2011 L'Ecole No. 41 Grenache Rose

So tonight is another one of those hot summer evenings that we've been having lately, where you really just want to hide in the air conditioning, hoping for cooler days!  Well, at least it's still Sunday, and that means Sunday dinner and a wonderful wine to accompany it!

So tonight I've decided to go retro with my Sunday dinner and make Seafood Newburg, a wonderful dish with a heavy cream sauce with lots of sherry (we never seem to cook with sherry anymore, what a shame), shallots and paprika along with scallops and shrimp, tossed in linguine (I went non traditional tonight as I couldn't bring myself to light the oven and make the puff pastries!).  So, what better wine to enjoy with my evening meal than a lovely rose, and tonight's comes from my all time favorite winery, L'Ecole No. 41 of Walla Walla.

The wine itself it s a lovely pink hue in the glass with lovely aromas of citrus, green apple and rose petals.  The taste is marvelous, with some sweet berry fruit at the outset, giving way to some spice and orange midpalate.  The tannins are very subdued, leading to a long, somewhat gravelly finish that is simply superb.

Now for any of you who have read my blog, you know that I am mainly a red wine sort of guy, but I've been enjoying some roses in the heat of this awful summer.  This is by far my favorite rose of all that I've sampled, as it is fresh, crisp, dry and speaks to what a traditional Grenache should be.  Overall, I would rate this one a solid 8.5, and by rights it should be a 9 but I can't bring myself to give a rating that high for a non-red wine!  In any case, it's a wonderful wine, that I'd be happy to sip all evening as the sun sets and the temperature finally gets back below 90!  Unfortunately it's now sold out at the winery, which I guess you could expect with only 190 cases produced, but I still have a few bottles of the 2011, as well as the 2009 and 2010 to enjoy, so if you can find this one, jump on it!

My Road Trip to Walla Walla Wine Country

So I just go back from my 2-week road trip driving cross country to visit my favorite wine region, Walla Walla! Now to be fair, I enjoyed wine on the way out and on the way back. I stopped in northwest Missouri to try some wines made from the Norton grape, which is the official grape of the state, as well as some wines in the Snake River Valley in Idaho, which is still an emerging wine region.

So back to Walla Walla, which was the point of this. It's been about 8 years since I last visited the valley, and more than a decade since my first visit in 2000 (I lived in Portland and then Seattle from 1999-2004). Back then, there were relatively few wineries, and Walla Walla was still a sleepy little region, but a good friend of mine from Santa Cruz who loved wine more than I do, convinced me to stop and pick up some wine on the way to visit her in Spokane. In fact, U.S. 12 was the main highway into town, and you would start at the western end at L'Ecole No. 41 and Woodward Canyon, then pass 3-Rivers and a couple others before the wine tour ended downtown at Seven Hills. The whole tasting tour could be done in an afternoon!

Today it seems like there are 150+ wineries, all over the city and surrounding areas, such that you could probably spend a week just to see a quarter of them! There is a new U.S. 12, which has been transformed into a 4-lane superhighway heading into downtown, but I felt a little bad for wineries like 3-Rivers, which was about 1/4 mile off the new highway and still on the old route 12. When I first visited, they had a nice new tasting room, and that was just left in the dust as progress rolled by them. In addition to so many new wineries, the other piece of good news was the addition of so many new restaurants to provide high quality food to enjoy with the wonderful wines (I had a lovely pan seared salmon salad at the Green Spoon, it was Copper River season!).

So, on my day of tasting (yes, unfortunately it was only a day since I was trying to cram so much into my 4,000 mile trip!) I started downtown at Seven Hills, which is probably my second favorite winery after L'Ecole. Enjoyed some of their Columbia Valley Merlot (it was surprisingly good), the Pentad and Ciel du Cheval, they were all quite wonderful, so I bought 5 or 6 bottles and asked for advice on where to go next (I got a new "wine guide" at the hotel, but since you have to pay to be in there, not all wineries are represented).

Based on their advice, I next went to visit Forgeron Cellars which has a tasting room downtown on 3rd street. The tasting room manager, Anne I think was her name, was such a wonderful host. We tasted through their current releases and I bought a bottle each of the wines that were only available in the tasting room, and of course I don't recall exactly which those were, I think it was the Petit Verdot and the Cab Franc, but I could easily be wrong! I also bought some other bottles, including a couple of the Walldeaux Smithie table wine, which was very nice!

