2015 Force Majeure Syrah Force Majeure Vineyard
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Tasting notes
(vinified in concrete and stainless steel with a small percentage of whole clusters and aged in 228-, 300- and 500-liter barrels, 30% new): Dark ruby-red. Alluring sexy lift to the aromas of dark raspberry, mocha, coffee, dark chocolate and game; quite musky but fresher than the Parvata bottling. Juicy and fine-grained, conveying lovely restrained sweetness to its varietally expressive flavors of dark fruits, chocolate and game. At once pliant and firm on the back end, finishing with a fine dusting of tannins and more energy than its 3.95 pH would indicate. Very much in the plush if softer 2015 style, this wine shows no rough edges or early aggressiveness. (15.1% alcohol)
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Syrah comes all from Red Mountain and offers a full-bodied, yet fresh and elegant profile. Blackberries, scrub brush, smoked meats, and obvious minerality all give way to silky, seamless red that has ultra-fine tannin and great acidity. It’s going to put on weight with time in bottle and have 10-15 years of prime drinking. Now focusing almost exclusively on their Red Mountain estate vineyards, Force Majeure is making some of the most compelling wines in Washington State, as well as in the United States. Winemaker Todd Alexander (previously at Bryant Family in Napa Valley) came on board in 2014 and today the wines show another level of purity and finesse, all while not sacrificing depth of fruit or texture. Both the 2015s and 2016 are terrific wines, with a small edge going to the 2016s. Trust me, these are gorgeous wines you need to try.
It’s going to be interesting to see if the 2015 Estate Syrah matches the 2014, and they both showed similar from barrel. The 2015 is a big, full-bodied Syrah that has tons of chalky minerality in its classic Syrah notes of blackberries, licorice and smoked meats. With good acidity, fine tannin and terrific elegance and purity, it will keep for 15+ years.