2006 Walla Walla River Winery Syrah

Tonight is Walla Walla night, so I could think of no more appropriate wine to enjoy than the 2006 Walla Walla River Winery Syrah.  Now for a bit of background, Walla Walla River Winery is a second label from Cougar Crest, which I discovered on my Walla Walla adventure back in 2012, and also when I picked up this bottle (doesn't it show I have great discipline that I can hang on to a bottle for more than a year and never even think of opening it?).  But I digress.

Now for the wine, a beautiful ruby color in the glass, just as you would expect from a nice Syrah.  The nose is an interesting combination of ripe blackberry, tart cherry, smoke and some herb notes, perhaps it's a bit of tarragon that I'm picking up,  The taste is classic Walla Walla Syrah, with flavors of tart cherry, blackberry, leather and anise up front, which then transitions to some notes of dark chocolate, green grass and earthy basalt notes midpalate.  The finish is quite nice, with some well structured tannins that support a long, dry finish.  This wine is probably right about at its prime drinking right now, so I'm glad I opened this one!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as I think it's a classic example of a Walla Walla Syrah, but that said it's probably not for everyone.  As for the appropriateness of this wine, tonight I am enjoying this one with a rare grilled Angus T-Bone, along with some home made beer batter onion rings made with Walla Walla Sweet Onions, hence it's Walla Walla day in my kitchen!  The wine just pairs so nicely with grilled steak, and provides a nice balance to the sweet onion rings, so delicious!