The Waters 2009 Syrah Forgotten Hills illustrated the fascinating but not especially ripe array of flavors that proprietor-winemaker Jamie Brown evidently prizes. Smelling mouthwateringly like lentils in ham stock laced with sage and black tea, its further intimations of red fruits usher in a tart-edged cherry and rhubarb on a grainy palate, leading to a persistently interactive and for red wine downright bracing finish. “We had (relatively) large clusters and high skin-to-juice ratio here, yet you get strength of character,” notes Brown. And it’s a character, I hasten to add, that won’t be everybody’s cup of Syrah infusion! It should however be very interesting to follow for at least the next 3-5 years.
Founded in 2005 by Jamie Brown – formerly of James Leigh Cellars – and partners, Waters Winery currently sources Walla Walla fruit from its own cobbled Forgotten Hills and high-elevation Mars Hill vineyards; Leonetti’s Loess Vineyard; plus well-known Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills; though sources outside of that A.V.A – including renowned Alder Ridge, Canoe Ridge, Cold Creek and Minick – inform certain bottlings, and their young vines in the Old Stones Walla Walla estate vineyard – partly frozen-out in 2010, and its Syrah first featured in a 2011 rose that Brown did not elect to present to me in our merely hour-long session – will soon play significant roles. Brown believes that “90-95% of the time we still have green stems in this valley (Walla Walla)” so he typically removes them. “I’m going for fruit aromas first,” he adds, “and if we can get some richness too, great,” implying that the latter is not essential. “I like bracing acidity,” he says – echoing a comment I hear, even with respect to reds, from other Oregon and Washington vintners who claim inspiration from the Old World – but insists he has never acidified. New wood is kept to a maximum of 15% because, Brown opines, “oak is a frame, not part of the art.” “Hanging out there two more weeks doesn’t help the quality of your fruit most times,” he suggests, “but the advantage of 2010 was being able to have long hang potential in our warmer sites.” An example of Brown’s ingenuity and diligence in pursuing his vision of elegance from a more typical vintage is the approach taken with Syrah in Figgins’ Loess Vineyard in 2009. “To bridge the phenolic gap,” Brown explains, “we tried something new: hanging a little higher yield – 4-4.5 tons – then taking off part of the crop after the heat spikes are over to make rose.” A measure of the respect according this winemaker are his exclusive access to Figgin’s fruit as well as that of Ste. Michelle’s Cold Creek, first gained in the frost year of 2004, after which he successfully argued the case to be kept on as a “wine guinea pig.”
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