About a year ago Ste. Michelle Wine Estates announced a new project called Tenet Wines, a joint effort with Rhône winemakers Michel Gassier and Philippe Cambie to raise the profile of Syrah and other Rhône varietals from Washington State.
I was not excited. To be honest, I just don't trust Chateau Ste. Michelle. All their wines taste the same (you have to give them credit for consistency)--made for mass appeal with higher than average RS, lots of malo and a strong vanilla aftertaste. I hate vanilla.
The three initial releases are a Columbia Valley Syrah called The Pundit, a French syrah called Le Fervent, and the flagship wine called Tenet, a GSM (grenache/syrah/mourvedre) blend. The wines were released within the last year and retail for $25, $22 and $70 (that's scary) respectively. I got to taste the The Pundit and Le Fervent yesterday and was very pleasantly surprised. First and foremost, they do not taste even remotely like Chateau Ste. Michelle wines.
The 2014 The Pundit offers silky-textured raspberry and blueberry fruit with violets, black olive, sweet fennel and just a hint of garrique. It's New World fruit that shows the intention of its Old World masters.
The 2013 Le Fervent is quite different: bright. minerally raspberry fruit loaded with white pepper, green olive and herbs, a flavor profile more typical of the Northern Rhone Valley (even if lighter bodied and even though the fruit comes from the southernmost of the Southern Rhone). Both are excellent for current drinking and pretty smart value at those price points.