The school bell at L’Ecole No 41 winery.
We have long been fans of Washington wine and right up there on our go-to list is L’Ecole N° 41. Founded in 1983 it was the third winery in the Walla Walla Valley and the 20th winery to be bonded in Washington State. Both L’Ecole and the Washington wine industry have come a long way: L’Ecole has won numerous prestigious awards and Washington now has over 850 wineries!
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The tasting room at Leonetti Cellar
Leonetti Cellar, located in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley AVA, makes some of the most collected, sought-after, recherché, and praised wines in America. The term “cult winery” seems to be a uniquely American term (we don’t know of any Bordeaux or Burgundy cult wineries) that refers to wineries whose wines are available only via mailing list and have received huge scores and praise from the wine press at large. By those measures, certainly Leonetti would be considered as one of America’s cult wineries.
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The first vintage of Woodward Canyon Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon
When one talks about Washington wine, the name Woodward Canyon is bound to come up. The winery, along with Leonetti Cellar is credited as one of the founding wineries in a region finally getting its due on the world wine stage. When you’re one of the very first wineries to establish yourself in a relatively new wine region, maintaining a level of quality amongst many up and coming formidable peers can be a challenge. Woodward Canyon has not only produced outstanding wine for more than 35 years, they’ve built a lasting legacy that shows no signs of slowing down. Not content to rest on their laurels of simply being one of the “originals”, they continue to look ahead and set the bar in terms of quality and sustainability.
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Within the larger Columbia Valley American Viticultural Area (“AVA”), sitting at its southern end and straddling the Washington/Oregon border sits the Walla Walla AVA. Roughly 57% of its area is in Washington with the balance in Oregon. AVAs are delimited by homogenous soil and climatic characteristics and ignore political boundaries. But Walla Walla is the only AVA that crosses a state border.
2010 Darby The Swagger
This delicious blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec shows classic Darby style: ripe, plush fruit, soft tannins and a smooth mouthfeel—a joy to drink! At age 6 this is fully mature showing lots of secondary notes of cedar and mocha to go with the black cherry and currant fruit. Perfect match for braised short ribs on a wintery night. Could go longer but drinking so well now, why wait?
Excellent (2011 Vintage available at their Woodinville Tasting Room for US$50)
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