Gramercy Cellars Lower East Syrah 2021

Gramercy Cellars Lower East Syrah 2021 comes from Gramercy Cellars, a Walla Walla based winery founded by Master Sommelier Greg Harrington and his wife Pam. The winery has become one of Washington’s benchmark producers for Rhône inspired wines, focusing on elegance, restraint, and site driven syrah rather than heavy extraction or oak. The Lower East label is essentially their introduction to this style, designed to deliver serious quality at an accessible price point.

The 2021 vintage is a blend built primarily around syrah, with small amounts of supporting Rhône varieties in some vintages, though it is effectively syrah dominant. The fruit is sourced from a mix of key Washington vineyards, including estate sites in the Walla Walla Valley such as Les Collines and Forgotten Hills, along with fruit from the Rocks District’s Holy Roller Vineyard. This combination gives the wine both lift and structure from cooler sites, and a savory, rocky intensity from the cobblestone soils of the Rocks.

Winemaking is relatively hands off but technically precise. A large portion of the fruit is fermented with whole clusters, often around three quarters of the blend, using native yeasts. This contributes spice, herbal complexity, and structure. The wine is then aged for roughly 17 to 20 months in neutral French oak puncheons and barrels, which preserves purity of fruit while allowing texture and integration without overt oak flavor.

In the glass, the 2021 shows blackberry, black cherry, and boysenberry fruit layered with pepper, olive, violets, and subtle savory notes like smoked meat and graphite. The whole cluster influence adds lift and herbal edge, while the palate remains medium bodied with fine tannins and bright acidity. It is polished but not heavy, with a long, savory finish that leans more Rhône than New World in feel, making it a strong example of Washington’s more restrained syrah style.