Washington - Provence - Eden Valley

98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck

Another tour de force, the 2015 Syrah John Lewis offers more lavender, violets, and minerality, as well as incredible black and blue fruits. This peppery, meaty, rich, full-bodied effort has building tannin, awesome purity, and integrated acidity, and it's certainly one of the finest Syrahs in the vintage. It's more tannic than the Lagniappe Cuvée and is going to benefit from short-term cellaring, with two decades of overall longevity. Bravo! This vintage comes from a single block in the Les Collines Vineyard, in Walla Walla, isn’t destemmed, and spends 19 months in 7% new French oak puncheons.

93-95 Points - Jeb Dunnuck (robertparker.com) "Tasted as a barrel sample and Betz’s take on a right bank Bordeaux, the 2012 Clos de Betz is 67% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Petit Verdot. Inky-purple in color (has anyone seen a Betz wine not inky purple?), if offers impressive cassis, plum liqueur, spring flowers and underbrush-style aromas and flavors to go with a mouth-filling, layered and voluptuous style on the palate. I love the mid-palate here, and the tannin builds through the finish, so, while it should have plenty of up-front appeal, it should also evolve for 15+ years."

94 Points - James Halliday "A very pure bouquet, the palate no less so; unmistakable grenache sweetness, but doesn't descend into jammy confectionery mode; oak and tannins are afterplay to the main action."

98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck

Another tour de force, the 2015 Syrah John Lewis offers more lavender, violets, and minerality, as well as incredible black and blue fruits. This peppery, meaty, rich, full-bodied effort has building tannin, awesome purity, and integrated acidity, and it's certainly one of the finest Syrahs in the vintage. It's more tannic than the Lagniappe Cuvée and is going to benefit from short-term cellaring, with two decades of overall longevity. Bravo! This vintage comes from a single block in the Les Collines Vineyard, in Walla Walla, isn’t destemmed, and spends 19 months in 7% new French oak puncheons.

98 Points - Jeb Dunnuck (robertparker.com) "Always one of my favorite releases from this estate, the 2015 Syrah Lagniappe is 100% Syrah (mostly from the Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima, with 5% from the Forgotten Hills Vineyard just south of Walla Walla). Deep ruby/plum-colored and loaded with Côte Rôtie-like (Côte Blonde?) notes of black raspberries, crushed flowers, tapenade, and crushed flowers, this beauty is medium to full-bodied, seamless, and silky on the palate, with incredible finesse and elegance. It's going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and knock your socks off over the following decade or more. It’s unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage."

98 Points - Jeb Dunnuck (robertparker.com) "Always one of my favorite releases from this estate, the 2015 Syrah Lagniappe is 100% Syrah (mostly from the Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima, with 5% from the Forgotten Hills Vineyard just south of Walla Walla). Deep ruby/plum-colored and loaded with Côte Rôtie-like (Côte Blonde?) notes of black raspberries, crushed flowers, tapenade, and crushed flowers, this beauty is medium to full-bodied, seamless, and silky on the palate, with incredible finesse and elegance. It's going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and knock your socks off over the following decade or more. It’s unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage."

The 2016 combines the fruit-forward qualities of Yakima Valley Syrah with the freshness and acidity of the Walla Walla hillside vineyards, and the meatiness and funk of the rocks Syrah at SJR Vineyards. This wine was fermented 76% whole cluster partially in Concrete tank, with native yeast.

Black Italian plum, blackberry, dark cherry, violets, seared meat, green peppercorns, black tea & fresh thyme. Plush, approachable tannins that build on the mid-palate. Racy acidity backed finish. Smooth, balanced, and elegant. 100% Syrah, 1,528 cases produced.

99 Points - Jeb Dunnuck

The flagship is the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon mostly from Champoux with the balance from Palengat and Wallula vineyards. Crème de cassis, graphite, black licorice, unsmoked tobacco, and hints of chocolate and emerge from this beauty and it continues to gain depth and nuance with time in the glass. Full-bodied, deep, and layered with an incredible purity and elegance on the palate, it's already accessible but has more than enough tannin, depth, and balance to evolve for two decades or more.

Dense, heady blackcurrant, blueberry and plum punch from the glass. The aromas are concentrated and tightly knit at first but after a little aeration, open up to reveal some sweet black cherry and violet. The concentration continues on the palate with youthful black berry fruits leading to sweet, clove spice that lingers on the finish. Although young, the tannins are ripe and provide perfect structure to the youthful fruits. This is the Eden Valley addition to the Garden series and when tasted next to the Barossa addition, had a comparative lightness but don’t be fooled, this wine still packs a punch.