I think they said they would reach out to the list in May or June.
The champagne is pinot meunier (at least primarily). Next years production will be double.
Appreciate the reccos from folks on new places to try.
100% Pinot Meunièr
[/quote]Last but not least, Taste and Distance
. First the viognier. A lovely expression of this grape from WA – this one has some support from its acidity, so it avoids the flabbiness that can sometime come from this grape. A grenache Rose is excellent – and excellent value at 20. Nice, crisp and dry. Perfect for summer on the porch with little snacks. The Diamond Cutter (which was not at Taste Washington, where I first encountered Steve and T&D) was dark, brooding, and amazing. Syrah, but with some Mouverdre and I think grenache. Really lovely wine that can us some years in the bottle. The syrah, which has 5% viognier, was by far the best syrah I had this weekend (leaving aside Cayuse). Just an excellent expression of the grape (which was true with all of his wines). This is a winery to follow
Steve’s Time & Direction (not Travel and Distance) wines were terrific across the board. Cool guy- level 2 sommelier from NYC, moved to WW and fell in love with the place. Went to WWCC in the enology program; interned at Gramercy and was then mentored by Aryn Morell, among others. He has an obvious passion to excel and his wines reflect that. Nice story that he told about the winery name, a reference to his family members and to the tattoos on each of his arms (clock on one indicating his daughter’s time of birth; compass on the other with ordinants of his family). I thought that his rose was superior to Cayuse’s Edith- brighter and fleshier. I agree about his Viognier-much more acid lift than the flabbier versions that I tried this weekend. And both of his syrahs were just delicious. His production at the moment is about 450 cases total- he is looking to increase in the next vintages. And he will be opening a new tasting room in downtown WW soon.
Hattaway’s on Alder, by the way, was outstanding- a wonderful addition to the WW dining scene.
Great recap, All. Thanks for the detail, Ron…sounds like a great weekend.
Some notes/responses to various things on this thread:
Devium: The personal project of Keith, who is the production winemaker at Sleight of Hand (Trey helps with blending and other winemaking tasks, but isn’t in the winery every day). The intent/goal of this brand is for the wines to be more “wild” and different compared to the SofH wines. The Devium French Creek Red tends to be red fruit, black pepper, and a dried herb/bramble note, and are really interesting and fun to drink. The Devium wines are very well made, but where SofH have broad commercial appeal, Devium will be hit or miss with people because they are different. The Devium White Pinot Noir is the best white pinot I’ve ever tasted.
Cayuse: The Widowmaker cab was my group’s favorite wine of this tasting (and of the weekend even). We were in line before 10am to get in, but based on what others are saying, we might need to shift when we go so it is less crowded. It definitely gets packed early Friday.
Elephant Seven: In the fall we had gone here, were impressed, and we bought a couple bottles to try at home and see if the wines were really that good. They were, and when we revisited this past weekend, they certainly did not disappoint. We bought a bunch of wine from Josh so that we can follow them over the course of the next few years.
Time and Direction: I’m glad Steve’s wines showed well, and it looks like he had a very good weekend. I walked the new tasting room space with him and talked design and plans, and it will be a very cool space. I’ll be very excited (and involved) with seeing that space come together.
Other News: I heard a rumor that Jon Meuret was no longer in Walla Walla and had left Maison Bleue and Pambrum (Willamette Valley Vineyard’s Walla Walla Cab label). I did some research yesterday and found a job posting for a winemaker for Maison Bleue and Pambrum posted in March, so the rumor seems to be at least somewhat true. This is really disappointing to me, as I thought Jon was one of the absolute best Rhone variety winemakers in the state of Washington, specifically with Grenache.
Wow, John, that would indeed be bad news if Jon is leaving the wine industry. I love what he did at Maison Bleue.
Stopped by Revelry,the new space is really nice and the staff was top notch.I thought the wines were pleasurable enough but one dimensional and given the tab , quite overpriced for me.Different strokes I guess.
Thanks again everyone for the insight into the weekend and wineries. Ordered some Time & Direction and may go for some Devium. I think most of the Elephant Seven wines appear to be sold out.
Oh sorry to hear about the Elephant Seven being sold out.
