No Girls La Placiencia Vineyard Syrah 2016
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
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Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Not yet released when I tasted it, the nose of the 2016 Syrah la Paciencia Vineyard immediately reminds me of Côte-Rôtie with the ever-present floral lift and mineral tension. The nose is silky and elegant, with a focus on quality and precision that is instantly recognizable, with hints of black truffle, orange peel and a soft smokiness to the expression. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, the wine's mineral tension evolves into a petrichor note reminiscent of the first rain of the season over sun-baked earth. The palate continues to grow with red and dark fruits that become more expressive with each passing moment. This Syrah has an extraordinary length and texture for such a graceful wine, and the aftertaste lingers for days. This is the bottling that you will want to hide away in your cellar.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Syrah La Paciencia Vineyard was fermented in concrete (60-70% stems) and brought up in used demi-muid. Blackberries, smoked earth, cured meats, violets, and orange rind notes all flow to a beautiful, seamless, thrillingly refined effort that reminds me of a top traditional Côte Rôtie.
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James Suckling
This has ethereal purity and depth with very fragrant, floral and red-fruited notes on the palate. Some berry pastry and a meaty, fluid edge, too. The palate has a super fine texture with a wealth of rich red fruit. Lacy and elegant. Hauntingly long finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Complex aromas with heaping amounts of black pepper, potpourri, earth, funk, nori, black olive brine, peat and wet stone are followed by an elegant, yet rich, flavorful palate. It shows a compelling sense of deftness along with a hyperextended finish, filled with savory and floral notes. There is a mouthwatering sense to it that heightens the appeal. A knee buckler.
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Wine Spectator
Bold, yet refined and expressive, with vivid raspberry, smoky meat and rusty iron aromas that open to a full-bodied structure, accented by stony mineral notes. Drink now through 2030.
Other Vintages
2014-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
No Girls Wines was originally founded as a collaboration between Cayuse Vineyards' owner and vigneron Christophe Baron and general manager Trevor Dorland. As the project has evolved, we are very pleased to include other Cayuse employees including Cayuse assistant vigneronnes Elizabeth Bourcier and Laura Pursley, and controller Nancy Nestler.
These team members prove that No Girls represents an appreciative nod to one of Walla Walla's richest and most colorful eras—it doesn't literally mean no girls. It means that by creating wines true to our valley, we're celebrating our history.
The grapes come from the Cayuse La Paciencia vineyard, which means patience—appropriate since the project was ten years in the making. The vines are tightly spaced and planted on an angle, giving No Girls a personality all its own.
These are serious wines, not Cayuse seconds. They're focused and pure—food friendly creations that eloquently express the rocky terroir from which they spring.
Real Wine. No Tricks.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.