2010 Dusted Valley Stained Tooth Syrah

The winemaker's notes begin with "Purple is our favorite color..." Everything this wine touches turns to purple - and it's great.

The wine is 91% Syrah, 5% Petite Sirah, 2% Mourvedre, and 2% Grenache and weighs in at 14.6%. The wine was aged 12 months in 20% New American and French Oak and 80% Neutral. The grapes hail from some of the top vineyards in Washington State's Columbia Valley.

Dark fruit and silky tannins provide a great finish. Now where did I lay down that whitening toothpaste?

Julie's take - "A great big syrah - tasty".

Maison Bleue 2010 Jaja Red

According to the label "Jaja is a southern French expression for great, everyday wine".

I have to agree.

This blend of 37% Grenache, 37% Syrah, and 26% Mourvedre adds up to a great wine. While this year's model seems a bit lighter and crisper than previous vintages it is still top notch - especially at the price point. The wine is a ruby red color and will pair nicely with summer grilling - bright fruit and crisp finish.

The Maison Bleue wines are not widely available - especially outside of WA - so I recommend getting your hands on whatever you can.

Julie's take: "Yum".

J. Bookwalter - Bookmark N.V.

If you are looking at one of the best QPR (Quality Price Ratio) this is it. This wine can often be found for less than $10 a bottle - but it's no wine in a box. The wine comes from J. Bookwalter which is one of Washington State's pioneering wineries - established in 1983. Bookmark is a blend but it doesn't just stop with blending varietals, it includes lots from multiple vintages - a processed referred to as vertical blending.

Bookmark is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah and hails from vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley. The wine relies on the winemaker's taste and vision and blends young and mature fruit with fantastic results, especially at this price.

The wine is well balanced with dark fruit, cherry and chocolate.

Julie's Take : "This is very good"

Cooper L'inizio 2009

The word L'inizio means "the beginning" and it's appropriate that it's the first wine I ever tried from Cooper. I've since tried several of their wines and am consistently impressed with the quality and style of these wines. Located as you are turning into the Red Mountain AVA - Cooper is a stones throw from the famed Ciel du Cheval vineyard. Many of the grapes that make the best wines in Washington State come from this region.

This wine is a classic Bordeaux blend with grapes coming from nine area vineyards and includes four varietals. Charlie Hoppes is the winemaker - he also makes wine for one of our favorites - Fidelitas

The wine has a spicy note and probably should've been laid down for a bit longer to help ease the tannins.

Overall, it is a great drinking wine.

Julie's take : "It's good"

A Trip to France?

I make no claims of knowing anything about French wine. I've become friends with a couple of French winemakers who are making great wine in Walla Walla. This, does not make me any sort of expert. I do know that I like Bordeaux blends from WA, but I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the Old World wines. I can imagine that anything with a label from France with the words Bordeaux on it may immediately enjoy a higher price point. I stumbled upon this wine while going up and down Costco aisles. I'm not sure if this is the Keystone Light of French wines or not - but for $19 I thought I'd give it a whirl.

My first impressions were it was lighter than the bigger "Bordeaux" blends we produce here in WA. It even seemed light for the 13.5% stated on the bottle.

Overall, it's just a pretty good wine - nothing spectacular, but good enough. I would not go all the to France for it though.

Julie's take - "It's OK"

Abeja - 2010 Beekeeper's Blend

Abeja winery is located east of the Walla Walla at foot of the Blue Mountains. The winery is not open to the public, and you can visit on select weekends or if you are on the allocation list and are in town to pick up wine (that's me). There is a Inn on the property and I highly recommend checking out their website at Abeja.net so you can see the property.

Taken from the Spanish word for "bee" it makes sense that one of their Columbia Valley blends is called "Beekeepers". They are known for fantastic Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon - I've never had a wine from Abeja I didn't enjoy. (A note that this will be consistent on this blog as I will likely only post wines, which in my opinion, are worth acquiring). 

The Beekeeper's Blend is tonight's subject and is produced from fruit in their "younger" vineyards in the Columbia Valley. Each vintage varies as to composition, but it is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon blended with some combination of the following varietals: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Syrah and Petit Verdot.

This is my first year having the Beekeeper's Red and I can say I ordered more after trying the first couple bottles a few weeks back. It is a great table wine and goes well with our nightly dinner and conversation.

Julie's Take - "I like this a lot!"

Amavi Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

There are a few destinations I flat out don't miss when I am visiting Walla Walla. If I'm heading toward the south end of town I always make sure to stop in to visit my friends at Pepper Bridge and their sister winery Amavi. Jean Francois Pellet is the winemaker at both locations and I always enjoy spending time with him. He is a true professional and takes time to chat even when he is busy. One of my favorite memories is spending time with him on the deck of Pepper Bridge last October enjoying a glorious day with great conversation and wine. Isn't that what wine is all about anyway?

Tonight's wine was Amavi's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is made of up 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 3% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Franc. The grapes are sourced from Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills Vineyards.

While this wine may not age like the Pepper Bridge wines, it is very good in its own right. I frankly wish I'd have let it spend more time laying down. I'm sure it will even be better in a few years - but I'm impatient.

Lots of cherry and berries which gives way to more cocoa flavors.

Julie's take: It's good - we like JF's wine. :)

2009 Maison Bleue Gravière

This wine is just fantastic. I am still working hard to find a wine from Maison Bleue that I don't absolutely love. This Rhone blend (50% Syrah, 25% Grenache, and 25% Mouvedre) is super balanced and a pleasure to drink. It hails from Snipes Mountain in the Yakima Valley. First sip impressions include a lot of berries, plum and licorice - perfect for a sipping at the end of a long warm day. 195 cases produced.

Julie's take: Outstanding!

Otis Kenyon - 2008 Matchless Red

This wine was a bit of surprise to me when I was visiting Walla Walla this past week. I stopped into the Otis Keynon Tasting Room on Main Street to say hey to Muriel and to confirm my wine club membership. It's always fun to stop in and taste a few wines, and was especially taken by the Carmenere. This post however is about the 2008 Matchless Red. This wine is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and 47% Merlot from Seven Hills Vineyard and Otis Kenyon's Estate Stellar Vineyard. It retails for $23 (less if you're a club member). Since I was flying I was not planning on not bringing any wine back with me, however, this wine changed my mind. I elected to take advantage of the "First Case Free" promotion at Alaska Airlines and added 6 bottles of the Matchless Red to my luggage.

This is an extremely drinkable wine made from grapes in top vineyards in the Walla Walla area. The price is super hard to beat as is the taste and quality.

Julie's take - "I love Otis Kenyon wines, all of them." I'll take that as a recommendation.