One of the storied Walla Walla wineries, located in the Airport District, Dunham Cellars was founded by the Dunham family in 1995. I recently had the chance to visit Dunham and always harken back to my days at a Whitman College student when I first visited this winery in 2002. I have many fond memories of tasting at this property. Over the years I have found Dunham to be some of the most consistently good overall lineups in the state. Dunham relies on the talented hands of winemaker Rob Campisi, who was formerly assistant winemaker at Dunham. Rob trained under eminent Washington winemaker, Dan Wampfler and he crafts quite a wide range of wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Trutina (Bordeaux style blend), Three Legged Red (red table wine) and the "Shirley Mays" Chardonnay, a dedication to Eric Dunham’s grandmother.
For years I have admired the value of Dunham Syrah, which was a wine that I bought plenty of when I was in graduate school and beyond. This was a wine that always seemed to over-deliver for the price. The 2004 vintage in particular seemed to be a massive success for Dunham. 2004 saw a freeze in Walla Walla which proved to be difficult for some vintners there. In the Columbia Valley, many of the wines showed bright acidity with good concentration when they were released.
Last week I visited Dunham Cellars and general manager John Blair and I decided to revisit both of their Syrahs from this excellent vintage. We had to both raise a glass to founding winemaker Eric Dunham. Both wines showed a beautiful purity of fruit with bright acidity holding everything in place. It is just remarkable that Washington Syrah at nearly twenty years of age can cellar well, but both wines were perfect examples of the brilliant aging potential of Washington Syrah. Learn more about these beautiful wines at dunhamcellars.com Here are the great 2004 Syrah wines by Dunham Cellars.
2004 Dunham Cellars ‘Columbia Valley’ Syrah- Opening the bottle I was reminded that this was wine that I bought buckets of upon release. And I am currently quite shocked to see how well this wine is showing currently. The 2004 Dunham Cellars ‘Columbia Valley’ Syrah is a wine that needs to be enjoyed now and doesn’t need any air out of the gate. Bulls blood and iodine notes combine with shades of wild herbs, Shiitaki mushroom and loganberry on the nose. The palate is quite fresh with good concentration and finesse. This begins to lose steam after 30 minutes so consume right away if enjoying now. Drink 2022-2025- 92
2004 Dunham Cellars ‘Lewis Vineyard’ Syrah- The 2004 ‘Lewis Vineyard’ Syrah is an inky colored wine that amazingly can continue to evolve for another five years. Inky in the glass, this shows the lovely violets and Welches grape juice notes that are very characteristic of the Lewis Vineyard. Black tea and concentrated black fruits combine with shades of creme de violette on the palate. Light tannins and acidity frame everything nicely, as this is as stable as Washington Syrah can get. Drink this beauty over the next five years. Drink 2022-2027- 93