Wines with Age

wines

Deep garnet colored, the 2007 Ancient Way Vineyard Summer’s Vineyard sings of preserved plums, Christmas pudding, figs and incense with suggestions of spice cake, licorice and Morello cherries plus a waft of tobacco. Rich, spicy and full-bodied in the mouth, it offers an alluring texture of soft, rounded tannins and just enough freshness, finishing very long and with loads of savory nuances coming through.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPInky purple. Superripe aromas of cassis, cherry preserves and dark chocolate, with complicating notes of licorice and mint. Densely packed and chewy, offering palate-coating black and blue fruit flavors that show serious depth and building sweetness. A hint of smoked meat comes up on the long, clinging finish, which is framed by broad, pliant tannins. I’m not exactly sure what I’d serve with this but it would definitely have to be part of a dead mammal and it would be roasted, braised or grilled.Vinous Media | 93 VMMeaty flavors step forward in this rich, decadent Shiraz, piling savory soy sauce and wet earth nuances around the core of dark, dense blackberry. Shows depth and power. Drink now through 2017. 500 cases made, 500 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

This shows so much dark fruit, spice, berry and minerals incense. Full body, with lots of black pepper, spice and berry. It’s so dense and beautiful. The purity of fruit is all there. Hard not to drink now. But will improve for many years ahead.James Suckling | 97 JSBright, saturated medium ruby. Youthful but already highly expressive high-pitched perfume of blackberry, violet, licorice, crushed rock and honeysuckle. Savory, sappy, thick and fine-grained, delivering uncommon depth of texture and a strong umami character to its sweet/salty dark fruit and meat flavors. This wine stands out for its restraint today but it’s much easier to taste than it was shortly after being bottled, and there’s still a lot to come. Finishes classically dry and very long, with wonderfully suave, integrated tannins and mouthfilling perfume.Vinous Media | 96 VMI could have sworn the 2009 IX Estate Syrah had some Viognier in it, but all of these wines are 100% Syrah. Flowery, peppery, blackberry and bacon aromas reminiscent of a Cote Rotie jump from the glass. However, once in the mouth, the masculinity, power, awesome richness and incredible texture come forward. This killer Syrah should drink well for 20 or more years.Robert Parker | 95 RPA brilliant expression of dense, rich layers of spice, beef, wild berry, savory and herbal notes, offering intensity, focus, grace and finesse. Should evolve beautifully over the next decade or two. Drink now through 2030. 420 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

More gamy, bloody and meaty than the Sur Echalas Vineyard Syrah, the 2012 Syrah The Tribe Vineyard is a full-bodied, elegant, concentrated and structured effort that gives up complex notes of savory dark fruits, beef blood, dried herbs, pepper and olives. It’s another incredible Syrah that needs short-term cellaring, but will have two decades of evolution.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPAn aromatic tour de force, this perfumed wine offers hypnotic notes of flowers, green olive, asparagus, sea breeze, mineral, peat, smoke flowers and an earthy funk, showing layers of complexity. The palate’s lithe frame belies the richness of the smoke, fire pit and grilled meat flavors that linger.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WESupple and expressive, with plum and currant flavors and stony overtones combining with hints of black olive and white pepper, adding depth to a distinctive profile on a medium-weight frame that punches above its weight. The deft balance plays against nubby tannins. Drink now through 2025. 463 cases made. Wine Spectator | 95 WS(14.1% alcohol; as with the Echalas Vineyard, the Tribe is cultivated with draft horses): Dark ruby. Aromas of black cherry, liquefied lamb tartare, paprika and black licorice, plus a note of medicinal reserve. Hugely sweet and concentrated but carrying a good bit of unabsorbed CO2 and showing less finesse today than the Cayuse Syrah bottlings from the 2012 vintage. Inky and primary, with strong underlying minerality. This is distinctly Brune while the Echalas Syrah is more Blonde. Finishes with substantial ripe tannins and a slight bitter edge that will require cellaring.Vinous Media | 93+ VM

Just ever so slightly richer and more textured than the Sur Echalas Vineyard, the 2013 Syrah The Tribe Vineyard is a blockbuster effort that is up there with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Concentrated, full-bodied, sexy and layered on the palate, it has to-die-for notes of black cherries, currants, olives, steak tartare and Hermitage-like scorched earth characteristics. Like the other 2013s here, it needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will have two decades of longevity.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis wine is aromatically brooding but precise, with notes of umami, black olive, smoked ham, crushed violets, funk and peat. The flavors are hefty and concentrated—with notes of fire pit and wet stone—while showing earth-shaking depth and intensity. The finish stretches out as long as you care to count. This is a complete knee buckler.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WESupple, complex, open-textured and refined, with bacon and black olive overtones to the plum and currant flavors, finishing with harmony and precision. Has depth and refinement. Drink now through 2023. 470 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(from vines planted 3,555 to the acre, next door to Christophe Baron’s En Chamberlin vineyard): Highly nuanced aromas of cherry, raspberry, smoked meat, charcoal and black licorice. Tightly wound and showing little early sweetness; an extremely backward Syrah in a decidedly Côte Brune style, with savory mineral and steak tartare notes holding the upper hand over primary dark fruits in the early going. Finishes with dusty tannins and strong salinity. This wine has a pH of 4.1, according to Baron, but I would nevertheless describe it as very young. Still, will it ever show the sweetness of the 2012 version?Vinous Media | 93 VM

