2016Syrah
2016Syrah
The 2016 Tenor Syrah was crafted from a couple vineyards across two separate AVAs in Washington State: Columbia Valley and Walla Walla Valley. Farmed using sustainable practices, they were then hand-harvested over several early mornings in the late fall. Upon arriving in the winery, each cluster was hand-sorted, de-stemmed and re-sorted, and then fermented for 20-30 days in 100% concrete tanks. Using only the free-run wine, it was then moved to custom 500L French oak puncheons for 26 months of cellaring. After nearly 50 individual evaluations by our winemaking team, and without fining or filtration, only 376 cases were produced from these puncheons.
Tasting Notes
Intoxicating nose of wildflowers, blackberries, black currants, sweet smoke, fine leather, cured meats and spice. A swirl shows the sheer depth of this wine with tons of black fruits, spice and some savory notes creeping in the background. Ripe, but complex, with textural richness and a freshness not usually found in a wine this prodigious. Incredibly long with lingering black fruits, spice and powdery tannins.
Labeled Appellation
Varietal Composition
100% Syrah
Alcohol
15.1%
Cases Produced
376
Drinkability
Now - 2029
Awards & Accolades
"Made from 100% Syrah from the Columbia Valley, the 2016 Syrah sports a saturated purple color to go with beautiful notes of crème de cassis, vanilla-laced raspberries, crushed flowers, and baking spices. With fabulous purity, no hard edges, and a great finish, it’s a fruit forward, pure, impeccably balanced beauty to drink over the coming 8-10 years."
- 94 points, Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
"Very attractive and modern with dark plums and blackberries, abundant spices and tidy oak treatment, all making for a complex young Syrah. The palate has deep flavors, presented in a tidy, fresh and assuredly balanced mode. Drink over the next decade."
- 94 points, James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
"An instant success, the 2016 Syrah erupts out of the glass with clearly defined aromas of summer sausage with juicy ripe fruit expressions of black raspberry, blackberry you with smoked strawberry blossoms and rich black pepper notions in the glass. Full-bodied, the palate is focused with a bright core of ripe fruit and oak spices before flavors of sweet oak essence coat the palate. The expression is deliciously balanced and complex as it concludes with a bold and lingering finish that continues to evolve on the palate after a minute. This is a tasty Syrah, earning the highest marks for Tenor Wines this report. It comes highly recommended and will be worth the trouble to seek out a bottle."
- 93+ points, Anthony Mueller, The Wine Advocate