2016 Stoney Vine Estate Vineyard “Psychedelic” Syrah - Sleight of Hand Cellars

Black mission fig, olive tapenade, roasted dark cherry. Wild blackberry, teriyaki sauce, cranberry liqueur. Fresh fennel and green tobacco, brisket crust and hot stones. Baked plum, dried blueberry, and licorice collide violently with tree bark and bay leaf in a remarkably herb-driven and feral attack. Cumin and anise emerge to quickly continue the theme of herbaceousness and spice as oyster mushroom and wild sage maintain a natural edge. Charcoal and smoldering firewood impart serious smoky components rife with dark brooding minerality that writhes underneath pronounced and lifted aromatics. Intense, powerful, and raw; expressing beautifully wild and untamed complexity with great precision and strength. Full bodied with moderate tannin and elevated acidity. This 2016 Stoney Vine Estate Vineyard "Psychedelic" Syrah by Sleight of Hand Cellars is an incredibly savory and delicious red from the Rocks District of the Walla Walla Valley.

Located completely on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley technically within the Milton-Freewater AVA, the Rocks District is one of the Pacific Northwest's most unique and interesting regions for viticulture. Vines here are literally planted among massive deposits of large basalt stones - stones which over time have been piled hundreds of feet deep in some cases - creating an almost otherworldly scene that produces exceptional fruit. This bottling, crafted by Sleight of Hand Cellars using Syrah sourced from their Stoney Vine Estate Vineyard, is an excellent example of what this region and its unique rock deposits are capable of creating. While it certainly contains plenty of ripe & baked dark fruit the story here is really all about savory notes, as this wine oozes impressions of sage, tea leaf, and exotic spice along with soy sauce and slow cooked meat. The depth and concentration here are quite impressive and yet this wine never comes off as thick or over saturated. An incredible Syrah from a wonderful region that has emerged as a potential world-class source for this legendary grape.