A Delicious 94 point Syrah – $9.99 at Costco!

Fast Facts:

• 2017 Tenet Wines The Pundit Syrah, Columbia Valley, Washington ($9.99* @Costco in California – Item #1209292)

*net price after $6 in store discount

Like so many of our wine finds, this one really jumped out as a wine with good prospects.  It was case stacked on the end aisle at my local Costco and I took note of two things for starters. First was the fact it was displaying a $6 discount off of its $15.99 regular price, netting out at $9.99.  Second, James Suckling had awarded this wine 94 points. Which is darn good, even after I deduct the 2 points that the esteemed Mr. Suckling always seems to add to my own score.  So a bottle went into my cart.

Some additional research showed that this wine was for sale at the winery for $25, although it is shown on their website as sold out.  Total Wines & More still has some bottles, also at $25. So here we have a 92/94 point wine selling at over half price – 60% off to be precise. I couldn’t wait to try it, but I did. And when I finally did, it was love at first sip. I am a big fan of many of the wines coming out of the Pacific Northwest, but this wine tasted like a really nice hybrid of the best of new world Syrah and the “old world” Syrahs that are made in the Rhone Valley of France. Some additional digging revealed that there is a reason for that.

A Marriage of New World and Old World

Turns out that Tenet Wines is a collaboration between Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Head Winemaker Bob Bertheau and his Washington team, along with Rhône Valley collaborators, winemaker Michel Gassier and enology consultant Philippe Cambie. The Tenet Wines website claims: “the combination of the two winemaking approaches produces wines that are balanced and vibrant and have a true sense of place.”

I think they have succeeded in a big way here.

Election week calls for a Pundit or two

Columbia Valley AVA is the largest wine region in the state of Washington, including over 11,000,000 acres, of which over 50,000 acres are planted to vineyards. The Columbia Valley AVA includes 99% of the total vineyard area planted in the state of Washington. Grapes grown here include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc. The unique climates of the area allow the Columbia Valley to produce wines that are very fruit-forward, like California wines to the south, but which also retain some of the balance and structure of European wine.