Dunham Cellars, Syrah, Columbia Valley

Drank over 2 days. Excellent and smooth. Mellow with dark fruit. Soft tannins. Great on its own

2013 vintage

Gave to Bruce

2013 vintage

Big, yet simple wine. First day big flavor, but lacking in the backend. Second day, mellowed a bit. Overall not impressed.

2013 vintage

Opened this by accident. The cork started to dissolve and was a challenge to open but we got it. Got better and better after decanted and some time. Had with steak and veggies and it was great - smooth. Also added some dark chocolate after dinner and that was a nice pairing!! We enjoyed this.

2013 vintage

ABV: 14.1%. Exquisite Northern Rhone-like nose with smoked meats and rocky minerality, surrounding a core of black and blue fruits. Soft tannins and well-integrated acidity on the palate, but I don’t think this wine is showing its full potential yet because the fruits are still somewhat hidden. There’s also a savory/umami profile, leading towards the pleasant, lengthy finish. I expect this wine to drastically improve overnight. If you’re opening your bottle soon, decant it for at least 30 minutes. However, …

2005 vintage

Double decanted for 90 min, deep ruby, dark fruit on both nose & palate with only minimal tertiary development, med. tannins, med. finish; very good, but likely (hopefully?) still young, drink or preferably hold

2013 vintage

Not a typical Paso big fruit bomb but something more refined and reserved--dark plum, blueberry fruit, black pepper and black olive, earth.

2013 vintage

Wow, this wine needs a little time to settle down. But once it does, it is smooth and fruity. Nice entry, mid and finish.

2013 vintage

I was looking for a Syrah to go with chili for a Halloween neighborhood Chili Cook Off. I don't even remember buying this bottle and I don't think Denner even makes a 100% Syrah anymore. This was lighter than I expected on pnp and I gave it a 90 minute slow ox before consuming. No improvement with air. This had flavors of cassis, cherry, chocolate, and light spice although no black pepper on the finish that I expected. This was …

2013 vintage

Drinking great right now. Nose of white pepper and leather. Bell balanced tannins and a long finish.

2013 vintage

Excellent Paso syrah. Needed an hour of air to smooth it out, then it was just in the right place. Several years left in it.

2013 vintage

Very solid, with olive and meaty notes to accompany the dark plum and berry notes.

2013 vintage

Full 2 hour decant, Beautiful nose (92), expressive blk olive notes, ripe and earthy..that said, it was lacking depth and the backbone you�d expect from a aged Syrah(88). Surprisingly young actually, zero signs of age. Drink now with air thru 2026 with proper cellaring.

2013 vintage

Blackberry and a bit of red fruit, long smooth finish

2013 vintage

Walla Walla Syrah Festival "Vintage Pour" (Cavu Cellars, Walla Walla) : Wish they would have poured something a bit better as I love Dunham. This was fine but paled in comparison to the other offerings. Light red fruits, spice and dust. Drink now.

2010 vintage

This seems to have aged compared to previous bottles of this wine. Showing some signs that it is at its peak. Still has that characteristic black fruit with some pepper notes but some aging on the palate suggests this hasn�t mich upside to it. Overall still a nice wine but wouldn�t want to keep remaining bottles for too long.

2013 vintage

On the nose spice, molasses, bacon fat, and a core of dark fruit and black cherry. On the palate the tannins are still firm but good balance with welcomed acidity and spectacular flavors of mocha, baking spice, and black cherry. This still has legs and will go another five years or more. Wonderful.

2013 vintage

Still sound - the fruit has backed off a bit - which is a good thing for this particular wine. Tannins have softened - ibid. Worth waiting for. Should last a few more years, but not much more.

2013 vintage

Very nice wine. Nice acidity and tannins. Black current, vanilla and black cherry are the predominant favors that hold through to a great finish. We finished the bottle before food arrived. Denner continues to impress us with their selection of reds

2013 vintage

Very nice but fruit is starting to diminish.

2013 vintage

Casual elegance with a lot of vitality, while keeping a bit of an edge. The estate-owned vines speak for themselves. This wine is very good. A most welcome discovery during my Paso Robles visit! For more please watch below at YouTube channel Pandewine https://youtu.be/--emTfiUKeo

2013 vintage

Nose of olive tapenade, sage, fermented blueberry, and a smoky tobacco. Mid pallet notes of boysenberry and herbaceous notes. Lingering finish - fairly dry. Not much potential left in the cellar drink within 2 years.

2013 vintage

Alas, my only bottle. 45 min decant. V - Between clear/murky, deep purple with garnet edges, although meniscus was fairly minimal. N - Great mix of bramble, oak and fruit (cherry and blackberry). P - Fruits (including black currant) morphs to savory flavors and tannins finish the deal. Savory flavors of tar, bramble, coffee and baking spices. Full bodied, Med+ acidity and tannins. Long finish, great complexity

2013 vintage

Gone bad-12/21

2010 vintage

Very nice, a little sharp out of the bottle, but decanted for a hour, actually twice in the duck and it drank really well. All the varietals in the blend mellowed out the moved, but I still don't think it's as good as the Ditch Digger steel

2013 vintage

In my view, past its prime. Admittedly, this is also no longer my preferred style of Syrah. The sweet oak has outlasted other elements and it is not in balance.

