2017 Syrah Cuvée Violette

2017 Syrah Cuvée Violette

Cuvée Violette, as the name suggests, displays the perfumed and floral side of this noble grape variety. The palate is silky smooth thanks to a gentle co-ferment with just under 1% Viognier. The focus is on the feminine and graceful qualities of Syrah coming to the foreground. In the cellar we kid around and call this wine a syrah for Pinot Noir lovers. Crunchy bramble fruit and purple flowers mingle with pepper and spice. Red bramble fruits burst on the nose and on the palate. While 2017 is overall a structured vintage, this cuvee is ready to be enjoyed and savoured upon release. It can be aged for the mid-term (5-7 years). It will most likely continue to improve past that age too.

Slideshow Items

  • 92

    Funky, wet woollen nose with a slight reduction, not so much peppery as cheesy. More peppery to taste with juicy dark red fruit and a chalky finale. Very characterful and needing time to open, develop and rejoice. And as it begins to do so, it does so in regaling fashion, with open brightness, persistence and a salty, fine-grained finish. Drink 2020-2025. Tasted blind at NWAC19, June 2019.

    Michael Godel wine align  |  Tasted: June 2019
  • 91 points

    This continues to be one of the better value syrah’s of the Okanagan, especially for those who like the northern Rhone styling – with ample pepper, smoked meat, roasted herbs and that core dark cherry fruit. It rings with authenticity. And although youthful and tight now it carries this solid acid-mineral core, with tannins in low brush. Not the richest syrah out of BC, but nicely focused in a leaner, linear style, and a bit greener in this vintage. The length is excellent. Best 2020 to 2026.

    David Lawrason wine align  |  Tasted: Tasted July 2019