Trip to Walla Walla

I was in Walla^2 for President's weekend. This visit we decided to focus on fewer wineries and go for more of an interaction with the winemakers. Overall we hit 8 wineries (6 locations, 2 were doubled up) and still came away with about three and a half cases of wine. I will put a (++), (+) or (-) after each wine to let you know what I thought and will include comments where appropriate.
SATURDAY – Got into town at about 12:30 in the afternoon. Had an appointment with Trey Busch at Sleight of Hand at 1PM. Tasted through 5 wines. ’06 Gewürztraminer(+), NV Red Blend(-)(Too soft on the back palate), ’07 Rose of Cab Franc(++), and both the ’05(+) and ’06(+)(much more approachable now) Archimage.
Trey then invited us to meet him later that afternoon at Saviah(where he makes his wines) to taste through some barrels.
Got to Saviah a little bit early so went next door to Waters/Gramercy. They have a beautiful space for their tasting room, but it made it hard to taste initially since they had just finished painting the interior of the room and they were storing the tasting glasses in cabinets that were just installed. Took me about two wines into the tasting to acclimatize myself to the other smells and be able to really enjoy the wine. Tasted through 5 wines. ’05 Interlude(-)(have had this wine at home and it showed nicely, not good today maybe due to conditions of the room), ’05 Loess Syrah(-), ’05 Forgotten Hills Syrah(++), ’05 Pepper Bridge Syrah(+), ’05 Gramercy Lagniappe Syrah(+)
Went back over to Saviah and spent around 2 hours with Trey tasting through his entire collection of ’07 wines in barrel. Have to say that I am looking forward to good things coming out of SoH. Ended up not purchasing anything from Trey today, but will definitely be looking to grab a mixed case of his wines in the near future.
SUNDAY – Left our accommodations and went for a “hearty” breakfast at a local diner (Tommy’s Dutch Lunch) that Trey had recommended. Had plenty of protein in my belly for the first few wineries that we were going to visit that day.
Had a 10:30AM appointment with Ned Morris at a’Maurice winery. As we pulled up to the road that the winery and vineyards are on we noticed a Ferrari pulling out. Noticed that the driver was Gary Figgins of Leonetti. I asked Ned about this later and he said that the vineyards next to theirs was Gary’s. Definitely a good piece of land. Tasted through 3 wines and I must say that they were the best top to bottom lineup of wines we tasted through the whole weekend. ’05 Chardonnay(++)(one of the best chardonnays I have had anywhere), ’05 Syrah(++)(beautiful gamey nose and long finish), ’05 Malbec(++)(pitch black, spicy and tannic)
We then headed over to Rulo. Kurt is not your typical winemaker, he is extremely opinionated but is a riot to listen to. Ended up spending about three hours tasting the current lineup as well as spending some time back in the barrel room checking out how the ‘07s are coming along. Kurt and Vicky make some really nice Syrahs at very reasonable prices. We tasted through 8 wines. ’05 Viognier(++), ’06 Combine(+)(a little too much sauv blanc this year for my preference), ’05 Chardonnay(all in steel)(-), ’05 Chardonnay(oaked)(-)(just not big on their style of chard), ’05 Syrah(+), ’06 Syrca(+)(just bottled the day before), ’06 Syrah(+)(just bottled the day before) and the ’05 Silo(++).
Headed off to a drive-in burger place (Fast Eddy’s) that Kurt and Vicky had recommended and got the largest Reuben I have ever seen. Re-fueled myself and then off to more wine tasting. Next stop was at Chateau Rollat/Trust. Based on word of mouth I was expecting great things from Rollat, unfortunately it did not live up to the hype. We tasted through 5 wines. ’06 Trust Riesling(+), ’05 Trust Cab Sauv(+), ’06 Trust Ice Wine(++)(just mind blowingly good, but with a price to match). ’05 Rollat(+), ’05 Rollat Edouard(+)(good, but not distinctively better than the entry level cab and not worth the extra $24 bones per bottle).
Last stop of the weekend was at Hence Cellars. This was also where we stayed(they have a guest room in the winery building. They give you the keys to the building and it’s pretty much yours for the weekend). Tasted through 4 wines. ’06 Riesling(+), ’05 Syrah(-)(tasted alright, maybe even good, but could not justify the price point ($45) that they put this wine at), ’05 Cultivar(++)(very well done red blend, distinctive and memorable), ’06 Malbec(+)(from barrel, nice wine but paled in comparison to the a’Maurice we had at the beginning of the day.
Finished the day with dinner at Saffron Mediterranean restaurant. Could gush on and on and on and on about this meal, but sufficed to that this is a must stop place to eat if you are in Walla^2.