For our taste, no one grows finer Syrah in the state than Dick Boushey. We named this wine after the Provencal Troubadour Arnaut Daniel, who invented the Sestina poem form, thus creating a connection between our two flagship efforts.
"This vintage brings a fresh, lively version of the Boushey terroir. The nose features dark blueberry and plum, crushed violets, and hints of roasted meat, and smoky mineral notes. On the palate, the vintage really shows itself, with lifted blue fruit, floral and savory umami notes, featured on a medium weight frame that expands as the wine opens up. The palate is silky with those signature Boushey tannins, echoing with blueberry preserves, candied licorice, minerals, and seared bacon fat. This wine could still use a couple of years in the cellar, and then be consumed over the next 10-12 years. It looks to be a worthy addition to the Arnaut vertical." - Chris Peterson, Winemaker
"Licorice, chocolate orange, nutmeg, raspberries and vanilla on the nose. It’s full-bodied with soft, juicy black fruit and spice accompanied by velvety tannins. Creamy, ripe and plush with a lengthy finish. Drink or hold.h"
- James Suckling (March 2023), 93 pts
"Tightly wound at this point, with a broad-shouldered structure and dense black cherry, savory anise and white pepper flavors that finish with medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2030. 365 cases made. - Tim Fish"
- Wine Spectator (March 2023), 91 pts
"The 2019 Syrah Arnaut is the tenth edition of this wine, which utilizes 100% Boushey vineyard fruit from the Yakima Valley. The nose is deep and concentrated, presenting iodine alongside ripe blackberry cordial, tar, white pepper and black licorice tones. Rich and layered in the mouth, with a beautiful texture, this shows outstanding length and a glorious core of dark fruits with bacon fat and chocolate undertones. - Owen Bargreen"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (March 2022), 95 pts
"This is the winery's 10th vintage from this esteemed vineyard, and it's glorious. The aromas erupt from the glass, with notes of blueberry, huckleberry, iron, earth and bacon fat. The palate is chock-full of layer upon layer of textured blue and black fruit flavors along with plentiful herb accents. The finish sails off into the distance. It's flat-out delicious. Give it some time in the cellar to see it at its best. It will have a long life ahead of it. Best after 2026. SEAN P. SULLIVAN"
- Wine Enthusiast (December 2021), 94 pts
"Tasting like the essence of Syrah with its smoky, meaty, bacon fat nuances, the 2018 Syrah Arnaut Boushey Vineyard is medium to full-bodied, has a pure, balanced mouthfeel, plenty of building tannins, and a great, great finish. My money is on this being up with the top Syrahs in the vintage."
- Jeb Dunnuck (April 2020), 95-97 pts
"Bright ruby. Aromatic nose combines blackberry, violet and black pepper; darker than the Justine blend. Fine-grained, tightly wound, juicy and very concentrated yet smooth from the start. Highly concentrated dark berry, spice, pepper and violet flavors could benefit from another year or two to meld--or give this wine some time in a decanter. This structured but smooth Syrah finishes with firm-edged dusty tannins, subtle sweetness and excellent length. (aged in 15% new French oak; made from vines planted in 1996 and 1994) - Stephen Tanzer"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (December 2020), 93 pts
"Opaque with dark purple tears, the 2018 Syrah Boushey Vineyard Arnaut is massive and dense with a black-fruited core and mineral essence, with a black peppercorn-spiced heart. The expression feels condensed, compact and intense. Full-bodied, the palate is weighted and chewy with a dense, dark mouthfeel, gripping tannins and fruit expression verging on stewed, almost syrupy. With a balanced structure and elevated tannic backbone, the wine ends inky and black-fruited with a high-octane finish, presenting elevated alcohol. This Syrah is begging for a massive juicy, rare steak. - Anthony Mueller"
-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (October 2020), 92 pts
"The 2017 ‘Arnaut’ Syrah is entirely sourced from the Boushey Vineyard in the Yakima Valley AVA and is a simply magical effort from superstar winemaker Chris Peterson. A glass-staining purple, the ‘Arnaut’ needs roughly an hour in the decanter to be fully aroused. Over time, this slowly opens with great aromatic range, from green peppercorns and sagebrush to shades of bacon fat, cigar ash and suggestions of bulls blood with fresh red fruits that round out the impressive bouquet. Soft and generous, with silky tannins and gobs of mouth-watering acidity, the ‘Arnaut’ shows ripe red and dark fruits that mingle with crushed mint, blackberry cobbler, mocha and tar on the palate. While a bit tightly wound in its youth, this beautiful new Syrah will have a long life in the cellar. Drink 2020-2035. - Owen Bargreen"
- Washington Wine Blog, 94 pts
"The 2017 Syrah Arnaut Boushey Vineyard is 100% Syrah from Dick Boushey's terrific vineyard located on the western side of the Yakima Valley. This is a cooler site, and I always find a certain Northern Rhone-like character from this region. This 2017 has a touch of Saint-Joseph in its blacker berry fruits, spring flowers, spice, and peppery aromas and flavors. With a medium-bodied mouthfeel, wonderful purity of fruit, and a great finish, drink this elegant yet ethereal Syrah over the coming decade."
