2016 “Block 18” Weinbau Vineyard Syrah - Revelry Vintners

Crunchy blackberry, dense sage brush, cranberry liqueur. Dark cherry pit, star anise, boysenberry preserve. Tobacco leaf and rosemary sprig, crushed violet and potpourri. Licorice, huckleberry, and fig meet brambly stems and cedar in a flawlessly balanced presentation packed simultaneously with abundant fruit and woodsy herbal complexity. Lavender and beautifully lifted florals waft above the lot as nutmeg and cardamom complement delicate baking spice. With time in the glass notes of sweet mesquite and braised beef emerge in a savory twist backed by whole peppercorn and a touch of fennel. Sizable and stern without abandoning subtly; nuanced, complex, and worthy of contemplation. Medium plus in body with elevated tannin and acidity. This 2016 "Block 18" Weinbau Vineyard Syrah by Revelry Vintners is a magnificently executed single block red from Washington's Wahluke Slope.

Taking its name from the Native American word for "watering place", the Wahluke slope is a unique winegrowing appellation cradled by the Columbia River as it cuts through Central Washington. This dry warm climate region rest atop deposits from a vast alluvial fan and has garnered a reputation as a high quality zone for the production of red wine grapes. This bottling, crafted by Revelry Vintners using Syrah sourced from a special singular block of the Weinbau Vineyard, is an excellent example of the remarkable potential of this distinctive region. It manages to gracefully express old-world-esque savory complexity and new-world-esque ripe fruit in near equal parts, and does so with both impressive power and finesse. This is genuine, pure, honest Syrah that masterfully captures the character of both grape and place. An outstanding and distinctly Washingtonian beauty here from Revelry.