Next stop was my favorite winery, L'Ecole No. 41. I've been in their wine club for quite some time and have ordered a bit of wine from them in the past. This was somewhat funny, since I had been communicating with them on Twitter that I was coming to visit on my wild road trip, and when I finally narrowed down the day to Tuesday, I let them know.

When I walked into the tasting room, of course no one recognized me, and how could they really being a nondescript internet wine buyer. So they asked me if I was familiar with their wines (of course) and we started through the basic tasting when I tweeted to them "I'm here!" and within 30 seconds Jaime came into the tasting room and introduced herself! We tasted a bunch and then she gave me a wonderful tour of the cellar and told me about some recent wonderful wines she'd opened, including a bottle of '99 Walla Walla Merlot.

So in line with my desire to get wines I could not get at home or online, I raided the library! I ended up with a bottle of the '99 Merlot, a couple bottles of the Ferguson blend from the 2004 vintage, a magnum of '01 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon, and double magnum of the '09 Walla Walla Cabernet, which I think will turn out at least as good as the '08 which received such high ratings and quickly sold out. I also considered buying a 6-liter bottle, but where could I display such a work of vintner art? At any rate it was a lovely visit with some wonderful people and great wines!

My next stop was a walk across the parking lot to Woodward Canyon. They have a lovely tasting room in a farmhouse, and have produced wonderful wines under their Woodward Canyon and Nelm's Road labels. I tasted some wonderful Cabernets and ended up buying a couple bottles of their house red, a Nelm's Road Cabernet and a bottle of the latest "Artist Series" Cabernet.

The next stop was just up route 12 to Cougar Crest. I hadn't stopped so much based on a recommendation, but more for the name! Knowing some of the ladies I work with, and who are part of our office wine club, I could not resist stopping! The tasting room was quite nice, and they have a number of wonderful reds I tasted under their two labels, Cougar Crest and Walla Walla River Estate. I ended up with a couple bottles of their "Dedication Five" red wine, which is produced in honor of the doctors and nurses at the Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, who saved the winemaker's daughter back in 2005. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the wine are donated to the hospital, which I view as a wonderful gesture.

The last stop on my wine tour was to Reininger, which was a little further along on route 12. I walked in and there was a full house! Apparently a group of about 10 friends were doing a tasting tour and we crossed paths in the tasting room at Reininger. Like many other wineries, they have two labels as well, the Reininger label and the Helix Label. I tried about all of their reds, it seemed like at least a dozen! I ended up buying a few bottles, including "Mr. Owl's Red" (named fir their winemaker Raul, who apparently the owners' children had trouble pronouncing when they were small, so they called him Mr. Owl) and a Helix Sangiovese which was delightful!

Alas, the wine tasting done, I raced back across the border to Pendleton to buy a few blankets before they closed (my old blanket bought there in 1991 is really starting to wear out!). Then it was off to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks before heading back east across Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana and home to Michigan. It was a super fun trip that I would do again in a heartbeat, so for those of you who live in the Northwest, you should appreciate the Walla Walla Valley even more!

Woodward Canyon Columbia Valley Red Wine

So did I mention I just did a fantastic trip to the Walla Walla Valley to enjoy some delicious and wonderfully hand crafted wines?  I didn't?  Well hold that thought, because I think I'll do an entire blog post devoted to my summer vacation this weekend, so stay tuned OK?

In the mean time, tonight I am enjoying a bottle of Woodward Canyon Columbia Valley Red Wine, which is the standard house red for Woodward Canyon. Now to give you a little inside baseball, Woodward Canyon has a tasting room conveniently located next door to my absolute favorite winery of all time, L'Ecole No. 41 which is on Route 12 just west of Walla Walla (in fact, these two wineries, I think, still represent the western boarder of the Walla Walla wine region).  So after my recent wonderful visit to L'Ecole, I sauntered (oh you can visualize it) to the tasting room at Woodward Canyon to enjoy some of their offerings.