- Jeb Dunnuck (April 2020), 93 pts
"Also deeply colored, the 2016 Syrah Arnaut Boushey Vineyard is a sensational, meaty, savory, complex beauty. Full-bodied, with sweet tannin, no hard edges and beautiful purity, it has fine, fine tannin, a bloody, salty character, and a great finish. It's rocking stuff."
- Jeb Dunnuck (April 2018), 94-97 pts
"(vinified with native yeasts; aged in 15% new oak): Bright ruby-red. Complex aromas of dark fruits, violet, mocha and espresso. Concentrated and plush, with its flavors of black fruits, licorice and spices lifted by a floral element and complicated by wilder notes of meat and garrigue. Boasts a lovely core of sweet fruit and finishes with excellent length.- Stephen Tanzer"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (November 2018), 92 pts
"From one of my favorite sites in Yakima Valley, the 2015 Syrah Arnaut Boushey Vineyard (100% Syrah aged 16 months in 15% new French oak) is inky purple-colored with a gorgeous bouquet of ripe black raspberries, plums, white pepper, spice, and scorched earth. It's deep, full-bodied, and beautifully concentrated, with fine tannin, and has a great finish, all making for a brilliant Washington State Syrah. It's going to keep for 10-15 years."
- Jeb Dunnuck (April 2018), 97 pts
"The 2015 Syrah Boushey Vineyard Arnaut is impressive, wafting from the glass with a youthfully reticent bouquet of crushed currants, pencil lead and subtle dark chocolate. At this stage, there's more drama on the palate, where the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a lovely line of succulent acidity that lends it excellent tension and delineation. Forget it in the cellar for several years before following it for a decade. - William Kelley"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #237, June 2018), 93+ pts
"Coming from one of the state's premier Syrah vineyards, brooding aromas of dried herb, iron, earth and boysenberry lead to a densely saturated palate. There's no doubt it comes from a warm vintage but it still shows pleasing complexities that reveal themselves over time."
- Wine Enthusiast (March 2018), 93 pts
"Refined and well-built, with expressive black raspberry and smoky anise aromas and sleek yet deeply structured blackberry, black olive and orange peel flavors. Drink now through 2023. 350 cases made. –TF"
- Wine Spectator (May 2018), 92 pts
"(15% alcohol; from vineyard blocks planted in 1994 and 1996, all Phelps clone): Bright ruby. Aromas of blackberry, boysenberry and licorice pastille. Juicy, intense and deep, with enticing dark berry and black cherry fruit flavors enlivened by crushed rock. Wonderfully dense and energetic wine, if still a bit youthfully tight. This is more about fruit than the Le Corbeau Syrah, which offers game and earth nuances, as well as less meaty than the 2014 Arnaut. The bright, persistent finish features fine-grained tannins that spread out to saturate the teeth and palate.- Stephen Tanzer"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (October 2017), 91+ pts
"The 2014 Syrah Arnaut Boushey Vineyard is cut from the same cloth as the 2012 and has a ripe, full-bodied, sexy profile. Black fruits, scorched earth, violets, and spice all give way to a beautifully layered, seamless Syrah that shows more and more structure with time in the glass. I suspect this might shut down with 2-3 years of bottle age, so try a bottle now or hide them in the cellar for 4-6 years."
- Jeb Dunnuck (April 2018), 96 pts
Marty Taucher and Chris Peterson (Seattle Magazine’s 2017 Winemaker of the Year and International Wine Report's 2023 Washington State Winemaker of the Year) got together in 2009, at first only ...
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