I have not tried the white, but I enjoyed the Walls Stanley Groovy Red Blend when we were visiting Walla Walla last year and they had it by the glass at a bar. It’s an interesting blend of portguese grapes and Cab Franc . . . Expected little going in and enjoyed it quite a bit.
Sean makes some wonderful whites and reds.
I went back and checked and, yes, it was a library wine for $65. Current vintage is $40, as you said. My apologies @Scott_G_r_u_n_e_r and @Dale_McClaran .
Could be. I don’t have a ton of experience with skin contact whites, so that’s certainly possible. Regardless, it’s not my cup of tea…er, wine…and I won’t re-buy.
2022 Cayuse Callioux
I know, infanticide, etc. I needed something to go with some monster Pure Country pork chops.
No shame in opening that. WW rocks syrah are one of those wines, like Sauternes, that can be opened anytime from release till many years later. Different expression over time, yes, but without a deficit at any time. Meat looks awesome too
Brandon, I’ll let you off with a verbal warning this time I was worried though they yanked the price up for one of my top three WA whites (Kobyashi Viognier and Marsanne’s being the other two)
Had the 20 Pedestal last night. Even after 6 hrs in the decanter this was just a wall of structure and sort of fun to drink. There is clearly good material but no where near drinking shape any time soon.
Opened a 2010 Leonetti Cellar WWV Cabernet on Saturday. I am a huge fan of so many reds from 2010 because of the cooler-than-normal vintage that still allowed for full ripeness. This still had some pretty good tannin, so I’ll hold my next bottle for a few more years (son’s birth year, so maybe another 6-7 years?). This wine was refined, bold, and delicious with some non-fruit notes starting to emerge underneath the glorious WWV fruit. Really a great wine, unsurprisingly.
Last week some of my winemaker friends and I had an epic lunch together with Will and Chris Camarda from Andrew Will. Among other honest to God gems from their cellar on Vashon Island, we tasted their 2002 Andrew Will Cabernet Franc and a side to side comparison of the 2008 Andrew Will Two Blondes Vineyard Red Wine bottled under both cork and screwcap from a winery experiment.
It was such a treat to taste aged Washington wines like this - perfectly cellared in the place where they were made together with the winemakers. The 2002 Franc was a single barrel bottling of 100% Ciel du Cheval Red Mountain Cab Franc - mature but delicious, very integrated and harmonious, not easy for me to pick out individual descriptors. The bottles of 2008 Two Blondes were both still fresh with bright red/black fruit and beautiful French oak character. The Camarda family planted Two Blondes vineyard in the Yakima Valley in 2000. This wine is a Merlot heavy blend that includes Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc and sometimes Malbec. For me, the bottle under screwcap had a little bit more grip on the palate than the bottle under natural cork. My preference was for the cork closure but there was some debate in the group as to how these bottles were really more similar than different. Chris said these were bottled in 2010 in a slightly reductive style which led to their longevity now.
The winery is only open to the public once a year for their Wine Club Open House. Check out the wines of Andrew Will if you haven’t already, Berserkers. Also check out the delicious roasted coffees from Chris’ partner Robin Pollard.
Cheers @WCamarda !! Thank you for a great day on Vashon!!
Wow, what a cool tasting Erica, thanks for posting. Reading your post made me ask myself why I don’t buy and drink more of them. Their pricing has remained relatively steady in an environment of ever-increasing prices, which is certainly an accomplishment. Couple that with the quality and the access to amazing fruit, and you have a winning combination. Another reason to buy and drink, to me at least, is their long-held history in our state and the familial consistency in ownership, philosophy / winemaking, and vineyard relationships.
I’ve got a single bottle of 2018 Andrew Will Ciel du Cheval Proprietary Red I recently purchased on Winebid in order to fill out a case of auction wines. My Washington “red” wine experience all is very recent and pretty much limited to the JBNeufeld wines (which I love) but I looked through this thread and located a number of really positive notes on Andrew Will wines, so picking up that one bottle was an easy call. I keep thinking about opening it, but just haven’t gotten around to it! Look forward to trying it.
I’ve gone only one of those too, Terry, so I’ll be eagerly awaiting your TN.
Many years ago a 2012 AW Two Blondes was what really opened my eyes to Washington wines. Have drank them ever since. Incredibly consistent, fairly priced, and they age beautifully.
@Erica_O_r_r , thanks for the notes. I’m sitting on a handful of 2008 Two Blondes. I’m not entirely sure why I’m sitting on them, but it sounds like there is no particular hurry to drink them and no reason to not to?
Thank everyone for the support! Please feel free to reach out with any questions on your wines. 2008 is definitely drinking well now, but I can see these wines continuing to evolve over the next decade even more.
A few very brief notes on a quick visit to the Yakima valley area.
Treveri: sparkling wines are what they do. Did a flight of 4 “aromatic whites”, including sparkling riesling, gewurtz, and no dosage and brut BdB. Surprisingly inexpensive, but I wouldn’t be a buyer at $16.
Did a special event dinner in the small town of Sunnyside that hit Varietal Beer Co., Co Dinn, and Cote Bonneville all in one night. It was fun, the beer and wines were solid for what they are, and Co and Hugh/Kerry were all great to chat with - clearly passionate, knowledgable, and making the most of the terroir. Both Co Dinn and Cote Bonneville had plenty of back vintages available to buy - which was both great to see and sad to see. Great because wines like the Co Dinn 2014 Roskamp Snipes Mountain Chardonnay and the the 2011 Cote Bonneville Carriage House red blend are very nice wines showing great maturity and no sense of being on the down slope. Sad because these are only around because they haven’t been able to sell through all their inventory yet! These are not wineries that fit my preferred style (I lean towards pinot/burg), but great options for those interested in rhone-leaning reds.
Cultura - next day, up in Zillah a bit up the road, focus is on Bordeaux-ish blends, but the house style seems to be more sleek and energetic/bright than the ones above (which I liked). Tasted a bunch of things - the 2018 Chronos (Cab/Merlot/Cab Franc) was probably my favorite, though the 2017 Fewel Family Estate Zin had a VERY impressive nose and would be a great gift for a zin lover. Really enjoyed chatting with Tad there. Same sentiment on availability of back vintages (most of the current offerings are 2018, and I think they typically see 2 years in barrel, then bottle aging).
Glad we were able to check out these places, very pretty countryside. Also loved the tamales at acclaimed Los Hernandez further up the road.
Very nice, Brad. I’m glad to read that Cultura is making wines in a style you describe, as there were a couple of years in there (granted, very, very hot years…2015 and 2016) when I thought the wines were too ripe (and I enjoy ripe wines). I also really like Varietal’s beers although, as you say, you’ve got to like the style.
Tasted the current releases of MTN/ART wines. I posted more data here, but I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Hi Brad, I would say you found a few of the elite beverages in the Yakima Valley. Cultura has been a long time (2005 vintage, their first) favorite of ours, and we just recently discovered Co Dinn, after reading good things all over. Also have enjoyed Varietal Beers a time or two, and look for them on bar pulls around Yakima. We live in Cowiche, the other side of Yakima from most of the valley, but also a place, Naches Heights, where Treveri has planted 50+ acres of grapes for sparkler production.
Glad you enjoyed and thanks for the notes!