So in the tasting room, nothing had seemed to change since my last visit in 2000, except of course the new posters for the "Artist Series" and the new vintages, but it was still in the same house (see the photo above).  I tasted a few wines, and bought a few wines, one of which is tonight's selection, the Columbia Valley Red Wine, which is the everyday table wine.

Well, as I remember my last visit, Woodward Canyon had some wonderful wine, and even this simple table blend is no exception.  The color in the glass is a deep garnet, and the nose is a pleasant blend of leather, cedar and grass.  The taste is very dry, with some modest berries on the front end which gives way to licorice and a bit of chalk, and finishes with just a hint of dark chocolate as the tannins really step in to make this a tart, dry wine.

I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, and it would have certainly rated higher if not for the aggressive price.  At $21 this is a little too expensive for an everyday wine, but as a vacation wine it's certainly appropriate.  As for pairings, this would work very will with grilled red meat, or a nice Italian dish, though I can also imagine it complementing a cedar planked salmon!  So if you have a chance, enjoy a glass of wine from Woodward Canyon, Salut!

2008 L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Merlot

Well, it has been a long day and I need to relax, so what better way than to enjoy a glass of wine from my favorite winery, L'Ecole No. 41!  To celebrate the end of the day, I've decided to open a bottle of the 2008 Columbia Valley Merlot, a nice wine that is really a more basic wine made from some of the best grapes of the region, but done in a way that maintains the character of the wine as a purely "L'Ecole" wine.  This is also appropriate given that I just received my spring wine club selection from the winery last week (can't wait to open those eventually, but you know I'm patient when it comes to wine).

Now L'Ecole is a great producer of Bordeaux style blends, so naturally this wine is not a pure Merlot (only 82%), but has been blended with some wonderful Bordeaux grapes, Cabernet Franc (12%), Petit Verdot (4%) and Malbec (2%).  The blend creates a far more interesting wine than many Merlots on the market today.  This one has deep red hues and a a nose of leather, spice and a hint of cherry.  The wine is nicely structured with a subtle taste of berry and ripe black cherry on the front end, which gives way to a wonderful smoky, mocha flavor mid-palate followed by a smooth dry finish supported by very nice tannins. 

Overall the wine tastes like what you might expect for a much more expensive wine, which is probably why I really do like L'Ecole's Columbia Valley reds for everyday drinking wine.  This one I would rate a solid 8, which gets bumped up to an 8.5 since I found it on sale at a local supermarket wine department for only $18!  Can you believe that?  As for pairings, this wine would go very well with a grilled steak, or rich pasta dish, but tonight, I am relaxing with wine and a pizza!  Enjoy!

2008 L'Ecole No. 41 Seven Hills Estate Walla Walla Merlot

All right!  I am ending Washington wine month with a bang!  Tonight I am enjoying a bottle of wine from one of my absolute favorite winemakers, L'Ecole No. 41, this being the 2008 Seven Hills Estate Merlot.  I recently ordered half a case of this wine with the idea of cellaring a few bottles for a few years, as I expect this one will age well, but what's the fun in that?  I at least have to try a bottle!

This vintage is a blend of 80% Merlot along with 10% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to provide a little something extra.  The wine is a bright garnet in the glass and exhibits a nose of cedar, leather, red currant and the faintest hint of ginger spice.  The aromas just give you a sense that you're about to experience something wonderful and rich.  The fruit is wonderfully balanced with a layered taste of rich black cherry, blackberry and plum, with a wonderful mineral flavor that strikes you like a breath of fresh fall air on a hillside in Walla Walla.  The tannins are not overbearing, but rather are quite complimentary of the red fruit, allowing for a long, smooth finish.

Overall, this wine is still very young and likely to evolve over the next decade, but still I would give this one a solid 8.5, with potential to go much higher.  The wine is not cheap by any means, but I bought it for about $30, and it certainly compares to many Napa wines selling for quite a bit more.  As for pairings, I think it would go quite well with a nice grilled ribeye, but tonight I am enjoying it with some panko breaded chile lime chicken breast with black beans and rice, as I think it would balance the spicy citrus of the chicken quite well.  So I hope you enjoyed Washington Wine Month, it's always a fun time for me, but now we'll have to see where my thirst takes us next!