I am drinking the 2018 T&D viognier – really lovely wine. Lots of tropical fruits, but also some nice acidity – loving it so much that I just ordered six more.
Good call, Ron!
Did anyone try the 2016 Impulsivo? Pls share notes, thanks!
Yes on the impulsivo. It was one of my favorites of the tasting. From memory it was dark and brooding. Lots of depth. I suspect it will be amazing in 4 to 5 years. I think it was the best impulsivo I have had to date.
Edit. Sorry. I think what was poured was the 2017. I will check my notes when I get home.
Ok. Confirmed. It was the 2017 they poured. Which is a bummer because I dropped impulsivo this year. I did pick up some 2016 but have not tried it yet.
Thanks for sharing Ron. What time of year does the Impulsivo get offered? I picked up some 2016s on auction, since after almost 10 years on the waiting list I still haven’t made the cut for an allocation 
Cayuse offer comes out in Fall (September I think), and each person is allocated a certain number of 3 bottle packs for only certain wines (only what they purchased the previous vintage. Your first offer when you’ve made the list will be a single 3-pack of a random wine. If you want specific wines, you have to order what you’ve been allocated and then wishlist additional 3-packs. The wines you purchase will then either deliver the next year or you can pick them up the April after that (if you purchased Fall 2017, shipments happened Fall 2018, or you could pick up April 2019).
Little late to the recap party here but wanted to contribute impressions as well. First stop for the weekend was Cayuse on Friday around noon and as others noted it was decently busy. As always the wines were showing quite nicely with some offering up more than others. Of the five syrahs being poured Bionic Frog was my favorite with Armada and Cailloux rounding out the top three. Impulsivo offered more in taste than aroma to me. GOK was like seeing an old friend as its the wine I’ve been receiving longest from Cayuse. Favorite taste from this stop and the weekend was Widowmaker. Something about this wine just aligns with my palette and any time I have been fortunate enough to enjoy it always seems to be firing on all cylinders.
Other tasting highlights from the weekend were the Viognier and Cosmic Reflection (Mourvedre/Syrah) from Elephant Seven. The Viognier and Rose from Time & Direction were quite nice. Dropped by Saviah to pickup wines with highlights being Funk Vineyard Syrah and Stones Speak Syrah. Rulo had a lovely Grenache Blanc from Boushey Vineyard fruit.
Food highlights from the weekend were a great steak from Blue Valley Meats that we cooked up at our airbnb Friday night. Saturday lunch from Cugini was beyond great and I wish they were open Sunday’s as we would have gone back for round two. Dinner Saturday night at Saffron was lovely with Gozleme and Black Pepper Gemelli being my favorite dishes from what our table ordered.
Very quick notes (from memory) on the Cayuse wines- several were tasted twice as we got there late on Fri so also came back Sat AM. Need to double check on all of the vintages- but believe they are what were just purchased in the fall and will be picked up NEXT year.
2017 Edith Rose- (from bottle) Lovely, Crisp, mineral, light strawberry- Still expensive as Rose goes, but remains one of best domestic rose, IMO
2016 GOK Grenache (from bottle)- More muscular than many years. Peppery, less candied strawberry which is good. One of the better GOK I recall.
2017 Widowmaker. (from Barrel) Very nice expression of cab. Powerful but smooth. Hint of oak, no char. Wish I had some.
2017 Cailoux Syrah (from Barrel) - Bigger than usual. Peppery. Good, not great.
2017 En Cerise (from barrel)- Hmm. A bit worrisome. a bit short, a bit hot. Needs to come together- not sure
2017 En Chamberlin (From Barrel). Unique. Briny. Interesting, but again not a clear home-run.
2017 Bionic Frog (From Barrel)- Rich, Dark, Pretty delicious- definite outlier in terms of the other 2017 syrahs
2016 Armada (from Bottle)- Usually my favorite and again is. Such a pure delicious expression of syrah. Clean, complex, good acidity.
2017 Impulsivo (from Barrel)- Not Rioja. Dense, dark, savory. Unique and delicious tempranillo.
(edits made to vintages)
One magnum of Champagne coming my way, that’s right we won the bottle cap challenge! 
Oh wow – congratulations Mike! What was your guess?
Thanks Ron, 2364