Bill Grassie wears a number of hats: father, grandfather, husband, sales operations director for Dell, master gardener and, more recently, winemaker. Graduate of South Seattle Community College’s Northwest Wine Academy, Grassie and a few of his fellow grads opened a shared winemaking space in Woodinville, Washington, and William Grassie Wine Estates launched with the 2011 vintage. The gardening expertise comes into play at Grassie’s home estate vineyard, complete with an immaculately manicured landscape and modest tasting room in rural Fall City.
Focused on red Bordeaux-style blends, Grassie shows his pliancy with a saignée rosé (the bleed off of fresh-pressed red varietals) and Syrah. Like all of his wines, he puts a French translation on the names of his grandchildren—the 100 percent Syrah is titled Libération, meaning “freedom,” the French definition of granddaughter Charlee’s name. The 2013 Libération Syrah is nearly equal parts Stillwater Creek and Les Collines vineyards, aging for 18 months in new French oak (25 percent) and also in neutral oak (75 percent). Instead of Bordeaux, Grassie’s Syrah follows the profile of the Northern Rhône, with brambly fruit, pomegranate, white pepper, smoky hot earth and cassis aromatics, backed by an intriguingly funky hit of lanolin. Acid is this wine’s middle name, adding complexity and lift to the detailed flavors of vanilla bean, berry fruit and mineral.
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