Only released in special vintages, as well as only in magnum, the 2014 Syrah Wallah Wallah Special #6 is about as Northern Rhône as it gets. More rounded, sexy and voluptuous than the other cuvees, with full-bodied richness and silky tannin, it reminds me of the Burgundian style of wine from Jean-Louis Chave. Violets, crushed rocks, graphite, smoked earth and beautiful black fruit notes emerge from this sensual, elegant, ethereally textured beauty. It might be my favorite Special cuvee to date. It’s already beautiful, but it will keep for two decades or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPA sleek, seamless red, with vivid raspberry, crushed rock and bacon fat aromas and elegantly layered blueberry and grilled garrigue notes. Drink now through 2024. 418 cases made. Wine Spectator | 94 WS(13.4% alcohol; bottled entirely in magnums): Dark red with ruby highlights. Knockout nose combines black raspberry, blood sausage, Christmas spices and black pepper; smells like a charcuterie shop floor--blood, sawdust and all. Plump and salty in the mouth, with subtle purple fruit and cranberry flavors dominated by more savory earthy, gamey and balsamic qualities. The least fruity of these Syrahs today but this thick midweight avoids heaviness and manages to retain a juiciness--not to mention surprising aromatic persistence--on the firmly tannic back end. Not a fleshy or sweet style but not particularly closed either.Vinous Media | 93 VMThis wine—only released in magnum—comes from a blend of vineyards across the portfolio. The aromas pop, with complex notes of stems, nori, sea salt, green olive, fire pit, tapanade, flowers and mineral. The smoked meat, firepit and stem flavors are intense and savory, drawing out on the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

Made in magnum, this is the only wine in the portfolio to blend across vineyards. The aromas are arresting, with notes of firepit, funk, green herb, potpourri, chimney and black and green olive. Rich, intense but still lithe savory flavors follow. The intensity and length of the finish is captivating.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEA blend of vineyards, the 2016 Syrah Wallah Wallah Special #10 is only bottled in magnum format. It has a fresh core of strawberries on the nose, with a dusty minerality and hints of wild sage over soft, smoky and charcuterie aromas. The wine has a focused and balanced core of fruit and florals on the palate, with violets, dried herbs, black pepper and a taut minerality that is thoughtful and elegant, concluding with attentive tannins on the elongated finish. Magnums age well, so this can be forgotten in your cellar with little to no repercussions to the quality of the wine. This bottling is Washington State’s smart wine buy of the year. Who doesn’t love magnums of fantastic and beautiful wine? Only 460 cases were made. Grab some for your cellar!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPOnly released in magnum, the 2016 Syrah Wallah Wallah Special #10 is always a mysterious blend of multiple vineyards. It has beautiful complexity in its ripe black cherry and cassis fruits, iodine, tobacco, ashtray, and earthy/peat moss-like aromas and flavors. This gives way to a full-bodied, concentrated Syrah that has bright acidity, loads of fruit, and a focused, juicy style that’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring.Jeb Dunnuck | 95-97 JDA blend of vineyards that changes each year, this has a sense of elegance with a distinctly spicy and quite floral edge (there is some viognier) and a lithe, juicy and very drinkable feel. This is more immediate, a wine to celebrate with and only bottled in magnum. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSBright dark red. Lovely Côte-Rôtie-like aromas of black raspberry, violet and bacon fat. Dense and savory, with strong raspberry fruit lifted by a minty nuance in the mid-palate. Piquant mace and nutmeg notes contribute energy and a black pepper component lifts the finish. Quite firm but utterly edge-free, this youthfully bound-up wine finishes saline and long, with an emerging note of black licorice. Not currently as complex as some of the other 2026 Syrahs at this address, this wine calls for patience. (13.5% alcohol; bottled in magnums; according to Elizabeth Bourcier, this wine is from "a secret blend of vineyards)".Vinous Media | 93 VMSvelte and luscious, with effortlessly complex raspberry and blueberry flavors accented by garrigue, smoky beef and cracked pepper notes. The finish is long and elegant, with refined tannins.Wine Spectator | 93 WS