From: Walla Walla, WA
Varietal: Syrah
Taste & Critical Acclaim:
96 points Jeb Dunnuck
"Another backward, closed wine, the 2018 Syrah The Tribe Vineyard has loads of savory red and black fruits, crushed violets, cured meats, and peppery herb-like aromas and flavors, with a beautiful underpinning of iron and rocking minerality. Medium to full-bodied and beautifully balanced on the palate, with present yet ripe tannins, give this singular yet also classic, meaty Syrah 2-4 years in the cellar and enjoy over the following 10-15 years. 96+" (5/2021)
95 points James Suckling
"Plums, incense, smoke and spices on the nose. Medium-bodied with fine tannins. Smoky and savory with an inky note in the mouth. It remains balanced and juicy with a flavorful finish. Chewy, too, yet there’s polish and tension at the end with softness and intensity. Drink in 2023 and onwards." (6/2021)
95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"The 2018 Syrah The Tribe Vineyard opens with a smoky and stemmy nose of bacon fat, black pepper, dusty plum blossom, spicy cherry compote and black raspberry skin tossed in smoked herbs. Medium to full-bodied, this Syrah reveals a firm mineral tension and drying tannins that will be food-friendly in youth or allow it to age for more than a decade. The wine ends with a firm tannic grip that lingers with a spicy and stemmy expression. Give this a year or two in the cellar before opening, and decant for at least 30 minutes before enjoying. The wine rested for 24 months in neutral French oak barrels. (AM)" (7/2021)
95 points Wine Spectator
"This distinctive red is jammed with personality, yet remains refined, with deep black olive, smoked meat, river stone and floral blueberry flavors that build tension toward fine-grained tannins. (TF)" (6/2021)
92 points Vinous
"Complex, inviting scents of red and black fruits, violet, black pepper, mulch, smoked meat and olive tapenade. Concentrated and quite balsamic, conveying a distinct peppery dryness to its flavors of dark berries, spices and violet. Juicier than the High Contrast Syrah but will this leaner, more obviously tannic gain in sweet fruit and pliancy? Less generous in the middle palate and on the finish but shows very good persistence. (ST) 92+"(9/2021)
