Washington State Continues to Blow My Mind

Richie & I watched a video project about the history of the Washington State wine growing regions on Tuesday. Of course we had to drink some WA state wines. Both of us are big fans of WA syrah & we both believe that grape is the star of WA (along with merlot). Richie was kind enough to pop open his 2002 McCrea Cellars Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Syrah while I brought along my 2004 SYZYGY Columbia Valley Syrah. We decanted both knowing that they both were brawny & needed a little development time. The SYZYGY had a spicy, smoky, meaty aroma mixed with blueberry & blackberry jam. On the palate were flavors of pomegranante, blueberry, smoke, clove & fennel. The McCrea was a bit odd & closed down at first & seemed hot. After 10 - 15 minutes in the decanter it blossomed into a "iron fist in a velvet glove". It had power but didn't hammer away at my palate, more like caressed it. The texture was sensual & velvety with flavors of dried game meat, dried blueberry, black cherry jam & smoke. The finish sailed on & on & on......& on. Over 3 hours both wines continued to develop & never seemed to let up. That is a true testament to the quality & aging potential of a great WA state wine.