2002 COLUMBIA CREST RESERVE SYRAH, COLUMBIA VALLEY; TRAVELS WELL, WON'T EAT ALL YOUR MACADAMIAS
Written: May 13 '06 (Updated May 14 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lovely Washington State Syrah, classic Rhone qualities, excellent price point
Cons: Tannins may be a but much for some.
The Bottom Line: Tasty Syrah with classic Rhone features and very well priced.
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| sweetpaulie's Full Review: Columbia Crest Syrah Reserve 1999 |
(This is a review of the 2002 release which is not yet linked to the site.)
Welcome, Gentle Readers, to this week’s installment of the Pete Ruden/sweetpaulie bi-coastal wine review. Well, the last few weeks it’s been a West Coast review because situations conspired to prevent Pete from posting reviews. Please have a look at Brother Pete’s review, that he promises will be posted tonight, which should be posted around the same time as this.
THE WINE
Pete sent me two bottles of wine this week, one a 2002 Columbia-Crest Reserve, Reserve Syrah, Columbia Valley, and that’s tonight’s candidate. Columbia-Crest is such a wonderful winery. They produce a variety of fine wines from grapes grown in Washington State.
Now, there is Coastal, rain-forest Washington State and there is the rest (and vast majority) of the state that has some climates and terrain very similar to the wine country of California and not-that-different from Oregon. They all have wet winters. Washington and, to a lesser extent, Oregon, receive much of the “wet” in the form of snow. You don’t have to get too far from the Pacific in any of those three states to find summer temperatures regularly in the 90-100 f range during summer and early fall. These conditions are conducive to the excellent wines, including this 2002 Columbia Crest Reserve Syrah, that are produced up and down the west coast in these inland valleys.
Columbia Crest’s winery in Paterson is in the south central part of the state. Columbia Crest is owned by the same company as Chateau Ste Michelle, Stimson Lane, which produces two million cases annually and owns 1280 acres of vineyards in the Columbia Valley. Ray Einberger, noted winemaker at Columbia Crest, is surrounded by these vines and has created a real gem with this Syrah. To quote their home page, “Recent acclaim from leading wine publications proves why Columbia Crest continues to soar. The winery was voted "Best Winery for Value" in a Wine Spectator Reader's Choice Awards poll, the only non-California producer to win one of the survey's American wine categories. Columbia Crest earned a "Winery of the Year" designation from Wine & Spirits, and has received numerous medals and high ranking scores the Columbia Valley, Estate and Reserve tier wines.”
IN THE GLASS
This wine has been across the country at least twice and, luckily for me, it travels well. I got the wine temp down to 70f and pulled the cork. The bottle oozed luscious floral and blueberry/blackberry essences. I let the bottle rest for an hour before I tried the first tasting pour.
In the glass the wine is a beautiful dark garnet red. The color is consistent across the glass with no hint of youth around the edges. A swirl and a sniff provide rich scents of the berries noted above, a hint of chocolate and some rather pleasant earthy tones. I, also, got a light whiff of alcohol.
The wine clings to the sides of the glass well and produces rather short and very regularly spaced legs. The wine is 14.2% alcohol. In the mouth the wine is full very quickly with less fruit available up front than I expected. As the wine moves back, tannins very quickly and assertively are evident. They are just past the point where I would find them overpowering. The wine is only four (4) years-old so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The fruit is available here and the wine becomes rather complex, in a very pleasant fashion. There is a floral essence that is present from opening the bottle all the way to the aftertaste; hibiscus-like if that makes any sense at all. The longer the wine is in the mouth the smoother the tannins become and roll down the side of the tongue leaving that complex array of flavors rolling along on top. Another fruit joins the parade and I can’t quite make it out. (I read a review of the wine after writing this and they suggest apricot.) Vanilla is here along with the chocolate noted in the nose. The finish is long and still pleasantly tannic with the flowers saying “Happy Mother’s Day” as they slide down the palate. All-in-all, a very good wine.
I paired the wine with a “clod” steak which is a muscle in the front leg of a bovine. I see it only at one market here and it’s delicious. The wine cleaned up the palate well and also did nicely with some gifted brownies for dessert. Pete says that he sees the wine for $18-$20 in Georgia. I don’t find it here in Northern California. Pity.
CONCLUSION
Pete picked a winner with this Reserve Syrah from the Columbia Valley. It is drier than the syrahs that I usually favor but is probably more of a traditional Rhone. BTW, the bottle is elegant with gold and green ink and no paper. At the $18-$20 price point, this is an excellent wine. I have a sense that it will be better over the next few years and with its structure may hold for years after that. A solid four stars from sweetpaulie and a big thank you to Brother Pete for sending it along. Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mothers out there and stay well. Peace and Salud!
Recommended:
Yes
Year: 2002
Winery Name: COLUMBIA-CREST
Varietal: Syrah
Designation: RESERVE SYRAH, COLUMBIA VALLEY
Country: USA
State or Region: WASHINGTON
County or Appellation: COLUMBIA VALLEY
Price: 18-20
Wine Rating Scale: Better than most
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sweetpaulie
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Member: Paul Frye
Location: Cottonwood, CA
Reviews written: 129
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Good friends, good food and good books are the requisites of life. God will help.
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