The 2018 Syrah Jolie Bouche is massively dark with a deep magenta rim and offers aromas of crushed black pepper, blackberry reduction, black cherry preserves and dark plum skin in the glass. Medium to full-bodied on the plate, tight tannins instantly grip the gumline and clamp down, needing additional time in the bottle for the balance to come around. The wine ends with a persistent, firm tannic edge on the finish, leaving behind subtle notions of tar, blackberry skin and bitter dark chocolate. Give it another year or two in the bottle, and be sure to enjoy with food.

The 2016 Syrah Jolie Bouche has a dark core with aromas of black fruit with a dusty mineral rigidity and black spice. It's medium to full-bodied and softly volatile on the palate, with stewed plum flavors and black peppercorn spices that follow, showing more focus than the nose leads on, ending with chewy dark fruits. 320 cases produced. My clear preference is for the Big Papa Old Block Cabernet Sauvignon.

While I found a recently bottled 2010 Syrah Ceidleigh shut down and ferociously tannic, Efeste's 2010 Syrah Jolie Bouche - its name a pun on Boushey Vineyard, from which it is exclusively sourced - is alluringly expressive, with scents of cassis and elderberry wreathed in elder flower and violet, while a mouthwateringly saline, bitter herb-tinged, persistently floral inner mouth display is firmly but not obtrusively underlain by fine-grained tannins. This finishes with striking persistence if considerable bitterness and will I strongly suspect justify Leighton's faith in its potential over the next several years. Oddly named to incorporate the initials of its partners, Efeste began life in 2005 with the assistance of Washington veteran Chris Upchurch (for more about whom, see my account of his own DeLille wines). "Even though I look like I'm going to make punk rock wine," said heavily tattooed Brennon Leighton, who is responsible for vinification, "I'm interested in elegance, and my wines tend to be shy. They're not going to just proclaim how good they are." For the most part, though, they are indeed pretty good, and I am convinced by Leighton that they are going to get steadily better as he hones his talents and probably also as the wines made so far evolve in bottle. Reds ferment spontaneously (Syrahs with a significant share of whole clusters); are aged in barrels (mostly barriques but some 500 liter) of which only a modest percentage are new; and are bottled without fining or filtration. A self-proclaimed "reductivist," Leighton racks minimally and then with argon. I never felt the 14.5-15% alcohol that was present but these wines certainly did wear their tannins prominently. "You can see how this wine needs time," said Leighton characteristically about one of them. "Sometimes I could kick myself for making wines too tight for folks to understand them unless they age them. But to me, this is the way to capture the integrity of a place and time." Results with Riesling here certainly confirm the prowess of Evergreen Vineyard, from which they are exclusively sourced, and the who's who of other vineyards with which Leighton is privileged to work are almost guaranteed to deliver top-notch raw material, while Angela's and Taylor Mag vineyards on Red Mountain are beginning to deliver the first Efeste estate fruit. Tel. (425) 398-7200