Gramercy Cellars Lagniappe Syrah 08
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 92 points
The 2008 Syrah Lagniappe was aged for 15 months in French barriques and puncheons. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it reveals a perfume of Asian spices, mineral, lavender, smoked meat, and blueberry. On the palate it is round and elegant with no hard edges to be found. Medium-bodied, spicy, and pleasure-bent, it will drink well over the next 8-10 years. - Jay Miller
This wine displays an amazingly floral nose with hints of orange rind. Flavors of liquid stone and gravel, with smoked meat and red and black fruits. This wine is all about balance with fantastic acidity and intense fruit and earth flavors. This is a food wine, not for sipping on the porch! - the winery
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
2007 Vintage Tasting Notes
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 92 Points
Parker - The purple-colored 2007 Syrah Lagniappe contains 5% Viognier with the fruit sourced from Forgotten Hills and Minick Vineyards. Very expressive from the aromatic lift provided by the Viognier, it is a bit more elegant and forward than the Walla Walla cuvee. This spicy, savory, intense effort can be enjoyed now but will drink well for a decade. From the winery -
This is by far the best Walla Walla Syrah we have made to date. With this wine, we continue to employ more traditional techniques used in the Rhone Valley - whole cluster fermentation, partial destemming, extended maceration, lees stirring, etc. Both Les Collines and Forgotten Hills vineyards exhibited world class qualities, especially in our hillside blocks. The grapes were destemmed, fermented in small, open top containers for 7-12 days, lightly pressed and allowed to settle before being placing in French Oak barrels, 10% of which were new. The wine was aged for 15 months leaving just a hint of oak.
This wine shows massive smoke, pepper, and the entire charcuterie catalog of Salumi in Seattle, black olive and licorice flavors and elegant black fruits. It shows balanced acidity with intense richness and a touch of vanilla spice. Exactly what we wanted to make in Washington!
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
Gramercy Cellars Lagniappe Syrah 06 - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "The 2006 Syrah Columbia Valley is dark ruby-colored. The nose features spice notes (pepper, sage, and cinnamon), mineral, cedar, leather, plum, and blueberry. Like the Tempranillo, it appears to obtain its structure from acidity. On the palate it is slightly lean with an elegant personality (like a slender fashion model) leading to a moderately long, savory finish. It should be at its best from 2012 to 2020."
Wall Street Journal says: "Delicious. Big and rich, with real grace despite its massive, super-ripe fruit. Pure, sleek and clean. Tastes like delicious grapes pressed into wine and left alone". -1-17-09
Gramercy Cellars Founder Greg Harrington is the youngest American to ever pass the Master Sommelier exam. Before becoming a winemaker, Greg was the wine and beverages head for BR Guest Restaurants, Wolfgang Puck restaurant group, and Emerile Lagasse's restaurant group.
In New Orleans, Lagniappe means "A little something extra". Winemaker Greg Harrington says: " the wine dIsplays an amazing floral nose with hints of orange rind. Flavors of liquid stone and gravel, with smoked meat and red and black fruits. The wine is all about balance with fantastic acidity and intense fruit and earth flavors."
Stephen Tanzer reviewed the wine, saying: "Good medium ruby. Vibrant aromas of violet, bacon fat and smoked meat. Juicy, fresh and precise, with a saline nuance adding complexity to the wine's dark fruit flavors. With alcohol just under 14% and only 10% new oak used for aging, this offers lovely purity of flavor."
