Delmas Syrah 95+ Reviews

SHOP DELMAS' SYRAH 2017/2018 VERTICAL HERE

  

Family owned and operated, Delmas is the realization of the Robertsons’ dream, 35+ years strong, to honor a distinctive place; a distinctive taste. Born of unique geology found within The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, as well as the climatic eccentricities of the Walla Walla Valley, Delmas is dedicated to producing exceptional wines of enduring value. Elegance is preferred to power and exoticism at Delmas; restraint, nuance, and those impossible-to-define, (pleasurable), qualities that elevate all great wines.

Reviews:

2017 Delmas:

Owen Bargreen, 97 pts: A true heavyhitter, the 2017 Delmas Syrah is entirely sourced from their estate SJR Vineyard in the Walla Walla Rocks AVA, deftly managed by Brooke Robertson. Crafted by superstar winemaker Billo Naravane, MW, the wine is a stunning blend of 91.5% Syrah with the reminder Viognier. Aged for 14 months in 60% new French oak (Troncais) prior to bottling, this needs about an hour of air exposure in order to evolve to its full unveiling. The nose is nothing short of intoxicating, yielding some insanely good range. Potpourri, Umami, pipe tobacco, cedar, and shades of cran-orange aromas all create an amazing effect in the glass. The heady aromas push you back to the glass for more. The texture its astoundingly good, giving off a sexy, silky edge. Red cherry candy, Umami, Hoisin sauce, Asian spice and guava with citrus rind accents as well as shades of black truffle with minerals and stony accents all complete this scintillating new wine. While remarkable in its youth, this will evolve well over the next decade. Drink 2019-2029

2018 Delmas:

Vinous 95 Points: “Full dark red. Pungent spicy lift to the aromas of raspberry, boysenberry, smoked meat, grilled herbs, rose petal and red licorice complicated by white pepper and black olive; coffee and mocha notes emerged with extended aeration. Really remarkably aromatic Syrah: supple, savory and concentrated, conveying strong Rocks salinity to its flavors of raspberry, plum, cured meats, spices and flowers. Shows a strong resemblance to the 2017 but that’s hardly a surprise as Steve Robertson’s wine comes entirely from the parcels of Syrah that he originally planted in 2007. Enticing sweetness and broad, ripe tannins give this seamless wine early accessibility but it has the energy and stuffing for mid-term aging. Really spreads out to saturate the palate on the long finish. This quintessential Rocks Syrah was even silkier with extended aeration. Incidentally, Robertson will make his first varietal Grenache from the 2020 harvest, from a one-acre parcel that he also planted in 2007 (i.e., its 14th leaf).”

French Weekday Sipper 3-Pack, Specs & Pics

 

Domaine de la Chanteleuserie "Cuvée Alouettes” Bourgueil 2018

• Loire Valley
• 100% Cabernet Franc
• 40 – 50 year old vines
• Sand and clay
• Fermented and aged in stainless steel
• 2-week maceration
• Cassis, red plum, fines herbs

 

Piron & Lameloise Moulin a Vent 2017

• Beaujolais
• 100% Gamay noir
• Schist soil
• Hand-picked
• Partially destemmed
• Begins fermentation semi-carbonic, then frequent punching down, total of 18-20 days on skins
• Aged 50% in barrel, 50% in tank
• Wild strawberry, peony, cassia stick

 

Maxime-Francois Laurent “Il Fait Soif” Côtes du Rhône 2018

• Southern Rhône
• 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah
• Clay and limestone
• Biodynamic vineyard
• Native yeast fermentation
• Syrah is fermented carbonically, Grenache fermented partially whole cluster
• 10-day maceration in cement tank
• Aged 6 months in stainless steel
• Unfined, unfiltered
• Raspberry, strawberry preserves, licorice root

 

Discover FUSO, Italian Terroir and Workhorse Wines

SHOP FUSO TRAVEL ITALIAN TERROIR 6-PACK HERE

Spring is coming. Winter doldrums are being beaten back into dark cupboards, attics, and basements to hibernate until next year, and vineyards around the northern hemisphere are waking up. Dry January is a distant but surprisingly clear memory, and we are all, hopefully, drinking wine again.

Now, I love a nice bottle of Champagne to celebrate a promotion or birthday, and I enjoy savoring a bottle of Barolo that’s older than I am. Unfortunately, I’m typically working with a Prosecco or Langhe Nebbiolo budget. Lucky for me, the shop always has a ton of fantastic budget options. So, join me in raising a glass to the Tuesday night wines, the workhorse wines, the “little wines”, the three-day weekend Friday afternoon wines, the pizza and burger wines. These are the wines that got us hooked on vino in the first place.

