by Patchen Markell » Sun Oct 12, 2025 8:11 pm
I’ve really fallen off the tasting note horse, but this bottle was too good not to report here: Reynvaan 2013 Walla Walla Valley Syrah In the Rocks. 13.5% abv. Some burnt tire blows off in minutes and this becomes a lively and fluid bottle: at first, all leather and funk, but then, after half an hour, a rich vein of ripe fruit cracks through and the midpalate rounds out, giving the wine layers that last and last. The bottle loses a little tension and nerve by the last glass, but that’s replaced by a generous, relaxed, velvety openness. I haven’t had many bottles of Reynvaan, maybe three before this; I think I’ve enjoyed them all, but this was on a different level. Happy autumn, wine friends.
cheers, Patchen
