2013 Maison Bleue Voyageur Syrah

Happy Saturday!  I have to admit, this was a day that started easy enough, with a trip to the farm stand for some fresh sweet corn, but then I returned home to about 6 hours of yard work and now I really need to relax!  Well tonight I've dug up a bottle from the cellar that I haven't reviewed before, the 2013 Maison Bleue Voyageur Syrah from the Yellow Jacket Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley of Washington.  So let's see how this wine has matured over the past few years!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, classic for a nice Syrah.  The nose expresses aromas of ripe blackberry, currant and plum over hints of violet and baking spice.  The taste is a tawny rush of ripe black fruit, layered flavors of blackberry, plum, cherry and currant that give way to some notes of white pepper spice, smoke and charred meat midpalate. The tannins are still wonderfully firm and structured, filling the mouth and providing an ideal foundation for the long, smooth dry finish that lingers on the palate.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's just a pleasurable Syrah to sip on the patio or enjoy with a variety of foods.  This wine would pair well with a variety of dishes, from grilled steak to lamb chops, braised short ribs to salmon, but tonight I am taking the road less traveled and enjoying this wine with a modified seafood boil.  I am enjoying this wine with steamed snow crab legs, buttered red potatoes with parsley and the aforementioned corn on the cob.  Cheers!