What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD)

The adage, "good things come to those who wait", is useful when it comes to wine. It speaks to the merits of being patient and discovering the rewards that come in due course. Far too often, the desire for instant gratification with wine trumps any willingness to wait for the good things that might come later.

The merits of being patient were evident the other evening when I opened a 2001 Isenhower Cellars Wild Alfalfa Syrah.

It was a clear, cold winter night on New Year's Eve, when Kari and I started dinner. Our meal consisted of grilled lamb loin chops that had been marinating in olive oil, garlic, salt, lemon and rosemary all afternoon. Joining the lamb were side dishes of shitake mushroom orzo, grilled whole carrots, and a grilled loaf of olive bread from Essential Bakery.

It was a meal and an evening that called for a hearty Washington state syrah.

The '01 Isenhower Wild Alfalfa is a wonderful expression of Washington syrah, combining fruit grown in five different vineyards from three regions of the state including the Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley, and Walla Walla Valley appellations. The wine offered balanced fruit, acidity and tannins from start to finish.

At 14.5% alcohol, this wine, like many Washington state syrahs, is a bit high for my taste (and head). However, the '01 Wild Alfalfa didn't suffer any consequence from this level, as many syrahs do in terms of tempering the fruit and finishing hot on the palate. I was pleasantly surprised at how balanced and elegant this syrah was.

In fact, while enjoying this bottle with our dinner, I was reminded why I got hooked on Washington syrah earlier in the decade. After many years of drinking big, meaty California zinfandels (e.g., Amadour County) in the late nineties, my wife and I became big fans of Washington syrah for its fruit, spice, and pleasant finish.

Drinking the '01 Isenhower Wild Alfalfa brought me back to how captivated I was when this wine was first released. And it's only gotten better with time, proving once again that good things do come to those who wait. A truly delightful wine, which I look forward to enjoying again another year or two down the road.