Winning Walla Walla Wines
Graying boomers, take heart: It’s never too late to become a wino. And you’ll be glad you did.
That seems to be the message delivered in the March issue of American Journal of Medicine, which reports that healthier hearts await those in their mid-40s to mid-60s who decide to take up moderate drinking. Oh wait. I somehow missed the word “moderate.” I withdraw the wino remark.
Seriously . . . even after a lifetime of self-imposed Prohibition, I mean abstention, those who elect to start sipping alcohol will likely demonstrate cardiovascular superiority over their teetotaling brethren. It gets better: Those who wisely select wine as their alcoholic beverage of choice stand less chance of experiencing such pesky troubles as heart attacks or coronary heart disease than beer drinkers or imbibers of spirits.
In your face, wine eschewers!
On a more charitable note, I can think of few occasions more welcoming to the wonderful world of wine than a tasting of what’s on tap at the Amavi and Pepper Bridge wineries, located in the arid valley of Walla Walla, Washington. What a fun mouthful that is! And its vineyard bounty even more so.
Owner Ray Goff was on hand at Cellar Rat to pour the wines, which is cool in and of itself, but also made sense, given that these are limited production wines that command premium prices, and who wants to trust that precious liquid to the possibly heavy hand of an unknown wine store barista?
Actually, Ray poured the perfect amount into our glasses. I usually ask for a smaller-than-average pour at tastings, wuss that I am, but in this instance I happily would have settled for more. In the case of these winners from winemaker Jean Francois Pellet, more is definitely more.
Ray stole, er I mean LURED Jean Francois away from his post at Heitz Cellars, apparently by offering him creative control of the Amavi and Pepper Bridge wines. Also the moon. Jean Francois is a third-generation Swiss winemaker who holds degrees in both enology and viniculture and has trained at wineries in Spain, Switzerland, and California. He looks far too young to be such an accomplished wine artiste.
Every single wine Ray poured was excellent. I haven’t enjoyed a tasting lineup this much since the Earthquake folks were in town from Michael David winery. The Amavi and Pepper Bridge wines are made in a different style than the Earthquakes – they are not as massive and obviously rich – but they share the same silky lushness. They are both complex and completely approachable, soft yet intense, if you catch my drift. The Walla Walla wines are more restrained, complex and textured, more FRENCH, as it were, but the flavor is there. Oh my is it there.
“Amavi” gets its name from the Latin root words for ‘love’ and ‘life.’ This explains a lot, at least to me. It’s more of an explanation for the sheer stellarness (is that a word?) of these wines than that Ray worked for Budweiser for 30 years. Happily, he set aside his pallets of beer and now is in his tenth year of loving life at this small, family-owned winery. http://www.amavicellars.com/
I suspected Kim Tappan and I were in for a rare treat after I obligingly agreed to sample the one white wine in the lineup, the Amavi 2006 Semillon. It’s flat-out delicious, pear and melon and zippy citrus; it has mineral notes but is surprisingly creamy -- and I hope I remember to get some for Laura’s birthday, since only 700 cases were made.
Next up: the Amavi 2005 Syrah, with a nose of blackberries and what Ray calls “smoked meats,” and I might have called “fat.” Ribeye fat. Fat in a good way. A very good way. I was set to buy this wine until we tried the Amavi 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, which made me want to call my friend Dave*. This scrumptious Cab (90 pts. WS, but I’d give it 91 or 92) is blended with 23% Merlot and 1% Cab Franc. One percent! Jean Francois, genius. (*Dave: my Milwaukee buddy. A big fan of Napa Cabs.)
I am bad at descriptives. This is what the guys who make the Amavi Cab say about it: mixed berries, dark fruit, earth, a whisper of rose petal and coconut shell; flavors of blackberries and cassis; nuances of chocolate, mocha and spice. Complex and well-structured. I don’t disagree. Dave, it’s $28, and worth it! I grabbed one.
But NO, Ray couldn’t leave it at that. He made us step on the Pepper Bridge to heaven and try the PB 2003 Cabernet. The b*st**d. It’s even better. But it’s twice as much. Again with the dark berry and chocolate, but with some added “spicy, smoky, cedar character,” along with a touch of thyme and cassis. Doesn’t that sound like a killer recipe? 92 Wine Advocate points, 2% Merlot, 2% Cab Franc. $52. (French oak, old and new, is used lavishly in the production of these wines. It is expensive. So is the winemaker's predilection for lopping off untold clusters of grapes so as to concentrate flavor in the remaining fruits of the vine.)
The Pepper Bridge 2005 Merlot came too late in the sipping order to impress as fully as the others, although Food & Wine Magazine lists it in its Top 20. Eighty percent Merlot, 9% Cab, 5% Malbec. Rich and lovely, to be sure. And dear, at $52. I’d have bought them all, in multiples, if finances allowed. http://www.pepperbridge.com/
Kimmy Tappan was torn between the Amavi Cab and Syrah, but in the end went Cab. The funny end to this tale of wine bliss is that we were on our way to dinner and ended up drinking a surprisingly quaffable $9 wine, the Salmon Run Petit Noir from Finger Lakes, New York. It’s some Gamay/Merlot blend, I believe, bright and fruity, and a simple pleasure for the palate. Completely different from the long, lingering Amavi/Pepper Bridge magic, but respectably tasty. Here’s to you, New York!
