Latta Syrah Dana Dibble 2018 - A Robust Washington Syrah

Published by Jeremy.

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During our exploration of wineries near Seattle, we stumbled upon Latta and immediately fell in love.

First it started with a bottle we picked up at a wine shop to take to dinner. Then we visited the winery the very next day. And now, of course, we are converts and try to enjoy their wines whenever possible.

The Dana Dibble Syrah was one such bottle that made our way into our collection (courtesy of our friends in Seattle who brought it for us as gift knowing how much we like them), and this one hits some great notes for a Rhone-forward style Syrah from Washington!

Latta Showcases Washington Syrah

Latta Syrah

This Washington Syrah was medium ruby in color with pronounced aromas of black cherry, cassis, dried cranberry, clove, leather, cedar, blueberry, vanilla, and dried leaves.

On the palate, it was dry with high acidity and alcohol, medium smooth tannin, medium(+) body and flavor intensity, and a long finish. We had flavors of black cherry, blueberry, black raspberry, with slightly jammy fruit notes, cedar, clove, nutmeg, dried red cherry, tobacco, and a fresh green note that we attributed perhaps more as tomato leaf.

Syrah Food Pairing – Lamb Chops

We paired this Syrah with sous vide lamb chops as we think it is a classic pairing with Syrah. As always, the high fat content of the lamb helped mask a lot of the tannin and brought out more juicy fruit characteristics, a strong plum note, and cassis. We, admittedly, thought the wine would have even higher tannin than it did (likely due to its age), but it still worked out quite well.

We also paired this one with roasted Brussels sprouts and we really liked how the bitter greens brought out stronger earthy notes in the wine. This kind of pairing can often be hit or miss, but worked out well here!

Score 3.5 / 5

We'd buy a glass of this one and a bottle with the right pairing.

For those who like a robust Syrah with ripe fruit notes, it is hard to overlook this bottle. Throw on some notes of age and a greenness for a bit of a bite, and you have a rather beautiful Syrah all around. We'd be happy to enjoy a glass or a bottle in the right circumstances.

Latta Wines is located at 3933 1st Ave S in Seattle, Washington. We received this bottle as a gift from friends who live in Seattle and enjoyed it in 2024.