2015 - Lagniappe Syrah Gramercy Cellars, Columbia Valley

The 2015 Syrah Lagniappe offers up a rich, extravagant bouquet of ripe plums, blackberries, bay leaf, black olive and cola. On the palate, it's full-bodied, rich and layered, with an ample core of succulent fruit that largely conceals fine-grained, chewy tannins that only assert themselves on the finish. It's one of the riper, more powerful wines in the Gramercy Cellars range this year. Like the Forgotten Hills Vineyard bottling, it will reward several years of bottle age and will also be worth following for a decade thereafter.

(all from Red Willow vineyard; made from a clone that Harrington believes originally came from Hermitage, while the John Lewis is 100% Phelps clone, which is rumored to come from Guigal in Côte-Rôtie; vinified with 100% whole clusters): Healthy ruby-red. Tight, high-pitched scents of blueberry, blackberry, mint and minerals. Distinctly dry but rich on the palate, conveying a strong impression of berry ripeness. Serious tannins spread out to saturate the palate, but the long, rising finish maintains brisk fruit intensity.