While celebrating a family related college graduation from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, an appointment was set up for a private tasting at the tasting room/ winery for the label Figgins and their sister label, Toil Oregon which features Pinot Noir from Oregon. The Figgins name should be familiar to most who know about wines from Washington State`s Leonetti made by Gary Figgins. This Figgins is the son, Chris, who like many sons of successful fathers across the globe, has set out on his own path with a different spin on how to craft good wines from different varietals.
The WA vineyards are located about 5 miles to the East of the current winery in Walla Walla which is a temporary home as the plan is to expand to the vineyard itself.
We were graciously and capably hosted by Raejean, the tasting room person who conducted the tasting as well as giving us brief tour of the winery. Two wines were poured:
2015 TOIL OREGON PINOT NOIR- 3rd release; 28% new French oak, 72% neutral French oak, 12 months in the barrel; from the warm growing season in Oregon, this had a bright red and pink rim color followed by aromatics of fresh, ripe and youthful red fruit; red cherry/ berry notes were prominent in the taste profile with a touch of spice; although not a fruit bomb, it was certainly fruit forward and there was noticeable oak influence close to being integrated; at a $50 price point, it comes in at a higher than most Oregon Pinots and I will reserve my comments on its QPR merits until revisiting down the line.
2013 FIGGINS WALLA WALLA VALLEY FIGGINS ESTATE VINEYARD RED- a blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Petit Verdot, this 62% new French oak, 38% 2nd fill ‘French oak and is aged for 20 months; 14.7% abv.; the color was a deep, rich purple with a red trim; the nose was redolent of fresh ripe red and black fruit and some vanilla spice; upon tasting, pretty bold tannins are evident and all of the nice fruitiness continues on; the wine needs time to balance out all of its treasures; priced at $85, this again will need to evaluated over time to determine its place in the quality lineup of all things Figgins.
I liked the wines enough to buy some and will review them later after they have some time to mature.
Cheers,
Blake