2011 La Côte Patriarche

When preparing these notes I tasted the 2010 and 2011 vintages of this wine side by side, and not surprisingly, could have written exactly the same description for this new release as the prior year. We attribute this expression to the 25 year old vines we source it from at the Red Willow Vineyard (the oldest Syrah planted in Washington), where the vines show an element of stability and consistency; solid, even, perhaps more forgiving of vintage variation.

Slight differences are inevitable, but the same density and sense of ripeness emerge in both wines. The list of aromatic descriptors is lengthy: deep blackberry, plum, meat, smoke, rose petal, rock, roasted grain and earth. Even a bit of black licorice or cola.

This is the velvet hammer on the palate, brooding, deep and weighty. Loads of tannin without excess astringency make this a pleasure to enjoy already, but years of cellaring lie ahead. It’s supple, chewy from entry to finish with tobacco leaf, smoked meat and black olive flavors. Bring me a plate of roasted venison….