Every now and then, a vintage comes along that perfectly suits a winery’s style. 2022 was just such a vintage for the Columbia Gorge’s Syncline Winery.
“I think the quality from ‘22 is spectacular,” says Syncline vigneron and co-founder James Mantone. So too are Syncline’s 2022 vintage wines.
What made 2022 different
As I wrote recently, 2022 was a cool vintage for Washington’s Columbia Valley and beyond. There was a cold, wet spring that considerably delayed bud break and ultimately pushed back harvest. (Read a full report on the vintage in Washington here.)
Cool vintages always separate growers and wineries. In “average” years (does such a thing still exist?), conditions in Washington can be forgiving. In cool years, however, missteps can result in mildew issues in the vineyard, under-ripeness, and a lack of concentration.
The last cool vintage, 2011, was certainly uneven qualitatively across the Columbia Valley. (Read about the 2011 vintage here.) The 2022 vintage had similar bumps for some vineyards and wineries. Others, however, very much excelled, with the conditions playing into their style.
“Those are my kinds of vintages,” Mantone says of the cool 2022. “A cool year gives us a bigger harvest window in terms of nailing the ripeness, chemistry, and flavors.”
Wines with a different presentation
Due to the cool temperatures in 2022, the resulting wines can have a considerably different presentation than most years in Washington. “I think that the [2022] wines come across as cool on the palate, which is something I absolutely adore,” Mantone says. “The first thing you notice is alcohols are quite moderate.”
Moderate alcohols yes, but there’s plenty of ripeness of flavor – if growers properly adjusted crop size and watering regimens. One of Washington wine’s distinguishing characteristic is that the wines often have very generous mid-palates. There is less of that in 2022, but the best wines are still very much full-flavored.
“We were able to get really ripe, mature flavors at cool alcohols, and acids were really delicious,” Mantone says. “[The acids] weren’t sharp, but they were refreshing and full.”
The 2022 vintage wines also have a slightly different aromatic profile. “In the cool years, we get some of those herbal aspects, not the vegetal, but the herbal aspects that can be beguiling,” says Mantone.
Here’s a look at Syncline’s recently released wines from the 2022 vintage as well as some stunning 2023 whites from the winery. Read reviews of each of these wines here.
Syncline 2022 Subduction Red Columbia Valley
The Subduction Red is the entryway to Syncline’s portfolio, inspired by wines from the Southern Rhône Valley. This is the best offering of the Subduction Red that the winery has made to date.
“The Rhône varieties just do really well on the cool vintages,” Mantone says. “I know we often talk about ‘They’re heat lovers’, but my experience in Washington is Grenache does best on the cool years.”
The fruit certainly shines on this wine. The 2022 vintage Syncline Subduction Red is a blend of Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsault. It was aged in a mixture of neutral French oak puncheons, oak tanks, and concrete.
The aromas are perfumed, with notes of fresh flower, strawberry, kirsch, and Red Vines, showing piercing purity. The palate is supremely fresh and pure and also exquisitely balanced. It’s a knockout.
Syncline 2022 Heart of the Hill Mourvèdre Red Mountain
Hot, windy Red Mountain is known for producing big, burly wines, often with firm tannins and ripe alcohols. This wine is not that.
“We’ve been working with Scott [Williams] at Heart of the Hill for years,” Mantone says. “Most years, that vineyard parks about 22, 22 and a half Brix. (Editor’s Note: Brix is a measure of sugar accumulation.) That’s one of the things I really like about Mourvèdre in that spot.”
In the cellar, the Mourvèdre goes in upright oak tanks. “Evaporation is a lot slower,” Mantone says. “So the wines that come out of them after a year of being in oak are upwards of three quarter percent lower in alcohol than they do in barrel.”
That lower alcohol shows on Syncline’s 2022 Mourvèdre, as does the vintage’s acidity. Aromas of freshly ground black pepper and fresh herb lead to crunchy red fruit flavors. It’s one of the best examples of Mourvèdre I’ve had from Washington.
Syncline 2022 Estate Grown Gamay Noir Columbia Gorge

Syncline in the Columbia River Gorge by Richard Duval
Gamay remains a rarity in Washington. The Columbia Gorge, however, can produce exquisite examples in the right hands.
“Our site, if you were to look at the heat units, you’d think we’re probably a little warm for Gamay, but the wind really slows down our ripening,” Mantone says.
In most vintages in Washington, sugar ripeness proceeds flavor ripeness. Not so for Syncline’s Gamay. “We’re waiting for our pHs to come up and acids to drop into our acceptable range,” Mantone says.
Syncline’s Gamay is fermented in concrete, whole cluster. Some of the wine is carbonically macerated; the rest goes through a traditional red wine fermentation.
The result on the 2022 vintage wine is aromas of strawberry, herb, and pepper that lead to vivid red fruit flavors. It shows grace, precision, and deftness.
Syncline 2022 Rainmaker Vineyard Chardonnay Columbia Gorge
This is Syncline’s first Chardonnay in the winery’s 25-year history. “It took us a while, and we finally succumbed to it,” says Mantone, jokingly.
The Columbia Gorge is perhaps Washington’s best spot for Chardonnay. The region has its own distinct take on the variety.
“If I look at the topography of the Gorge and our growing season, nothing here says Burgundy to me,” says Mantone, referring the region most associated with the variety. “So the inspiration isn’t Burgundy. It’s more of a wild kind of Chardonnays of the Jura.”
Syncline’s 2022 Chardonnay was whole cluster pressed and fermented using native yeast. The wine is aged in older puncheons and cigar-shaped barrels to provide additional lees contact. The wine is full of flavor and live wire acidity.
“You still have that great level of intensity, but the wines tend to be a little bit more edgy, a little bit more wild,” Mantone says of Gorge Chardonnay.
Syncline 2023 Estate Furmint Columbia Gorge
This is the first Washington example I’ve seen of Furmint, a grape best-known for making sweet and dry wines in Hungary. The vines at Syncline’s estate property were propagated from a single vine at Washington State University’s mother block. Syncline now has three-quarters of an acre planted. It was a process to produce the first wine.
“The vine itself grows beautifully, but it tends to not set fruit real well,” Mantone says. “So it has taken a lot of work with micronutrients and a bunch of training things to finally get a crop on it.” The vines are co-planted with Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, as is common in Hungary.
The 2023 Syncline Estate Furmint is deliciously flavorful, backed by electric acidity seldom seen in Washington. “The pH on [the 2023 Furmint] is close to three, but with fully ripe alcohol,” says Mantone.
Syncline 2023 Estate Grown Gruner Veltliner Columbia Gorge
Syncline has worked with Gruner Veltliner for 15 years. The winery’s estate vines are planted on an aspect where they are shaded during the hottest part of the day. Syncline does two pickings, one early and one late.
“The early one typically goes in the concrete egg, whole cluster pressed,” Mantone says. “The later one goes into Acacia puncheons. I think the Acacia brings out a little bit of roundness and some white flowers without adding that oak influence.” The winery bottles its Gruner in mid-summer as opposed to spring to give the wine some additional development.
“It’s one of those wines that has great acid and amazing richness coupled together,” Mantone says. “I think that’s like one of the things that makes the Gorge really unique.” Indeed.
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