2015 Syncline Grüner Veltliner

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Subduction, 2/26/2017

  (Syncline Gruner Veltliner) Hello friends. Syncline is perhaps Washington’s most quietly thrilling winery. Quiet only because of their location (the Columbia Gorge, where they’re the flagship winery; an amazing region that any serious student of northwest wine would do well to visit), and because James and Poppie Mantone are such unassuming, salt of the earth types. James and Poppie have been part of the Washington vanguard since they launched their winery. They were early adopters of Rhone varietals, are one of the few producers able to coax something lovely out of Washington Pinot Noir, and in recent years have pushed the boundaries of white varieties and sparkling wines in the state. For freshness, for purity, for transparency, Syncline is tough to beat. Not to mention consistency. There’s a reason we’ve offered a whopping 53 wines from Syncline in Full Pull’s history; there never seems to be a dud in the bunch. Today our focus will be on the new vintage of Syncline’s outstanding value Rhone blend, Subduction. We’ll also include a pair of whites: a new offer for their Boushey Vineyard Picpoul, and a reoffer for their outstanding Gruner Veltliner. Originally offered June 22, 2016. Excerpts from the original: The first Gruner vines in the Gorge came online for production in Syncline’s 2008 vintage, and we have offered every vintage since. When David Schildknecht, the great lover of Austrian wines, first got his hands on Syncline’s Gruner (the 2011 vintage), he called it “as good as any I have witnessed from a North American Gruner Veltliner.” High praise from a man not prone to it. On the vineyard front, there is some sad news and some happy news this year. The sad news is that the Gruner vines have been pulled out at Celilo Vineyard, so this will be Syncline’s final Gruner vintage containing Celilo fruit. The good news: a new Gruner Vineyard came online with the 2015 vintage. Here is what James and Poppie have to say: At 1,000' in elevation, Bloxom Vineyard lies East of Yakima and North of the Rattlesnake Hills. This cooler site with loess soils is an exciting new planting of Gruner Veltliner. 2015 was the vineyard’s first crop, and we are thrilled to be part of this new venture. The overall vineyard mix for the 2015 is 38% each Bloxom and Underwood Mountain Vineyards, and 24% Celilo. Ageing took place in a wide variety of vessels: concrete eggs, neutral oak, stainless steel, and acacia barrels. Nifty! Total production in 2015 was 440 cases, and listed alc is 13.7%. The nose kicks off with wonderful savory notes of green lentil and sweet corn, paired to a core of peach fruit. The palate is dry, potent, and *very* earthy/savory. The evolution of this bottling has been dazzling to watch, and it has now reached the point where you could legitimately confuse it for one of its Austrian brethren. I love Gruners like this because they are such outstanding food-pairing wines. Because of their savory side, they pair with tough-to-complement foods like artichokes and asparagus. They’re also beautiful oyster wines, for those of you so inclined.