Brent and Sarah Goedhart produce a single wine under their own family label, but what a wine it is ! This dark and deep syrah shows an intensity and complexity that can rival the best of the northern Rhône: I first tasted it side-by-side with a René Rostaing 2006 Côte-Rôtie, and the Goedhart syrah was more than up for the challenge. On the nose, black olive, dark red fruit and spices go hand-in-hand with light touches of forest floor and licorice, all jostling for position in a surprisingly refreshing mouthfeel that slowly heads off towards a spicy, peppery finish. It’s a wine that makes you keep putting your nose back into the glass to get another whiff of this seductive array of aromas. If there was ever a cuvée to demonstrate that great wines with definite terroir character and personality – and not just gobs of ripe fruit – can come from carefully irrigated vineyards (a must in Red Mountain AVA, where rainfall is an average 6 inches per year), this would be it.
WHO: Goedhart Family
WHAT: Syrah
WHERE: Red Mountain, Washington
WHEN: 2006
HOW MUCH: $50
