The Barbarous Heart GSM

The ’22 blend is almost half Grenache, a third Mourvèdre and finished with Syrah, quite different from the 2021. All WeatherEye fruit sourced from a variety of mini-locations, each unique and separate from all the rest. Some parts of the vineyard cross the top of Red Mountain and leave the AVA; hence the generic Columbia Valley . This is a blend of the highest order, with deep flavors of mountain berries, a dense and defining minerality, hard tannins and a solid, compact core that suggests it will blow your mind if given another decade of bottle age. Already a thoroughly delicious and exciting wine, it’s the type of GSM that I don’t believe another vineyard in the country can produce, and few if any can equal.

- Paul Gregutt

The 2022 ‘The Barbarous Heart’ is a Southern Rhône inspired blend of mainly Grenache (48%) and Mourvèdre (37%) with the remainder Syrah. Dried Provençal herbs and crushed wildflowers mark the nose alongside heady dark fruits and smoked BBQ pork ribs. The palate is dense and finesse-laden with plenty of mouth-watering acidity. A total knockout, showcasing the pretty character of Grenache with the meaty essence of Mourvèdre, enjoy this beauty now and love the next twelve plus years. Drink 2024-2036.

- Owen Bargreen

Feral and brooding, this wine from the WeatherEye Vineyard atop Red Mountain is made by Chris Peterson of Avennia. It's an aromatic laser show with roasted notes of hot ember, smoky hoisin sauce, and gobs of dried violets and smoky rose petals. There's ample fruit on the nose, but the depth and complexity come from a savoury place. Smoky blackened game, wild red berries and piquant notes of salty blood orange are framed by crushed black stones and iron ore, with ample desert scrub and lavender to freshen the lengthy finish. Delicious and, really, just getting started.

- Clive Pursehouse, Decanter

Handsomely structured and polished, with detailed raspberry and tart blueberry flavors accented by smoked pepper and grilled herbs as this builds tension and richness on the finish. Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah. Drink now through 2032.

- Tim Fish, Wine Spectator

The 2022 GSM The Barbarous Heart WeatherEye Vineyard is spicy yet delicate in the glass, wafting up with dusty dried violet and lavender tones that give way to dried blueberries and hints of exotic spice. Soothingly round and soft, the 2022 saturates the palate with a concentration of ripe red and blue fruits as purple inner florals resonate. Silken tannins frame the finish without getting in the way. The 2022 closes with a classical structure and a resonance of wild berries.

- Eric Guido, Vinous

This wine is primarily Grenache (48%) and Mourvèdre (37%), with the rest Syrah. Fermented in concrete and stainless steel, it was aged 18 months in large format neutral French oak. The aromas pop, with notes of plum, lavender, bacon fat, wet stone, soot, stem, fresh chopped herb, and orange peel, showing pleasing complexities. The red and blue fruit flavors offer purity, intensity, and delicacy, stretching out on the 30+ second finish. It’s outrageously delicious – a crazy-good Wow! wine. Best from 2026 to 2031. Cellar Stocker.

- Sean P. Sullivan, Northwest Wine Report

The 2022 The Barbarous Heart was fermented with a splash of stems and is still resting in a mix of puncheons and concrete eggs. This perfumed red and black-fruited effort has a spicy, crushed stone, and herbes de Provence-like style as well as medium to full-bodied richness, a supple, elegant mouthfeel, and ripe tannins.

- Jeb Dunnuck