2015 Gramercy Cellars Syrah Forgotten Hills Vineyard

JebDunnuck.com

• By Jeb Dunnuck
  Latest Releases from Washington State, 4/5/2018, (See more on JebDunnuck.com...)

  (Gramercy Cellars Syrah Forgotten Hills) Login and sign up and see review text.

• By Stephen Tanzer
  Washington: Various Shades of Hot (Oct 2017), 10/1/2017, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Gramercy Cellars Syrah Forgotten Hills Vineyard Washington Red) Login and sign up and see review text.

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Forgotten Hills, 12/5/2018

  (Gramercy Cellars Syrah Forgotten Hills Vineyard) Hello friends. Being a long-term supporter of Greg Harrington’s Gramercy Cellars has its perks. For starters, we get to drink the wine made by Greg and Brandon Moss, which are exceptional vintage after vintage. Second, we get access to special parcels of Gramercy’s lineup. We’ve been known to get our hands on wines that don’t appear often at retail; they are saved for club members, glass poured by sommelier friends, or made in such small quantities that they disappear as soon as released.We’ve only been able to offer this wine once before, at its debut in 2013. Gramercy sourced small amounts of fruit from Forgotten Hills for about seven years before they were able to make a vineyard designated bottling. This vintage is the third release. Forgotten Hills Vineyard is a special plot of Walla Walla Valley land that we’ve long loved here at Full Pull. It’s now an estate vineyard for Gramercy; Greg got the opportunity to purchase it in 2015. Here’s what he said about it then: “I have obsessed over this vineyard since I discovered Washington wine. We have used fruit from Forgotten Hills in most of the vintages from 2005 – 2012, albeit in very small quantities. In 2015, we had the opportunity to purchase the vineyard. Jeff Hill planted the vineyard in a basalt filled field behind his house because he needed something to do during retirement. He said his kids forgot about him when they went to college. Sitting near the base of the Blue Mountains, very near Les Collines, I haven’t found another vineyard similar in Washington. Because of the cool air rolling off the mountains, the climate is substantially cooler than the typical Walla Walla vineyard. There is usually a 3-week window between harvest at Les Collines and Forgotten Hills. Forgotten Hills is about acidity, mineral, smoke, blood and iron. It is hard core Syrah, for those that love the Old World.” Long time list members will remember that Forgotten Hill is the site from some of the older Waters Syrah bottlings. These are still considered some of the most exciting Syrahs ever bottled from Washington—2007 and 2009 especially. Gramercy has kept the tradition alive, and has earned a strong review from a tough reviewer with the 2015 vintage. Wine Advocate: Copyrighted material withheld. What I love about Syrah from Forgotten Hills is that it feels all encompassing of Washington Syrah. It always boasts beautiful fruit, a savory edge, and while it is not part of the Rocks District, it does sit on a sheet of exposed basalt—volcanic rock—which imparts a similar minerality. The Forgotten Hills bottling is 100% Syrah, 75% whole cluster, fermented in concrete and stainless steel. It’s then aged in a mix of older puncheons of varying size for 18 months. The listed alcohol comes in at 13.1%, and this opens with fruit (crushed raspberries), meat (bresaola), brine (olives), and florals (cherry blossoms). The palate is impeccably bright—especially given the warmth of the vintage—staying true to Greg’s house style. It features racy acidity, pure fruit expression, and youthful tannins with delightful chew. The finish is all savory, and seemingly limitless. Greg said it perfectly: this is hard core Syrah. To me, it is what Washington Syrah is all about.