2014 Sleight of Hand Cellars "The Psychedelic Syrah"

So a few weeks ago I happened to be speaking with Julie Titus at Seven Hills Winery, making sure I had the wines that I thought I had (after my hard drive crash, it seems there are wineries that have a better idea of what's in my cellar than I do!) and she mentioned that she had recently enjoyed "one of the best Syrah's" she had ever had.  Of course I was intrigued, and she was kind enough to give me the contact information for the kind folks at Sleight of Hand Cellars so that I could get a few bottles of their 2014 "The Psychedelic Syrah"!!!  Now I do love me some Syrah, and this one is crafted from fruit of the Stoney Vine  Estate Vineyard in the Walla Walla AVA.  The folks at Sleight of Hand bill their wines as "Serious wines without the serious attitudes" so I think I could definitely get along with these guys!  I encourage you to check out their website (here: http://www.sofhcellars.com/) and see some of the interesting wines they are producing, but now let's get on with the show!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass.  The nose is just an explosion of everything that's great about Syrah, green grass, lavender, green olives, smoke and minerals with lovely undertones of ripe purple fruit.  The taste is like nothing I've experienced before, it just takes me right back to the many lovely tasting rooms in Walla Walla, with wild earthy flavors, bursts of ripe cherry, blackberry and blueberry, earthy limestone, licorice and smoke that just give you such a sense of the place that produced this wine.  The tannins are elegant, creating a velvety mouthfeel than envelops you creating a long, dry finish that's silky and very memorable.  This is appropriately names, as this was a psychedelic experience!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9.5, as it's one of the best examples of the varietal that I've ever had the pleasure to drink.  I could tell you about pairings, but why ruin the experience?  Just sip this wine on the patio with a group of friends and you'll forget all about dinner.  Of course I'm hungry though, so tonight I am pairing this with a lovely grilled lemon herb halibut filet with some grilled organic rainbow carrots, earth meet sea!  Cheers!