Report from an All-Too-Brief Stop in Walla Walla

In between dodging rattlesnakes and climbing Palouse buttes over the long weekend, I managed to sneak in a few hours of wine-tasting in Walla Walla. If you want a more comprehensive report on the Walla Walla, check out Sean Sullivan’s sneak preview of his Spring Release report, the full version of which should come out soon. If you want to hear about the three wineries we had time to visit, read on.

JLC

For my money, this is the best under-the-radar winery in Washington. Every wine coming out of Spofford Station (the estate vineyards) the last few years seems to be outstanding, and the Syrahs are especially mind-boggling. The 2005 Syrah Spofford Station was recently released and was the highlight of the tasting for me. Smelling this wine is like walking into a diner at 9 AM on a Saturday; just waves of breakfast meats rolling out of the glass. At $32, this is very good quality-price-ratio territory.

Tamarack Cellars

After loving their 2006 DuBrul Vineyard Reserve at Taste Washington, I was intrigued to visit this winery, and I wasn’t disappointed. They were pouring an impressive lineup of wines, with the 2006 Merlot (pure, focused red fruit; $28), 2005 Syrah (peppered bacon, dark fruit; $28), and the DuBrul Reserve (the dark lord; black fruit and smoke; $50) as the standouts.

K Vintners

Charles Smith was alternately pouring and prepping for a visit from Jay Miller of Wine Advocate. The heavy hitters from this lineup were the 2007 The Boy Grenache (tons of earth and red fruit; $45), 2006 Guido (80% Sangiovese, 20% Syrah; massively tannic; needs time, but fascinating enough right now; $40), and 2007 Syrah Pheasant Vineyard ($35).

The Pheasant Syrah was a real show-stopper: an incredibly generous wine, with waves of blue and purple fruit. Pheasant Vineyard is one of the Wahluke Slope sites farmed by the Milbrandt brothers, and the quality of the fruit blew me away completely. This is actually one of K’s cheaper Syrahs, and I highly recommend it.