2016 Corvidae Wine Co. Syrah Lenore

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Whom the Angels Name Lenore, 10/14/2018

  (Corvidae Syrah Lenore) Hello friends. Today’s offer is exciting for all lovers of Washington-grown Syrah. Scratch that. Today is exciting for anyone who loves Syrah from anywhere—and those who hunt for great value should especially take note. Today, we have the new release of Corvidae’s Syrah, Lenore. We’ve only been able to access one vintage of this wine before; we offered the 2013 back in the fall of 2015. (Though it has been reoffered countless times because of its popularity). We’ve been asking Owen Roe for months—maybe even years—when a new release would be out. You can only reoffer a wine so many times before you start craving the new vintage.The new vintage does not disappoint, 2016 Lenore is a downright glorious Syrah with plenty of stuffing for the price tag. A worthy successor to one of the most popular wines we’ve ever offered. Corvidae is the sister label to Owen Roe that focuses on value price points—and David O’Reilly and team really mean it when they say value. All of the juice that goes into Lenore is vinfied by the Owen Roe team; none of it is purchased. The fruit is sourced from unnamed vineyards in Yakima Valley and the Horse Heaven Hills, plus Owen Roe’s own estate, Outlook Vineyard. With that, we could probably just say “baby Ex Umbris” and start taking order requests. Really though, this immediately enters the conversation of the best value Syrahs in Washington, and may just be the best value we’ve tasted from Washington in all of 2018. The quality for price is off the charts. This bottle clocks in at 13% listed alcohol—a lovely, little reminder of how exciting the somewhat cooler 2016 vintage is after three successive hot ones. It offers a nose full of crushed blueberries, briny capers, rose petals, smoked meat, bramble bushes, and bouquet garni. Quintessential Syrah on steroids; this nose is vibrant and all encompassing. Holy cow. The palate is equally stellar. It’s ripe and openly delicious, pulsating with citrusy acidity. It’s expansive on the palate, in the way Syrah should be, and immediately offers dozens of food pairing options. Braised pork shoulder with polenta; smoky eggplant and caramelized onions; roasted cauliflower with olive oil, olives, and raisins; perfectly simple roasted potatoes and rosemary. This is a charming and generous bottle for folks who don’t really care about wine, but sneakily complex and savory enough to open for folks who do. I’m not sure if I know of a better use for a 10-dollar bill.