One day now removed with my exclusive Instagram Live with Delmas founder Steve Robertson and his daughter, Brooke Robertson, I have the pleasure of sharing one of the great wines of the Walla Walla Rocks District. ‘We see this wine very much in line with 2016 and 2017. This wine with a little bottle age based on the primary fermentation we think that this will be our most complex wine yet,’ said Steve. As I spent several hours tasting this wine, I was struck by the massive complexity of the wine and the nuanced layers and flavor/aromatic range.
Delmas was born by the watchful eyes of Mary and Steve Robertson who founded this winery more than a decade ago. Steve has a background in real estate development and business management and was previously in Napa before planting vines in his very special ‘SJR Vineyard’, in the Walla Walla Rocks District. If you have never been to this vineyard, it is a must visit for oenophiles and lovers of Walla Walla Syrah. The vineyard is planted to mainly Syrah but also has a small portion of Viognier and Grenache planted as well. Steve hit a home run when he hired Billo Naravane, MW, to serve as his winemaker. More recently I have been told that Brooke Robertson has been helping with some of the winemaking.
Delmas first crafted their Syrah with the cool 2010 vintage which I had the pleasure to taste as part of a special vertical tasting several years back. I have been massively impressed with this project, to say the least. The 2017 Delmas Syrah landed on my 2019 Washington Wine Blog Top 100 at the #6 position. The new wine coming from the 2018 vintage is totally stunning. The 2018 Delmas Syrah (WWB, 96) has amazing range and texture. It is sensational already in this stage in its development and I can imagine it benefiting from some short-term cellaring, picking up more earthy, truffle tones as it ages. Simply put, this wine is a must purchase for any serious collector of Walla Walla Rocks District Syrah. Learn more about these very special wines at https://delmaswines.com Here is my review of the 2018 Delmas Syrah (fall 2020 release).
2018 Delmas Syrah- The 2018 Delmas Syrah is the highly anticipated release that follows the 2017 edition which was one of the top wines that I tasted last year in North America. The wine is a blend of 91.3% Syrah with the remainder Viognier. They added a touch more Viognier this year which they have noted has increased in quality. The wine was aged in 50% new oak (half 500L puncheons) prior to bottling. Tasted over several hours, this Syrah impresses with shades of bulls blood and seaweed that deftly combine with the black truffle and wild blackberry compote tones aromatically. The palate is silky smooth, giving this an err of opulence. Layers of pretty red fruits greet you, with shades of rose water, Umami, bulls blood, white truffle shaving and Mandarin orange rind and gobs of mouth-watering acidity on the palate. This is a big wine but it shows great elegance and length. While sensational to savor in its youth, the 2018 Delmas Syrah has a long life ahead of it. Drink 2020-2029- 96