My final day of tasting in Walla Walla!

On my last full day of wine tasting in Walla Walla, I had the chance to visit a few tasting rooms that I've been to before and one new one.  I started the afternoon at DaMa Wines on Main Street, and though I've tasted there first in 2012 (and loved their '07 Sangiovese), this was a nice tasting with Mary, the Ma of DaMa.  We tried the 2012 Syrah, which I really liked (and bought), as well as the 2010 and 2011 DaMaNation GSM blends, and of course I couldn't make up my mind so I bought one of each.  I also scored a couple bottles of the 2014 Rose of Cabernet Franc before it sold out.  Overall a very fun and delicious tasting.

The fun DaMa tasting room, some really wonderful wines here!

Next I was off to Mark Ryan, which was a new discovery on my last trip to Walla Walla.  Based in Woodinville, they opened a tasting room in Walla Walla about three years ago, and on my last trip in 2013, I fell in love with the Dissident, a classic Bordeaux style blend.  This time I was able to taste the 2013 Dissident, which was outstanding, the 2013 Board Track Racer "the Shift" which was a great blend of mainly Syrah with just a bit of Grenache to smooth things out.  Finally, I tasted the 2012 Numbskull GSM blend, which was a classic blend of Grenache (26%), Syrah (58%) and Mourvedre (16%), and how could I leave without a bottle of each, as well as some Crazy Mary and I managed to snag a couple bottles of the 2014 Rose which is sold out just about everywhere!

This is the front of the Mark Ryan tasting room, with new motorcycle!

After Mark Ryan, I went to a tasting room that was new for me, Spring Valley Vineyard.  I've seen the Uriah and Frederick available at my local wine store, but I was fascinated by the family history presented by their wines, with the flagship wines named after Spring Valley founder Uriah Corkrum and his son Frederick.  They had some really nice blends, including the Uriah, which was a great Merlot dominated blend as well as the Muleskinner, which was a really nice Merlot.  Needless to say, I couldn't escape without buying a half case to bring home!

This is the Maison Bleue tasting room, very French and very comfortable!

The last stop was the Maison Bleue Tasting room, where Mike took me through their fantastic array of wines based on Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.  We tasted the 2012 Metis, a blend of Syrah (70%), Grenache (25%) AND Mourvedre (5%) which was very nice.  Next was the 2012 Bourgeois, a blend of Grenache (90%) and Mourvedre (10%) that I really liked when I reviewed it in June (Click on the Link for that one), but Mike had just opened this bottle and it needed some time to open up.  The last wine we tasted was the 2012 Voyageur Syrah (100%) which was so nice, probably my favorite wine we tasted.

That was my last day of tasting, but fear not, this is not my last post of my trip.  I've saved the best to last, so we can wrap up Washington Wine Month with a blast tomorrow!