2018 The Walls Vineyards ‘The Ramparts’ Red Washington

JD94 The 2018 The Ramparts is based on 47% Mourvèdre, 22% Syrah, 18% Grenache, and 13% Counoise, all from Red Mountain. Its deep purple color is followed by a great nose of ripe blueberry and blackberry fruits supported by plenty of peppery herbs, leather, tree bark, and violets. Hitting the palate with full-bodied richness, it’s textured and has fine yet significant tannins, good overall acidity and freshness, and a great finish. It needs 2-3 years of bottle age to develop more complexity but will cruise for 10-15 years in cold cellars. It’s impressive.
Estate Notes: Aromas of dark fruits and baking spices lead to flavors of blackberry and cherry cola mingled with coffee, leather and coriander notes. Nice acidity and light tannins. This is a slightly lower alcohol offering than previous vintages, but there is a nice ripeness to this vintage. 15.6% alc.