Yakima Valley, 300 cases made, 89/11 blend of Grenache and Mourvèdre. Ruby red, light pigment extraction for a red. Raspberry, oak, mint, tangerine peel and spice on the nose, raspberry and cherry in the mouth. Cola, black plum, prune, mint and eucalyptus emerge after 45 minutes — 6 months ago
337 cases made, 75% Wallula Vineyard Malbec (clone 9), 25% Champoux Vineyard Malbec (clone 4). Purple, highly extracted, unfined and unfiltered but very good clarity considering. Blackberry and plum on the nose, wood, blackberry and black currant in the mouth. Some skin astringency on finish with muddy seed tannins on initial pour. Decanting. 24 hours later, plum flavor with undertones of cherry, raspberry and even a touch of cranberry. There’s also a hint of tobacco in there, with some muddy seed tannins for texture, but much subdued versus the initial pour. Good value, fairly fruit forward, and distinct from your typical Malbec from Argentina, for instance. — 2 years ago
Such a fragrant wine on the initial pour: raspberry, cherry, blackberry, white pepper and herbs! Similar flavors, fine weight seed tannins on finish that bring out a white pepper aftertaste. Length of red fruit, herbs and the depth of white pepper, black pepper and phenol and wood in the finish. Lovely wine for such a dreadful year. After an hour, tart red plum and a light cola note emerge. — 5 months ago
Columbia Valley, 413 cases produced. Aging is about right, flavors of cola and spearmint with a mildly tannic finish, alongside some blackberry, raspberry and cherry. 30% new French oak is apparent in nose and mouth and just in balance, with decent acid and just a lingering aftertaste of white pepper. Grapes from Wallula and Dineen Vineyards, 51/49 split. — 6 months ago
Horse Heaven Hills, 325 cases made. Purple red, moderate pigment extraction. Light herbaceous nose, call it tobacco light. Blackberry flavor with length on initial pour, nice round mouthfeel with fresh blackberry aftertaste. Just a tad tart. Tobacco leaf aftertaste emerges after 20 minutes with some fine seed bitterness. I might have popped this one open too early as it’s got plenty of tannins for further aging. Still, it’s got fruit to spare… — 6 months ago
200 cases produced. Assessing… Purple, very good clarity, moderate pigment extraction. Black currant aroma and flavor with depth, butter, wood in mouth with moderate but medium-grained skin astringency on the finish. Some seed bitterness in aftertaste. After an hour, blackberry and pomegranate flavors emerge while tannins soften up. After 90 minutes, spearmint and herbal notes come out in the finish. Decant at least 90 minutes. Well crafted, really nice version of this varietal. — 10 months ago
David Shaw
Last bottle of the vintage. Pity, that… — 2 months ago