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Leonetti Walla Walla Valley Reserve 2001

Leonetti Reserve 2001

2001 marked my enrollment into the Institute for Enology and Viticulture in Walla Walla. It was the first year I tasted Leonetti, the following year the Figgins family awarded me a scholarship. To revisit this wine brings back memories—the 2001 Reserve is an opulent blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, and 7.5% Cabernet Franc. […]

Bledsoe Family Winery Flying B Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Bledsoe Family Winery Flying B Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

From Bledsoe Family Winery, Flying B 2016 is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Syrah aged in 64% new French oak for 20 months. At this stage in its development—the nose is heavily laden in primary fruit—juicy blackberries, black currant, and black cherry precede lighter tones of cinnamon, vanilla bean paste, and sweet […]

Cayuse Vineyards Camaspelo 2014

Cayuse Vineyards Camaspelo 2014

A first for me from cult Walla Walla producer, Christophe Baron of Cayuse Vineyards the 2014 Camaspelo expresses smoke, earth, alder wood, black olives, Pu’er tea, incense, and underbrush that burnoff like morning fog to reveal a finely-wrought structural base of blackcurrant and cassis. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with there’s a touch […]

Gramercy Cellars Cabernet Franc 2013

Gramercy Cellars Cabernet Franc 2013

A rare treat tasted with Gramercy Cellars co-winemaker Brandon Moss—this was, we were told, the last remaining bottle of this limited club release—it’s a testament to the longevity of Walla Walla Valley fruit when vinified correctly, one feels that this bottle has another decade left in it. Brimming with aromas of mulberries, plums, crushed violets, […]

Figgins Walla Walla Valley Estate Red 2014

Figgins Walla Walla Valley Estate Red 2014

Ever since I tasted the 2010 Figgins Estate Red, a remarkable and flawless vintage, I’ve come to prefer it over Leonetti, but both are crafted by Chris Figgins. For me these wines are poised, showing more restraint and complexity than I find in most Walla Walla Valley reds. The 2014 is lavishly trimmed in red […]

Otis Kenyon Syrah 2013

Otis Kenyon Syrah 2013

With a quinacridone violet core and that most classic plump, juicy Walla Walla fruit profile, the 2013 Otis Kenyon Syrah has developed nicely. Layered aromas of boysenberry and black fruit rest beneath lighter notes of lavender oil and incense—there is a lovely floral aspect that is certainly appealing. The palate is silky and round, quite […]

Spring Valley Vineyard Katherine Corkrum Cabernet Franc 2013

Spring Valley Vineyard Katherine Corkrum Cabernet Franc 2013

The 2013 Spring Valley Vineyard Katherine Corkrum offers more complexity than I tend to find in Washington State Cabernet Franc. It’s a wellspring of mulberries and pie cherries neatly hemmed in by dried orange peel, baking spices and subtle, dusty earthiness. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, with velvety tannins and delightfully spice and white-pepper-laden finish […]

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

A Bordeaux-style blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, the 2013 Spring Valley Vineyard Frederic offers sumptuous fruit on the nose and palate. Twenty months in new French oak has further graced it with a balanced, well-integrated toast profile of vanilla and pencil shavings lending structure to […]

Spring Valley Vineyard Nina Lee 2012

Spring Valley Vineyard Nina Lee 2012

Co-fermented with 1% Viognier, Spring Valley Vineyard’s 2012 Nina Lee Syrah opens with a lilting topnote of dried violet that floats above weightier aromas of blackberry cobbler and black cherry. The wine’s namesake, a nod to the family’s enduring history in Walla Walla, Nina Lee was the wife of Frederick Corkrum. After meeting following her […]

Spring Valley Vineyard Sharilee Petit Verdot 2012

Spring Valley Vineyard Sharilee Petit Verdot 2012

Aged 19 months in 100% neutral oak, the 2012 Spring Valley Vineyard Sharilee Petit Verdot is within it’s drinking window, the nose a confluence of fleshy plum and ripe blackberries underscored by spice and a subtle top note of wild fennel. On the palate, the structure is particularly lovely—velvety tannins frame out a plush, black-fruited […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com