Thursday, April 13, 2023

Force Majeure Syrah 2015 w/ BBQ ribs

Force Majeure Syrah is a perfect pairing w/ BBQ ribs

We received our club allocation shipment today of Force Majeure Vineyards & Winery so we were eager to try the new releases of our favorite labels. As such though, as part of proper cellar inventory management, we pulled from the cellar the oldest vintage release and replaced it with the just received new arrival. 

Linda prepared baby back ribs which were a perfect accompaniment to the Force Majeure Syrah. 

Force Majeure Syrah 2015

We discovered and started collecting Force Majeure wines when we met and hosted winemaker and his wife, Marketing and Operations director during their release tour back in 2016. We posted this blog about that visit:

Todd Alexander joins Force Majeure Winery

 We visited the Force Majeure Vineyards Site and did a Tasting during our Walla Walla Wine Experience back in 2018. 

This is 100% Syrah sourced from the steep rocky sections of the top of the Red Mountain hillside vineyard. 

As this was the last bottle of our mixed case shipment of this wine, it was only logical that we showed three earlier tastings and tasting note postings for this label. There were posts from 2018, 2020, 2021, and here, the last bottle in early 2023

Each subsequent follow-on tasting began with or summarily stated, "Consistent with earlier tasting experiences." And as such, as to be expected, all were rated the same. 

Tonight, I might break that trend stating that at seven years, this wine is probably at its peak and finally showing its true profile, character and potential.Tonight this wine show more harmony, integration, and fullness and richness than earlier. As such I raised my rating for this final bottle.

Like before it was "Consistent with earlier tasting experience. Dark garnet colored, full-bodied, rich concentrated black berry fruits, hints of blue fruits, accented with layers of smokiness, minerality and tones of anise, black tea, black olive tapenade and hints of smokey meats, with bright lively acidity and cloying but approachable tannins on the tangy lingering finish." But, I gave it a 93-94 rating, improved from earlier, showing benefits and rewards for several years of aging. 

I've done enough tastings in these pages and beyond, that I trust my pallet and consistency of assessments over time.

My earlier reviews of this label, as posted on Cellartracker -

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/04/dual-syrahs-for-bbq-rib-dinner.html

Consistent with earlier tasting notes.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/12/force-majeure-red-mountain-syrah-2015.html

Dark garnet colored, full-bodied, rich concentrated black berry fruits, hints of blue fruits, accented with layers of smokiness, minerality and tones of anise, black tea, black olive tapenade and hints of smokey meats, with bright lively acidity and cloying but approachable tannins on the tangy lingering finish.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/10/force-majeure-vineyards-site-visit-and.html

 Watch for our next review of this label, which will be a subsequent later vintage release. I wish we had more of this 2015 but expect newer releases to be a fun adventure with hopefully equally pleasant memories!  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2659540

https://forcemajeurevineyards.com/