge fan of the other bottlings, but the Cailloux is something quite special and I'm glad to have some in the cellar.

[Jenise]

Saw the 09's today. Noted the alcohols and planned to compare the numbers on my 08's when I got home. FAILed to do so. Will report back when it's not 3:00 in the #$#$ing morning. There might be boogey men in the garage.

Saw a bottling called Stonessence--this one's new to me. Label has the same script as the others but it's blue where the other three are white. It's priced locally at $70 or $75 compared to $65 for The Contender and $55 for the remaining two. Know what gives on this one?