2013 Gramercy Cellars Lower East Columbia Valley Syrah

It's been raining quite a bit here over the past few days, so I've suddenly found myself in a Pacific Northwest sort of mood for some odd reason... At any rate, tonight I've decided to finally try a bottle of Syrah from Gramercy Cellars, a producer about whom I've heard many great things, but unfortunately I've only had the opportunity to try by the glass with dinner in Walla Walla.  So tonight I've opened a bottle of 2013 Lower East Columbia Valley Syrah, so let's see how it tastes!

The wine is a beautiful garnet color in the glass and the nose provides a rather pleasant combination of wonderful earthy aromas of green grass, dried flowers and some peppery spice that adds to the intrigue.  The taste is wonderfully fruit forward, with a rush of blueberry, cherry and strawberry with just a hint of sweetness that transitions to some notes of white pepper spice and tobacco midpalate.  The tannins are supple and provide a nice kick to the long, smooth and very dry finish.  I was noting with some friends the other night that Syrah can be a very challenging varietal that may exhibit a variety of taste profiles, some with more fruit, some with more spice and some with great funk.  This one clearly is on the fruit and spice end of the spectrum, making it ideal with food in my view.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's a really nice example of the varietal that's drinking quite nicely five years in.  This wine would be great with a variety of Mediterranean cuisine but I couldn't resist pairing this with a classic Northwest salmon.  Tonight I'm enjoying it with an Alder planked wild sockeye with some cilantro lime rice and fresh green beans almondine.  The lovely dark fruit is just ideal with the richness of salmon, cheers!