And Walla Walla. Most especially Walla Walla.
That seems to be the message delivered in the March issue of American Journal of Medicine, which reports that healthier hearts await those in their mid-40s to mid-60s who decide to take up moderate drinking. Oh wait. I somehow missed the word “moderate.” I withdraw the wino remark.
Seriously . . . even after a lifetime of self-imposed Prohibition, I mean abstention, those who elect to start sipping alcohol will likely demonstrate cardiovascular superiority over their teetotaling brethren. It gets better: Those who wisely select wine as their alcoholic beverage of choice stand less chance of experiencing such pesky troubles as heart attacks or coronary heart disease than beer drinkers or imbibers of spirits.
In your face, wine eschewers!
On a more charitable note, I can think of few occasions more welcoming to the wonderful world of wine than a tasting of what’s on tap at the Amavi and Pepper Bridge wineries, located in the arid valley of Walla Walla, Washington. What a fun mouthful that is! And its vineyard bounty even more so.
Owner Ray Goff was on hand at Cellar Rat to pour the wines, which is cool in and of itself, but also made sense, given that these are limited production wines that command premium prices, and who wants to trust that precious liquid to the possibly heavy hand of an unknown wine store barista?
Actually, Ray poured the perfect amount into our glasses. I usually ask for a smaller-than-average pour at tastings, wuss that I am, but in this instance I happily would have settled for more. In the case of these winners from winemaker Jean Francois Pellet, more is definitely more.
Ray stole, er I mean LURED Jean Francois away from his post at Heitz Cellars, apparently by offering him creative control of the Amavi and Pepper Bridge wines. Also the moon. Jean Francois is a third-generation Swiss winemaker who holds degrees in both enology and viniculture and has trained at wineries in Spain, Switzerland, and California. He looks far too young to be such an accomplished wine artiste.
Every single wine Ray poured was excellent. I haven’t enjoyed a tasting lineup this much since the Earthquake folks were in town from Michael David winery. The Amavi and Pepper Bridge wines are made in a different style than the Earthquakes – they are not as massive and obviously rich – but they share the same silky lushness. They are both complex and completely approachable, soft yet intense, if you catch my drift. The Walla Walla wines are more restrained, complex and textured, more FRENCH, as it were, but the flavor is there. Oh my is it there.
“Amavi” gets its name from the Latin root words for ‘love’ and ‘life.’ This explains a lot, at least to me. It’s more of an explanation for the sheer stellarness (is that a word?) of these wines than that Ray worked for Budweiser for 30 years. Happily, he set aside his pallets of beer and now is in his tenth year of loving life at this small, family-owned winery. http://www.amavicellars.com/
I suspected Kim Tappan and I were in for a rare treat after I obligingly agreed to sample the one white wine in the lineup, the Amavi 2006 Semillon. It’s flat-out delicious, pear and melon and zippy citrus; it has mineral notes but is surprisingly creamy -- and I hope I remember to get some for Laura’s birthday, since only 700 cases were made.
Next up: the Amavi 2005 Syrah, with a nose of blackberries and what Ray calls “smoked meats,” and I might have called “fat.” Ribeye fat. Fat in a good way. A very good way. I was set to buy this wine until we tried the Amavi 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, which made me want to call my friend Dave*. This scrumptious Cab (90 pts. WS, but I’d give it 91 or 92) is blended with 23% Merlot and 1% Cab Franc. One percent! Jean Francois, genius. (*Dave: my Milwaukee buddy. A big fan of Napa Cabs.)
I am bad at descriptives. This is what the guys who make the Amavi Cab say about it: mixed berries, dark fruit, earth, a whisper of rose petal and coconut shell; flavors of blackberries and cassis; nuances of chocolate, mocha and spice. Complex and well-structured. I don’t disagree. Dave, it’s $28, and worth it! I grabbed one.
But NO, Ray couldn’t leave it at that. He made us step on the Pepper Bridge to heaven and try the PB 2003 Cabernet. The b*st**d. It’s even better. But it’s twice as much. Again with the dark berry and chocolate, but with some added “spicy, smoky, cedar character,” along with a touch of thyme and cassis. Doesn’t that sound like a killer recipe? 92 Wine Advocate points, 2% Merlot, 2% Cab Franc. $52. (French oak, old and new, is used lavishly in the production of these wines. It is expensive. So is the winemaker's predilection for lopping off untold clusters of grapes so as to concentrate flavor in the remaining fruits of the vine.)
The Pepper Bridge 2005 Merlot came too late in the sipping order to impress as fully as the others, although Food & Wine Magazine lists it in its Top 20. Eighty percent Merlot, 9% Cab, 5% Malbec. Rich and lovely, to be sure. And dear, at $52. I’d have bought them all, in multiples, if finances allowed. http://www.pepperbridge.com/
Kimmy Tappan was torn between the Amavi Cab and Syrah, but in the end went Cab. The funny end to this tale of wine bliss is that we were on our way to dinner and ended up drinking a surprisingly quaffable $9 wine, the Salmon Run Petit Noir from Finger Lakes, New York. It’s some Gamay/Merlot blend, I believe, bright and fruity, and a simple pleasure for the palate. Completely different from the long, lingering Amavi/Pepper Bridge magic, but respectably tasty. Here’s to you, New York!
And Walla Walla. Most especially Walla Walla.
posted by Winetaster | 2:35 PM
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