Betz Family Winery, Besoleil, Columbia Valley

Loved this Syrah blend.

Corked

In its apogee now. Light and elegant and fully integrated. Modern style, but complex with old World hints of earthiness. Delicious!

Resolved, smooth, drink now-2023.

Popped and poured. In a good place right now. The grenache dominates the flavor profile, with just a touch of leather and meat from the syrah.

Decanted, but bottle was too cold (ice storm, power out/on, refrig resets to 54F). Started to drink soon as meal was ready. Oddly, the wine was at it's best initially, and not as it opened 45-50 min later. To the nose, dark fruit more than red fruit, mixed spices and very slight leather. On the palate, dark (mixed) and red (mixed) fruit, with a tinge of blueberry on the first glass. The spice was mostly pepper (white and black mix), …

Light and well balance. Sweet red cherry and raspberry with a floral nose. Good acid - went well with spicy jambalaya and then chocolate dessert!

Light red fruit - raspberry strawberry and red cherry. Good acid and sweet which went extremely well with a spicy jambalaya and a chocolate brownie.

Very light bodied with good acid. Great with food. Opened nicely with a richer, red fruit and layered, medium finish.

Fresh and lively the candied fruit makes the strongest initial impression as it dances across the palate. The predominant grenache influence is obvious with the fruit combining with sweet spices and herbs. Despite the initial impression of simplicity, there is actually a surprising degree of subtle complexity underneath with additional nuances of earth and fresh flowers gaining momentum as the wine breathes. The wine is an attractive combination of superficial flirtatiousness with subtle power and complexity laying beneath the fruit.

Good blend, Grenache-driven, almost no oak.