2015 Sleight of Hands "The Psychedelic Syrah"

Happy Friday!  Hopefully you got all your black Friday mojo out of your system, I know I did and now it's time for a nice bottle of wine.  Tonight I've opened a bottle that I bought when I was visiting Walla Walla last Spring and had a chance to meet Trey Busch and the team at Sleight of Hands Cellars, the 2015 Psychedelic Syrah, from the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, Oregon.  This wine is a 100% Syrah, from the Stoney Vine Vineyard, which is an ancient riverbed characterized by softball size rocks (which Trey is so proud to show off!).  This vintage follows the 2014 which was my 2017 wine of the year (see here), so it has some big shoes to fill, let's see how it tastes!

The wine is a wonderful garnet color in the glass with great clarity.  The nose is a wonderfully earthy cascade of olive tapenade, smoke, leather, earthy mineral notes overlaid with ripe black fruit, blackberry and currant with an undertone of mint.  The taste is a psychedelic combination of ripe black fruit, heavy earth tones, a hint of lavender and some green olive that just swirl in your mouth and in your mind.  The tannins are thick and chewy, enveloping your palate and setting the perfect stage for the long, smooth and very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, it's likely one of the best examples of Syrah I've enjoyed this year, and I think it's grown on me since i tasted it back in April, but I still prefer the 2014 vintage.  This wine would be ideal with a lot of hearty fall dishes from lamb chops and shepherds pie to mushroom risotto or prime rib, (even Turkey, though we're a day late and a buck short for that).  Tonight I am going a little off the beaten track, as I bought a nice piece or prime brisket at Costco and decided to slow roast it today and make brisket tacos for dinner.  The earthiness of the wine is a perfect accompaniment to the richness of the brisket.  Cheers!