Luke Syrah 2019
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James
Suckling -
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Spectator
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Winemaker Notes
LUKE Syrah is a full-bodied red packed with profound color, concentration of flavors and velvet elegance. The wine opens up rich and bold, suggesting pepper, licorice, dark chocolate, and spice followed by blackberry, blueberry, and candied fruits. A lengthy finish highlights the ripeness and complexity of the wine.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A lively nose of red and black fruit, cured meat and oolong. Medium-to full-bodied with soft tannins. Nicely focused and steady.
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Wine Spectator
Easygoing yet has plenty of personality, offering lively black cherry, grilled herb and spice flavors that finish with ripe, zesty tannins.
Other Vintages
2020-
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Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
Centered in the heart of the Columbia Valley and roughly 50 miles north of Red Mountain and the Yakima Valley sits the Wahluke Slope AVA, a yet to be discovered but dynamic winegrowing region that is producing some of the most exciting wines the state of Washington has to offer.
The true depth of a man’s character is often unknowable, but even one conversation was enough to convince me that LUKE was an imitation of no one. He revealed himself slowly, like a freed wind emerging from the shadow of a mountain. Seemingly ordinary at first, but undeniably complex. Bold and determined, but unabashedly generous.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Distinguished by a broad, south-exposed, uniform slope and landlocked by the Columbia River to its south and Saddle Mountains to its north, the Wahluke Slope AVA of Washington holds 15% of the total vine acreage of the state and takes its name from the Native American word for “watering place.”
Incidentally the Wahluke Slope AVA has one of the hottest and driest climates of the state so irrigation is not only essential, but also allows complete grower control of vine vigor. On top of its arid and warm environment, strong summer winds blow across this broad slope and ensure both smaller leaf size and grape clusters. The result is top quality wines with great concentration, phenolic ripeness, body and depth of flavor.
Vineyards cover the AVA from 425 to 1,480 feet along the slope. Its deep soils of wind-blown alluvium and sand with a depth, on average, of more than 5 feet along the continuous grade allow optimal drainage for the vines.
Thriving varieties include Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc.
Merlots are rich in sweet, ripe cherry, red currant, raspberry and cocoa. Syrahs tend to express black and blue fruit along with savory notes. Wahluke Cabernets are rich in stewed red and black berries.