Deep purple color; blueberry, blackberry, plum, pork fat, white pepper, rosemary, oak spice on the nose and palate.
Dry; medium, slightly grippy tannin; good balancing acidity. Full body. Grapes 35% whole cluster fermented, aged 12 months on the lees in 67% new French oak, 33% neutral French oak (there is some confusion here, percentages are what is claimed on the label, but website claims 50-50 split between new and neutral). Made in Saint-Joseph, Northern Rhône style, except this is 100% syrah (in France, small amounts of marsanne or roussanne sometimes are used). Grapes come from Les Collines Vineyard, farmed with a low input philosophy. 13% ABV
Lvtetia was Julius Caesar’s name for Roman settlements on the Seine River, the location of Paris today. Originally founded by the Parisii, a Celtic tribe, in the 3rd century BCE. Lvtetia also is the name of a luxury hotel built in 1910 in the Art Nouveau style on Left Bank in Paris. Clearly a Washington State salute to French roots.
Sealionne is a Privé Vineyard label. Tina and Mark Hammond started Privé Vineyard on beautiful property in 2000. In 2020, Piper Rosales-Underbrink discovered Privé Vineyard and the Hammonds through mutual friends. Piper quickly became part of the family. The Hammonds wanted to sell and retire. Piper, with her father, had the resources to buy. And so they did amid the high-water mark of the Covid epidemic.
Today, Piper Rosales-Underbrink is the owner and the winemaker and vineyard steward at Privé and Sealionne. Piper grew up on the family’s beef-cattle ranch in Florida, graduated from a liberal arts college in Vermont (where she captained the volleyball team), decided to give winemaking a fling after graduating, went to California and learned winemaking from the ground up. When she decided wine is what she wanted to do with her life, she took classes at UC-Davis to enhance her skills. And now she owns, runs, and makes wonderful wine. Florida cattle girl makes good in Left Coast vino.
Piper and her partner Ben Stalker founded Sealionne as a second label. The name comes from SeaLyon, a classic pre-World War II wooden boat. Piper’s father had a hobby fixing antique wooden boats with Piper’s help. The website notes: “The brand was conceived by Ben and Piper with family while cruising through our happy place—perched in the cockpit of a 1925 SeaLyon called the Herschel. While drinking wine and feeling the freedom of slicing through the water, we felt compelled to bring this sense of adventure to our wine making journey.”
Sealionne Wines Lvtetia Syrah, Walla Walla Valley AVA 2022 is fruit-forward made in lighter Northern Rhône style. Some one-third of the grapes are whole-cluster fermented and wine spends one year on the lees, both strategies add depth and complexity. Lower alcohol aids in food pairing. Pair with grilled lamb seasoned with rosemary and garlic. Grilled or roasted cuts of beef. Wild game—venison, wild boar. Grilled pork chops, slow roasted pork shoulder. Poultry—roasted duck breast, grilled chicken dark meat. Portobello mushroom steaks, grilled eggplant, lentil-based dishes. Cheese—aged cheddar, parmigiano-reggiano, grana padano, pecorino, smoked gouda, gruyère, gorgonzola, stilton, camembert. $50-55
