WOW - Dunham Syrah 2000
Dunham: Deep violet in color. The 2000 Syrah exhibits rich huckleberry, black cherry, gingerbread, and mocha, followed in the mouth with rich blackberry, baking spices and cocoa lingering in the lengthy finish. This wine has bulky, rich fruit, which glides on fine silky tannins, indicative of the great 2000 vintage.
Sean O’Connor: When I think of Dunham Cellars I can’t help but thinking about those Banner Bank commercials that run in the northwest and feature Dunham Cellars as one of their everyday customers. This wine was a gift to my wife and I for our engagement last year, and we just pulled it out to celebrate another special occasion (a new job - more on this later). The heavy bottle is adorned with a crown of red wax - nice touch. This wine was most excellent, probably one of the best I’ve ever had. Why you ask? First, its not too sweet and not too dry - I guess they call that well balanced. Second, we drank this wine while eating a bit of dark chocolate and something interesting happened - the tastes melded together and an intense vanilla flavor erupted in my mouth. Finally, I think I have had so much red wine from Italy and France lately that something a little more bold from the Northwest was a nice change of pace. This wine is an easy 10, even if one of the experts pnly rated it as a 92.