Gramercy Cellars, John Lewis Syrah, Walla Walla Valley

Black and red fruits, blackberry, blueberry, plum, black cherry, smoke, chocolate, light tobacco. Silky and lush mouthfeel, medium tannins and acid beautifully balanced, long finish.

2016 vintage

Tasted blind with several oenophiles. Deep garnet color with intense aromatics of ripe black cherries and plums. Lovely balance and good concentration with some spiciness, chocolate, and some light earthiness. This stumped several people initially with a range of guesses from Zinfandel to Bordeaux. Lovely wine with soft tannins. I am curious to see how this evolves over a longer period of time.

2016 vintage

45 minute decant. Nose of dark fruits, chocolate, sassafras, and coffee notes. Dark cherry palate is dripping with minerals, iron, and graphite which is followed by a line of black tea acidity. Strong but thin tannins on the finish with more black tea, dusty earth, and red plum with light acidity powering through as the tannins linger. Quite sophisticated and I'm not sure the notes capture the full experience.

2016 vintage

Very elegant, restrained, surprising wine. Initially a hint of Brett, but this was subsumed as the rest of the wine rose to the fore. Dark fruit character, complex and serious, a hint of sour cherry and charcoal. Very fine indeed.

2016 vintage

Got two bottles on auction at non-hyped semi-bargain price in Japan. After plop, it behaved like a very young Syrah with a bit more perfymey aromas than usual in classic Rhône wines. The high acidity is akin to something only rarely seen in the Rhône Valley. The low tannins didn't make this wine a happy experience... Even if this wine, today, is an acidic prick, it nevertheless married the salad thanks to the acidic tomatoes and the WA-FUU dressing (onion-based …

2016 vintage

I visited Walla Walla in May of 2021 and this was the best wine I tasted from any Winery I visited, although I did not stray far from the town. I think the wine was better then than it is right now, although I expect the wine will improve again with more age. On the palate, pomegranate dominates on the attack and throughout the reasonably long finish. I recall more foundational, darker, deep fruit flavors from my tasting 2 years …

2016 vintage

Wonderful Syrah from Gramercy. Smoked meats, bacon, red fruit, more smoke, spices and violets all mingling together seamlessly. A little olive tapenade and some lingering Rocks funkiness with more smoked meat on the backend. Lush, velvety, and beautifully balanced now, it's near it's peak. Drink up over the next 3-4 years.

2011 vintage

Notes after two hours of being uncorked. 12,8 abv. With SRF zabutan. Dark ruby, opaque . Pretty aromatics dark orchard and subtle brambly fruit, manzanita, earth, whole cluster spice, palate was consistent, neutral oak, integrated tannins, yet anemic in intensity. Medium minus finish. Expected more for the price point. Picked too early?

2016 vintage

Still fresh will little sign of age. Slightly more acid than the 2010 or 2012 with sufficient tannin to last a few more years. Black friut with smoked meat, spice, pepper, road tar and violets. A hint of WA funk that dissipated after several hours. Nice long finish with a mineral tang. Drinking nicely now, could go another 6-8 years, easily.

2011 vintage

Retail $85. 85% Whole Cluster. A barrel selection of the three top vineyards associated with Gramercy: Forgotten Hills, Red Willow, and Les Collines (Block 46), and winemaker Greg Harrington proclaimed this 2016 to be perhaps his favorite wine he's made at Gramercy. And who am I to argue? Whoa. Lovely nose punctuated by that woody, flinty whole cluster aspect. Black raspberry, black pepper, clove. Yowza. Rich, luscious fruit. Really gorgeous fruit. Whoa. But far from being a fruit bomb, this …

2016 vintage

On the nose I get lots of beautiful dark berries - strawberry, blackberry, cherry. It medium to full bodied, with good texture all throughout the palette. I definitely enjoyed this wine more and more as it opened. Noticeable dry and florally tannins.

2016 vintage

One of the stupidest things I did on our recent trip to Walla Walla was NOT buy this wine. Floral nose with black currant, meaty palate, light smoke, deeply layered. Best syrah of the trip, a timeless wine. OFS.

2016 vintage

Just beautiful! Drank the whole bottle before it really got to optimum temperature from the cellar. Our mistake ! Herbal, spicy, some classic Syrah meatiness. Cherry, cedar, cola, blackberry, layers and layers of amazing complexity.

2016 vintage

This needs a lot of time. PnP on night 1 and was pretty tight. Vacuum sealed and into the fridge, and the first glass on night 3 was a knockout. But then it closed up again. Wild ride. Night 1 notes: Pretty closed on the PnP. Dusty gravel on the nose, plump purple fruit, spice. Expressive palate on the initial entry, with ripe pure fruit, lovely texture. Red plum skin, dark cherry, some spice. Not finding any pepper; get tiny …

2016 vintage

Fantastic after a 60 minute decant. Deep layers of red berry fruit on the palate, not tannic or astringent at all. Very complex at this early stage. Nose of dried fruit and wild herbs. Well in line with this wine's fine pedigree

2016 vintage

Another Washington Syrah I’m not certain about. Very lifted nose. Cured meats and dried herbs. Very exotic but this wine and the region leave me with the impression of greenery. The palate is rich. Sweet fruit. Broad yet there is still a surprising acid focus. More herbs and meat on the balata with some red berries. Aging gracefully.

2011 vintage

Delicious, classic WA state Syrah. Black fruits, smoke and tar, with wifts of flowers and wet stones. Nicely integrated tannins. Actually had this over 2 nights and it continued to soften and become even more expansive on day 2. Slightly more restrained than the Lagniappe or a K Vintner Hidden.

2011 vintage

Not my style

2011 vintage

The nose showed a mix of fresh wild berry fruits, with smoky minerality expanding in the glass, then savory spice and earth tones. On the palate, I found silky textures offset by balanced acids and giving way to black fruits, tinged with savory herbs, minerals and inner smoke. Fine acids and tannins resonated on the long finish, as salty minerals and savory herbs tapered off to reveal dried black fruits. This is a gorgeous wine.

2016 vintage

A nice win but a bit of a tartness that was unexpected.

2011 vintage

Very nice syrah and drinking beautifully right now. Red fruits, herbs, violets and minerals on the nose. Plums and cherries, more minerals and a smoky earthiness going down. Tannins are soft and sweet. In fact, the wine almost seems sweet, not due to any residual sugar but because the fruit and tannins are so soft and lush. Drank with braised short ribs and it was an awesome pairing.

2011 vintage

Served with Marcus samuuelsons obama ribs and rosemary roasted potatoes. Very smooth, good fruit and full body with texture and depth

2011 vintage

Really nice showing, starting to open up somewhat. Still needs more time to really show though.

2011 vintage

Notes from day 2. Dark purple in color. Nose of raspberry, blackberry, olive, peppered meat. Palate of black raspberry, seared meat, olive, lots of spice going on. The finish was long in length and the acidity and tannin were good as well. Overall the wine was the best 2011 I have had to date and should improve with some additional holding time. Hold: 50+5+13+18+7 4

2011 vintage

Are you sure?

Gramercy Cellars, John Lewis Syrah, Walla Walla Valley

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews