2017 Va Piano Black Syrah--Eritage Vineyard

Bright dark red. Musky, laid-back scents of dark raspberry, smoked meat, mocha and coffee; became more expressive and blossomed with air. Plush, moderately sweet, fine-grained and rather easygoing, offering immediate appeal and no hard edges. Shows good vinosity and definition and a smoky meatiness but avoids the salty extremes of Rocks fruit. The dark raspberry element carries through onto the palate. Finishes with ripe, suave tannins and rising length. This is very easy to drink, and a wine with very good subtle flavor definition. This wine blossomed nicely with extended aeration, retaining its sweet/sour complexity, with those two elements remaining in balance. Justin Wylie planted this south-facing block on silty loam soil at 900 feet in 2014, using clone 7 and the Joseph Phelps clone of Syrah. A site to follow.