Owen Roe Ex Umbris Syrah 08
Owen Roe Ex Umbris Syrah 08 - New release of the Northwest's best value Syrah.
The best value Washington Syrah.
Ex Umbris Syrah 08 has rad aromas of smoke, flint, meat and heaps of black fruit. A nice vein of red berry weaves through the black fruit heart, with accents of lavender, hoisin, and cocoa on the finish. - Marcus
Fantastic reviews often lead to price increases. Not so with Owen Roe. Ex Umbris' price has stayed the same through raves, like when the 2005 was #69 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 in 2007, and last year's WS 92 for the 2007 vintage.
Avalon has sold every vintage of Ex Umbris Syrah and 2008 is the best yet. Now is your time to beat the critics to the new Ex Umbris Syrah. Stock up before the frenzy. The 2007 vintage received 92 points from Wine Spectator.
Latin for "out of the shadows", this wine was originally crafted to express the smoky notes imparted to the Syrah grapes by a raging wildfire. One of the characteristics of this noble grape is its inherent smokiness, a flavor that comes through even without Mother Nature's assistance.
Also available
These double size (1500 ml) bottles are impressive and fun at a party, and make great gifts. Very limited number available.
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
2007 Vintage Tasting Notes
Wine Spectator says: "Velvety, offering a plush mouthful of spicy cherry and red berry flavors, playing against plush tannins and hints of milk chocolate on the long, vivid finish. Syrah. Drink now through 2014." - H.S.
The 2007 Ex Umbris Syrah is the best Ex Umbris yet. Gobs of Marionberries and black raspberries are interspersed with licorice, milk chocolate, and coffee. A superbly rich, supple texture helps carry lingering sweet fruit, violets, and white pepper through the finish.
2006 Vintage Tasting Notes
Ex Umbris's 2006 vintage was Wall Street Journal's Number One pick in their Dow Jones Washington Syrah Index. They described the 2006 Ex Umbris Syrah: "Delicious. Best value. Awesome, intense fruit, but an amazing amount of acidity and balance. Big, explosive, very American wine, with terrific structure and finesse."
Wall Street Journal continued: "Comparing a huge American wine to elegant first-growth Bordeaux is high and unusual praise indeed. It turned out that No. 1 was from Owen Roe, an Oregon-based winery that also makes excellent Pinot Noir ... David O'Reilly, the co-owner and winemaker at Owen Roe, says his wine is made "from very low-yielding vineyards in the Columbia Valley with sparse, rocky soils. That explains why the wine has both density and acidity. Density and acidity -- that seems to us like a pretty apt description of many of these wines."
2005 Vintage Tasting Notes
Ex Umbris's 2005 vintage was Number 69 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2007.
Ex Umbris Syrah is named for the personal motto of Cardinal John Henry Newman "Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem"(From shadows and symbols goes the truth). David was inspired by the fire blackened land right next to the vineyard and the stark contrast between it and the verdant grapevines full of fruit.
Latin for "out of the shadows", this wine was originally crafted to express the smoky notes imparted to the Syrah grapes by a raging wildfire. One of the characteristics of this noble grape is its inherent smokiness, a flavor that comes through even without Mother Nature's assistance.
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2006 Vintage Tasting Note
Rich layers of black raspberry and black berry combine with exotic spice and smoke. The 06 Ex Umbris is even lusher than the 2005, showing dark cocoa and mineral notes on the sappy finish. - Wall Street Journal, 12-26-09
If you like the Owen Roe Ex Umbris Syrah, you might like these highly rated under $30 Washington reds:
Owen Roe Sharecroppers Cabernet Sauvignon 07 $17.95/$16.16 Owen Roe Sharecroppers Cabernet 07 has smoky blackberry and dark cherry aromas that leap out, signaling the showiness of this young Cabernet. Packed with juicy black fruit flavors--especially cassi...read more Fall Line Cabernet Sauvignon 06 $30.95/$27.86 Fall Line Cabernet 06 is the best new mid-priced Cabernet from Washington. Pure cassis aromas and flavors, mixing with black berries, plums, black cherries, and baking spices. A lingering sweetness ... read more Fielding Hills Syrah Wahluke Slope 06 $42.95/$38.55 Heady, dark aromas of violets, bacon smoke, espresso bean, and spiced black berries announce the arrival. Multi-demensional and layered, the black berries, plums and currant just don't stop giving...read more Ex Umbris is Latin for 'out of the shadows'. This wine was originally crafted to express the smoky notes imparted to the Syrah grapes by a raging wildfire. One of the characteristics of this noble grape is its inherent smokiness, a flavor that comes through even without Mother Nature's assistance. Art DenHoed's Erickson Road Vineyard, Mike Sauer's Red Willow Vineyard, and Joe Hatrip's Elephant Mountain Vineyard in western Yakima Valley yielded Syrah with tremendous richness. It was then balanced by the cooler, smoky Lewis Vineyard in The Dalles, and the unctuous fruitiness of Alder Ridge Vineyard in Alderdale, WA. A fabulously aromatic and full-bodied Syrah! 2006 was a first rate Syrah vintage that exemplifies all the fragrance, texture, and deep plum/gamey characteristics of great Syrah." -Winery Wine Spectator 91 points and "Smart
Buy": "Supple,
generous and beautifully focused to display its
cherry, blackberry and dusky spice flavors. Not
a big, blatant red, but a wine that shows finesse
and refinement without losing any of its ripe
flavors. Drink now through 2015. 3,100 cases
made." –HS
Aromas of blackberries and marionberries, entwined with the wine's trademark smoky scent, make this a Syrah standout from the moment it's opened. This is a juicy, fresh and lively Syrah that shows layers of berry fruit flavors. It's structured with balanced acidity and well managed, fine grained tannins that are present but never intrusive.
Ready to drink, "refreshing", "appealing", "lively" are some of the words tasters have used to describe it. David continues to make the price super competitive - this is an Owen Roe "Best Buy".
Latin for "out of the shadows", this wine was originally crafted to express the smoky notes imparted to the Syrah grapes by a raging wildfire. One of the characteristics of this noble grape is its inherent smokiness, a flavor that comes through even without Mother Nature's assistance.
If you remember back to the first release of this wine, the vineyard was literally next door to the edge of a forest fire, and the first vintage was so stongly flavored with smoke that some people found it atypical ... and many people loved it. Each vintage thereafter has showed less of the smoky quality imparted from the fire, and this vintage has just an intriguing hint of bacon fat-laced smoke. -jy
