2019 The Walls Mahana Red Blend River Rock Vineyard Walla Walla Valley 750 ml

The Pacific Northwest’s Rocks District isn’t a household name…yet.

But collectors of the US’ finest red wines have cottoned on to what’s going on in dusty Milton-Freewater, snapping up names like Cayuse and Reynvaan for $100+ per bottle.

Syrah from here is special. Grown on bouldery, rocky soils that resemble the famed galet roulés of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it’s imbued with extra intensity and a personality that’s unique to this corner inside the Walla Walla Valley AVA.

In the hands of The Walls’ Todd Alexander, who developed a reputation as a true star winemaker while making $500 Cabs at Bryant Family, the results are spectacular. For the 2019 Mahana, he harnessed the River Rock Vineyard—one of the premier sites in the area—and tapped one of Washington’s best recent growing seasons.

The result is a bottle that’s “one classy, seriously good Walla Walla Syrah,” according to Jeb Dunnuck, who awarded the blend of 61% Syrah, 38% Grenache, and 1% Viognier an eye-popping 95-point score.

It’s got the bold power that’s a trademark of the area, which is located right along the mighty Columbia river in the eastern part of the Oregon-Washington state border. Unlike rainy Seattle and Portland, this part of the Pacific Northwest is hot and dry, with baking summers that remind us of Avignon or southern Spain.

The resulting grapes are thick skinned and packed with plenty of flavor, which Alexander extracts to the fullest through macerations that can last as long as 38 days. Only free-run juice is used for this bottling, which prevents hard tannins or rusticity from taking over, before aging in large barrels to polish the wine without overt oakiness.