Ever taste a wine so good it made you cry? Perhaps you can remember the precise moment it changed your life.
For Marcus Rafanelli, winemaker at L’Ecole 41 in the Walla Walla Valley in southeastern Washington, that wine was a 1988 Columbia Syrah that he tasted at a birthday dinner. This particular Syrah was the first one made in the state. Grapes were grown at Red Willow in the Yakima Valley, a vineyard I had the pleasure to visit back in June (read about that visit here).
Marcus still has the wine bottle. That’s him (above) holding up the bottle during a recent Zoom call. “I definitely have a soft spot for Shiraz [Syrah],” he says.
Syrah is the third most planted grape in Washington behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but holds first place among its many fans. Washington Syrah has that natural acidity that distinguishes the state’s red wines, along with ripe fruit (and sometimes high alcohol levels) you’d expect in growing regions that get more sunshine than California.
Washington winemakers initially were skeptical when the state’s first Syrah grapes were planted in 1986. Syrah is considered a warm-climate grape. Though eastern Washington is hot and dry in the summer, winters can be brutally cold. But the grape survived the winter of 1996, when winter temperatures fell to 13 to 15 below zero, silencing the naysayers.
L’Ecole produces two Syrah wines – a savory and herbal Walla Walla Valley 100% Syrah sourced solely from their estate Seven Hills Vineyard (read about it here) and a Columbia Valley Syrah. Straddling the Washington/Oregon border, the Columbia Valley American Viticultural Area or AVA (lightly shaded orange in the map above) is Washington’s largest grape-growing area, with more than 99% of the state’s vineyards. With the approval of three additional AVAs soon, Columbia Valley will have 15 sub-appellations.
Throughout 2021, a group of wine bloggers has been tasting and writing about wines in L’Ecole’s portfolio. For details on L’Ecole wines I’ve tried, check out these posts:
- Cabernet Sauvignon and Semillon
- Chenin Blanc
- Seven Hills Syrah
- Cab Franc/Merlot
- Luminesce (a Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend)
Please note that while the wines for these posts were provided, opinions are my own.
2018 L’Ecole No. 41 Syrah, Columbia Valley
80% Syrah, 18% Grenache, 2% Mourvèdre
This big, bright, jammy Syrah is sourced from four different vineyards – Stone Tree Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope, where Syrah is one of first reds harvested every year; Candy Mountain, Washington’s smallest and newest wine region; the estate Seven Hills Vineyard; and Summit View, a vineyard in the southwest corner of the Walla Walla Valley. In the nearly perfect 2018 vintage, the fruit had plenty of hang-time to develop rich color and vibrant flavors.
Each lot of fruit was hand-harvested ripe and gently crushed into stainless-steel fermenters. Gentle handling through hand punch-downs and gravity-assisted movements were used throughout the entire winemaking process. The wine was aged in 100% small oak barrels, mostly neutral, for 18 months.
My tasting notes: Opaque dark ruby in color with purplish tones. Dark fruit and black pepper on the nose with a hint of anise. On the palate, I feel medium+ acidity and heat upfront, followed by black pepper and ripe plum on a long finish. Structured with smooth tannins. Nothing shy about this full-bodied Syrah. Alcohol: 15%. Price: $25. Buy here.
Suggested pairings: Fire up the grill! In Japan, the term for the savory quality of food cooked over an open flame or grilled is “umami.” That’s what you want for this bad boy, and you can get it by grilling meat (steak, burgers, sausage), veggies (eggplant, red peppers, zucchini), or mushrooms. Sprinkle parmesan shavings or crumbled blue cheese over the top for added tannin-loving fat. Just make you sure to get that char.
So what about that wine that made you cry? I’ve been racking my brain, but I can’t come up with just one. (I was indeed rapturous over an Oregon Pinot Noir I tasted recently, a story for another time.) Let me say, though, that I’ve sampled a few examples of 2018 Washington Syrah, and these wines are drinking quite well now. So go for it – and bring tissues.