This is the only Va Piano wine I was able to taste. The 2007 Syrah was sourced from 4 vineyards and aged in 30% new French oak for 15 months. Purple-colored, it offers up a bouquet of mineral, underbrush, smoked meat, blueberry and plum. Plush, ripe, and savory on the palate, this layered effort has enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years and will provide optimal drinking from 2011 to 2019. Tel. (509) 529-0900; www.vapianovineyards.com

The wine is impenetrably dark, the aromas loaded with sharp berry fruit flavors, streaks of iron, rock and coffee grounds. In the mouth it’s sweet and spicy, with plenty of acid and mouth-drying tannins. It has benefited from extra time in the bottle, smoothed out somewhat, but still has a long life ahead.——P.G.(7/1/2011)—— 91