#saviah

In pitting these two head to head I hope to explore how two of Washington’s top Syrah producers express this grape grown in adjacent terroir.  Both are Walla Walla wineries and both wines are from the other side of the Columbia basin.  

Saviah is known for great value wines from Walla Walla and beyond while Dunham hangs just beyond reach of the average consumer, saving itself for someone special. I got lucky tonight.   

It was stunning to see the vast differences between these two brethren and I know that not all of it can be attributed to terroir.  One of them blends lovely barrel character with obvious site-specific character while the other is more of a clear prism into the life and times of a single place on earth.  Can you guess which is which?

Saviah 2008 Syrah Red Mountain

A beam of graphite and sanguine minerality hit you first with this wine on both the nose and palate.  A full-bodied and soft core of blueberry and currant fruit carries the wine tenuously across the palate with silky pleasure, but perhaps missing a bit of acid for pizazz.  Tannins are almost totally kneaded in and the wine finishes with a subtle woodsiness.

Dunham 2008 Syrah Columbia Valley

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.

Conclusion-ish

This was not at all by design,  but evaluating these wines is not an easy one as it exposes the criteria gap that will perpetually conflict those who think and write about wine.  Do I reach for the intellectual, reserved, promising Red Mountain, or the warm, open, and highly interesting Columbia Valley (primarily Lewis and Frenchtown). If the Red Mountain had offered some better texture and savory notes, perhaps, the choice would be easy, but alas, it is a bit too aloof at this stage and I can’t get excited about it.