2008 vintage

With snake river farms 2,3 # cowboy steak grilled over white and red oak logs. 2 hour decant in ehrlenmeyer flask. This needed air to reveal its nuances. Lifted red fruit and savory, slightly resinous aromatics of thyme and manzanita with consistent palate, juicy acidity lifts mid palate, nice length in the finish. Slightly coarse grained tannins suggest a moderate long life ahead. Drink or hold

2013 vintage

Inky color, smooth fruit, slight tannins and tad bitterness on the finish, good with food

2013 vintage

This is my go to WA Syrah by Dunham with Columbia Valley fruit; bold with great fruit forward flavors, silky tannins and long finish ... I enjoyed with a lamb burger, feta and Peloponnese sweet red pepper garnish.

2016 vintage

At or just past peak. Still some nice blueberry and black cherry, but some aged tasting notes coming across as well. A bunch of older leather, a bit of oak, a slight dusty/mustiness that blew off almost immediately. Really excellent. The mouthfeel was superb, and it wasn't too soft... still had a bit of spice left on the long finish. 91-92 pts.

2010 vintage

Ghosts of what was probably some pretty tasty fruit remain, but these must compete with oak and alcohol. Lacks freshness and acidity. Smooth for sure, but appears to be over the hill.

2008 vintage

A winery purchase years ago, this was fresher and younger-tasting than the last bottle I had with none of the stewed prune taste the last bottle had mildly exhibited in July 2019. A crowd-pleasing style, good for parties (which is when this bottle was opened), but as stated before, not my thing as I feel it has too much new oak influence.

2008 vintage

Similar observations to a year ago, so I suppose it has held together reasonably well since then. There is a bit of stewed fruit appearing under the surface, likely due to age. For me it has too much (admittedly good quality) oak in it, so although one could guess it is Syrah, to me it is missing meaty, savory, peppery notes I also enjoy in Syrah. A crowd-pleasing style good for parties with life remaining, but not my thing.

2008 vintage

I don't know if this wine had more fruit on it previously, but even after a 30 minute+ decant the nose is very heavily dominated by vanilla and graham crackers. Super duper oaky, and it is very difficult to drill into any other aromas to be honest. I think we tried the 2014 at the vineyard, and I assumed that is what we got, but maybe the '13 got swapped in by accident. Maybe it needs a very long decant, …

2013 vintage

A delicious velvety Syrah that subtly touches upon many ripened berries. Full body. I would not call this jammy like many WA syrahs, but a well balanced thoughtful approach.

2008 vintage

Tasting pretty solid right now. Probably a little past it’s peak but bright ripe fruit and medium tannins linger on the palate. Cork with beautiful crystalization was starting to disintegrate - take care when opening.

2005 vintage

No longer my preferred rendition of Syrah, but good for its style. This is definitely a modern take with new oak lending a sort of candied aspect to the palate along with extracted black and blue fruit emphasis. The coffee notes which were more prominent in 2012 but were already fading in 2013, have here faded further, but with vanilla notes still quite prominent. I didn't get much olive or brine, in apparent contrast to some other reviewers. Suspect it …

2008 vintage

I must say this wine is at the perfect point in its aging. It is wonderful on the nose, with cherries and leather, but it really shines on the mouth feel and finish. This drinks like a $100 plus wine. I am not sure how others averaged it to an 88.9 score because it is way better than that score! If you have some, enjoy it now because it is fantastic!

2010 vintage

Ripe dense fruits, oak dominates the nose on opening, after some time the oak is joined by meaty, bloody, tarry notes. The palate is very ripe, glossy, lots of oak, prune, spice, clove, chocolate, red fruit syrup. Lots going on. Soft structure, soft tannins, ok/medium acid.. needs more. Ripe, ripe, ripe. Quite young and hopefully with some time the oak will integrate better as right now it is a bit sickly. The structure is lacking, I think the wine is …

2013 vintage

(Wine Tasting Club) Ruby color, slow legs, no sediment. Green pepper, berry, and lilac on the nose. Cherry, pepper, and raisin flavors. Light body, angular texture. Medium finish, medium acidity.

2013 vintage

Very nice blending of various CV vineyards. Drawing from all corners of the valley allows for a great expression of Syrah with a smoky, meaty, and slightly floral nose followed by boysenberry and leather with some oak to provide additional interest. There's lots going on here, especially given that this is the winery's "flagship" (by which I mean to say most widely available) Syrah.

2013 vintage

Unabashedly modern with extroverted with big, round, and concentrated sweet, boysenberryish fruit. Mouthfilling finish. Good for what it is but def not a cross-over style for Northern Rhone lovers (and some WA syrahs are nicely so).

2013 vintage

Aged now entirely puncheons, mixture of vineyards, all over Columbia valley for the vineyards, stinky and earthy on the nose, big and round and with some sweet fruit.

2013 vintage

Excellent with venison tenderloin. Pop n pour. Good right away and improved over two hours.

2013 vintage

Blue/black fruit, olives, cacao. Vanilla still in there. Very good concentration, good lift provided by the acidity.

2008 vintage

Terrific. See previous note.

2008 vintage

Smelly, satisfying and noteworthy, the Dunham hits the senses with briney marine funk, soy, and toast and takes to the palate confidently with blueberry and mocha on a lightly grippy texture. It is certainly influenced to a large degree by its luxury barrel treatment, but it all comes together very nicely. Outstanding.

2008 vintage

Terrific. Blue/black fruit, cacao, green olive. The vanilla is slightly more prominent than I'd like, but the wine doesn't suffer too much for that. Good intensity.

2008 vintage

We had this at a friends 7/5/14 backyard BBQ. It had a subtle and moderately shy bouquet of plum, blueberry, smoke and spice aromas. The palate was smooth, round and harmonious with flavors of plum, blueberry, olive, burnt toast, char and spice. 88+

2010 vintage

Still way too much vanilla for me.

2008 vintage

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Dunham Cellars, Syrah, Columbia Valley

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