WTN: 2003 Columbia Crest Reserve Syrah Washington.

2003 Columbia Crest Reserve Syrah Washington. $12.00 a glass at Endless Vines. [Pricing seems out of line; available elsewhere is around $19.00 a bottle in this area.] 4000 cases. 14.1% alcohol; 98% Syrah; 2% Vignonier.

Lovely deep red color, deep hue, complex aromas and tastes with strawberry and pepper notes, very good balance with mild tannins and just a bit of acidity, long finish, lovely wine. Drinking at the top of its game; I wouldn't expect it to improve with age, but it is a great QPR at the $19 price point. 5*.

Notes: “Crafted in a Cote Rotie-style, generous Syrah aromatics of white pepper, cocoa and blueberry are threaded with the Viognier’s subtle sweet orange peel, pear and rose petal. Hints of spice and earthy overtones, Horse Heaven Hills terroir hallmarks, are followed by intense flavors of cocoa, roasted coffee bean and dark chocolate. The blueberry-raspberry finish resonates seductively and evenly.” -Ray Einberger, Winemaker

[Note: I'm swamped with a couple of major projects, and plan to post only tasting notes for the foreseeable future -- the notes are in the form they appear in my wine diary.]

Regards, Bob

[James Roscoe]

I missed this Bob. I hope everything is okay. I have missed your regular participation on the forum. I hope you get out from under the work load and rejoin the team so to speak. You are one of the real "teachers" here.

[Jenise]

$12 a glass? Definitely out of line. Hey, is it just me, or is there something incongruent about the words "Cote Rotie style" and "blueberry" in the same sentence? The blueberry character is very prevalent up here, and a reason why one would never mistake these syrahs for Northern Rhones.