2015Syrah
2015Syrah
The 2015 Tenor Syrah was crafted from two AVAs in Washington State: Columbia Valley and Walla Walla Valley. Farmed using sustainable practice, they were hand-harvested over several early mornings in the late fall.
Upon arriving in the winery, each cluster was hand-sorted, de-stemmed, re-sorted and fermented in stainless steel (76%) and concrete (24%). Using only the free-run wine, it was moved to custom 500L French oak puncheons (67% new) for just under 2 years of cellaring. After nearly 50 individual evaluations by our winemaking team, without fining or filtration, only 228 cases were produced from these 500L puncheons.
Tasting Notes
In its youth, concentrated dark fruit—blackberry, blueberry, plum skin, currant—are balanced by black tea, herbs, raspberry and sweet smoke. We wanted to create a wine with enough backbone to mature for 14 years without fading. As the wine ages, big fruit gracefully makes way for flavors of olive, wood resin and bacon fat. Tenor Syrah is an example of how precision and polish can turn a big grape into a balanced, composed, and eminently drinkable wine. This Syrah doesn’t just want to wow you for a glass, it’s designed to keep you intrigued all the way through the bottle.
Varietal Composition
100% Syrah
Awards & Accolades
"Tapenade, smoky black fruits, pepper, and earthy notes all emerge from the 2015 Syrah. Aged just under two years in 67% new French oak, it has plenty of background oak, is full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, and has a silky, unctuous texture. It's a beautiful, rich, layered beauty well worth checking out."
93 points, Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
"(Aged in two-thirds new oak): Deep, saturated dark ruby. Musky aromas of blackberry, raspberry, licorice and espresso bean. Hugely concentrated, dense wine with noteworthy breadth to its black cherry, chocolate and licorice flavors complicated by a gamey nuance. Finishes with substantial tannins. This is strong but cannot quite match the 2015 Gard Vintners Syrah Grand Klasse Reserve, also made by Aryn Morell, for definition or complexity."
90 points, Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