FUSO is one of our favorite recent discoveries in the land of budget bottles. They are a company that sources wine from a wide variety of excellent growers and winemakers throughout Italy, from north in Piedmont all the way south to the island of Sicily. While they lack a regional focus, all of their wines share a consistent approach to viticulture and winemaking. Their requirements, from their website:

• Delicious and terroir-driven
• Made by farmers (not tank-farms)
• Certified organic or practicing organic wineries in conversion
• Native grapes
• Native yeasts
• Low sulphur (45 mg/l or less of added SO2)
• Unfiltered or slightly filtered
• Dry farmed

These wines are light, quaffable, chillable, sustainably grown, and the price is just right. The whole range would be awesome with a charcuterie plate featuring dry-cured salumi, castelvetrano olives, and boquerones, or any number of fancy pasta dishes. Their approachability and natural acidity also make them fantastic for tacos, cheeseburgers, frozen pizza, hamburger helper, tater tots, Thai takeout, tuna casserole, or any number of easy-button Tuesday dinners. Because even Tuesday night deserves a well-made bottle of wine, don’t you think?

Col Di Luna ‘Flora’ Prosecco Brut

• Veneto
• 100% Glera
• Limestone and clay
• In conversion to organics
• Fermented for 20 days in stainless steel
• No malolactic fermentation
• Asian pear, green apple, cut flowers

Denny Bini ‘Spuma’ Frizzante

• Emelia-Romagna
• 100% Lambrusco di Sorbara
• Sand and limestone
• Certified organic
• Double curtain training
• Native yeast fermentation with no temperature control in stainless steel for first fermentation
• Bottle fermented in the spring for 30-60 days using must from the same vintage
• Full malolactic fermentation
• Raspberry, rainier cherry, nettle

Dario Serrentino ‘Cala’ Terre Siciliane

• Sicily
• 90% Nero d’Avola, 10% Grillo
• Limestone and clay
• Certified organic
• 20-60-year-old bush vines
• Native yeast fermented with 6-day maceration in stainless steel
• Aged 6 months in stainless
• Lightly filtered
• Tart strawberry, umeboshi, coppa

Filippo Cassano ‘Calx’ Primitivo

• Puglia
• 100% Primitivo
• Limestone
• Certified organic
• 20-30-year-old vines
• Native yeast fermentation for 15 days, 7 day extended maceration in stainless steel
• Red currant, blackberry, dried and fresh fig

Tenuta Maiano 'Brusco' Sangiovese

• Tuscany
• 100% Sangiovese
• Limestone and silt
• Certified organic
• 15-year-old vines
• Native yeast fermented for 15 days in concrete
• Aged 3 months in concrete
• Lightly filtered
• Pie cherry, leather, eucalyptus

Walter Massa ‘Fuso’ Rosso

• Piedmont
• 100% Barbera
• Clay and limestone
• Practicing organic
• 10-35-year-old vines
• Native yeast fermentation for 12-20 days
• Aged in concrete
• Black plum, blueberry compote, balsamic drizzle

SHOP FUSO TRAVEL ITALIAN TERROIR 6-PACK HERE

Marginalia...in the Spotlight

SHOP MARGINALIA LIGHT RED 3-PACK HERE

Tim Doyle is a true iconoclast of the Walla Walla wine scene. I have yet to come across another winemaker in the valley who thinks about and makes wine with his heady, scientific attention to detail and form while maintaining such a modest and quiet demeanor. His youthful project, Marginalia Winery, produces only a handful of bottlings that upend the norm of what is produced in our area and we are incredibly proud to represent them here at The Thief. Perfect for pairing with a variety of dishes, we welcome you to get adventurous this week with Walla Walla wines and put Marginalia on the table!

Tim splits his time between his winemaking passion and his job as a professor at Whitman College(ancient philosophy and foundations of mathematics), as well as being a husband and father. His commitment to minimal intervention, brainy, somewhat natural wine is a beautiful thing to witness – and it may get you into an epically detailed conversation on the world of wine if that’s what you come looking for.  Most of all, however, his wines are delicious, incredibly fun, and worth exploring. We hope you will think so too!

In Tim’s own words: “Lighter red wines and amber wines are not accidental points of focus for Marginalia.  I work primarily with these styles of wine because I think they taste good with the foods I tend to eat: rustic breads, strongly flavored vegetables, salty cheeses, olives, lots of herbs and garlic, umbellifer spices, and glugs of olive oil.  The wines taste good on their own too, but the real test of a wine is whether it makes a simple meal into a memorable one”.

Light Red Wine 2018

• Breezy Slope Vineyard, one of the highest elevation vineyards in Walla Walla (1700’)
• 67% Pinot Gris, 33% Pinot Noir
• Harvested at 23 degrees Brix, 3.3 pH, and 6.9 g/L titratable acidity on September 10, 2018
• 100% whole cluster co-fermented for one week
• Pressed to barrel at 10 Brix.
• Aged in a mix of neutral 225 L American and French oak barrels
• Lees stirred every other week
• Total sulfur dioxide additions under 40ppm
• Bottled unfiltered, with a small quantity of light lees

SHOP MARGINALIA LIGHT RED 3-PACK HERE