Walla Walla

Stunning bottle of wine.  100% Syrah.  Ruby/purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, slight black pepper, a nice earthy note.  With air, some black olives emerge along with a nice mineral backbone.  On the palate, this has a great texture.  Black raspberries, black licorice, and underlying char and minerals.  Medium tannins.  Long finish.  This is intense, and concentrated and will need a few years to really open up but it is drinking great today.  It needs hearty or spiced foods.  Fantastic with upside.  

Wine is subjective and this wine got some huge reviews from major critics.  I can't get quite that far.  This is a good wine though.  100% Grenache from Powerline Vineyard.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is cherry cough syrup but in a good way.  Not over the top.  Also some smoke and a bit of leather.  On the palate, the cherry cough syrup predominates.  That is to say, thick, slightly sweet, with alcohol.  There is some underlying char.  Warm on the finish.  One glass goes a long way and this would work by the fire on a cold night.  It might be a difficult food match.  YMMV.  

Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, black raspberries, and sandal wood.  Also an herbal note that was hard to describe.  A fellow taster said green olives and that is not too far off.  On the palate, the Syrah seem to dominate although this is an 80/20 blend of Cabernet and Syrah.  Black raspberries, an underlying char and some black olive notes.  A very nice texture although a bit soft.  The finish is a bit bitter black raspberry but not in a bad way.  Overall, an excellent wine.  It improved with air and more Cab notes seem to come out.  It will be interesting to see how this ages.  

This was quite good.  Not as big or expressive as expected.  In fact, it drinks very Northern Rhone-ish.   Purple in color.  On the nose there is black raspberries, slight bacon fat, slight violets and underlying minerality.  Nice texture.  Layers unwind in the glass.  Though still tight, there is a nice complexity with black raspberry fruit and crushed dusty rocks.  Nice acidity as well.  Should continue to improve for a while and be good for a couple of decades after that.  

This was very good, but given the price (around $100), quite disappointing.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose is earthy with some funk and meaty tones.  Also some black raspberries.  On the palate, this has a sour cherry note.  It is not to dissimilar for red cherry soda with a bit or sweetness to match the sour fruit.  Medium bodied.  An almost aquarium note, so perhaps this was poorly stored during shipment (the storage on the receiving end was fine).  In any event, it was good with a northern Rhone, cooler climate quality to it with sour cherry fruit.  Would work with food.  

Inky purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper and violets.  On the palate, this is almost seamless.  Black raspberry fruit, some black pepper.  Great juicy but lush texture.  Complex.  Long finish.  Needs big or spicy foods but there is enough acidity to handle them.  This is delicious and so easy to drink now, but should continue to mature for another 5 to 7 years and be good for at least a decade after that.  

Deep ruby in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is dusty with black raspberries.  Good acidity.  On the palate there is nice boysenberry fruit.  Lots of fruit with an underlying char.  Good finish.  This is young and tight.  It comes across as more of a cooler climate Syrah.  It probably needs another five years to really strut its stuff and be good for a decade after that.  Lots of potential for upside here though it is excellent right now.