2009 L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Red Wine

WOO HOO!!!  It's March and you know what that means, it's Washington Wine Month!!!  That time of year when we get to celebrate the wonderful wines of the great state of Washington, from the Puget Sound to the Yakima Valley, from the Columbia Gorge to Walla Walla!  The wonder of Washington is the exquisite climate for growing both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which gives rise to some of the greatest Bordeaux style blends produced outside of France today.

Which brings us to tonight's wine, a bottle from one of my favorite producers, and Wine & Spirits Winery of the Year for 2011, L'Ecole No. 41!  The 2009 Columbia Valley Red Wine for those of you familiar, is what used to be know as "Recess Red" and which used to be known before that as "School House Red" which is a blend of select Columbia Valley vineyards.  In 2011, L'Ecole underwent a re-branding exercise and developed a new, more classic label that highlighted the school and presented a more sophisticated look to their wines.  The good news is that despite the new label, the wine is as delicious as ever!

The 2009 Columbia Valley Red is a classic Bordeaux style blend of Merlot (55%), Cabernet Sauvignon (21%), Syrah(13%), Malbec (5%), Petit Verdot (3%) and Cabernet Franc (3%), aged 8 months in French and American oak barrels.  This wine is typically viewed as the everyday, table wine for L'Ecole, and perhaps one of the best values relative to its quality.

The wine itself is a deep ruby color with a nose of oak, licorice, leather and dried herbs.  The taste is well balanced with great fruit character of ripe cherry, blackberry and currant, with a nice earthy spice mid palate, and nice tannins for a pleasant, dry finish.  At every taste, this wine is at once friendly and inviting, yet you still get a strong feeling for the quality that went into the bottle.  The wine would pair well with a wide variety of foods, and it's not pretentious, as I feel it would be at home with a thick juicy burger just as much as with a filet mignon, and in both cases it would complement rather than overpower the food (which would be hard tonight with Thai food!).  Overall I would rate this one a solid 8.5, it's a great, food friendly wine, and at only $18 it's a fraction of what you might expect to pay for similar quality wines.  So let's get started with Washington Wine month!

2008 L'Ecole No. 41 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon

Today is the autumnal equinox, half day, half night and the first official day of Fall, so what better way to celebrate fall than to go back to school!  In this case we'll be going back to school at one of my absolute favorite wineries of all time, L'Ecole No. 41 in Lowden, Wash.  You see, today I was fortunate in that a long awaited order (blast you summer head!) arrived at my office, along with the L'Ecole red wine club selection for fall!

So to celebrate this banner day, I am enjoying a bottle of the 2008 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon!  Now wines from Washington are exceptional in many ways, and those from Walla Walla represent the cream of the crop in my view.  Having lived in Washington and Oregon for five years, I had more than my fair share of opportunities to travel in the Columbia Valley, visiting the fine folks at L'Ecole as well as the many other fine vineyards along U.S. 12.  The wines are exceptional Bordeaux blends that can stand up to the best wines anywhere in the world, and many are such small vineyards with limited production that having a bottle is sure to be a special treat to share with friends and family.

Tonight I am enjoying a new vintage, the 2008 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon, which is likely still a bit young, but sure to mature quite nicely in the years to come.  I must have at least two or three cases of L'Ecole wines with vintages going back to 2000, and it's really interesting to see how the wines have evolved and matured over the years (unfortunately your author hasn't evolved and matured nearly as much!).

The wine itself is a beautiful ruby red color, and the nose is a blend of plum and black cherry mingling with rich leather and earth, suggesting your about to get your wine drinking butt kicked by a really solid red!  The taste is a surprisingly delicate and sophisticated array of fruit, with plums, blackberry, yet an elegant tannic structure that provides a fabulously dry finish that's quite unexpected from a wine with such fruit.  After a long day of work, I am so happy to relax with a glass of such a nice wine that brings back memories of warm summers in the high desert of eastern Washtington...Ahhh... As for my rating, this wine is not inexpensive, but it's worth every penny of the $36 asking price (by the way, if you are a wine club member like me, you get all sorts of exclusive bottlings and other fun stuff, 3 special shipments a year, and 15% off the price of this wine!), so overall I would rate this one a solid 9 with plenty of room to advance as it matures.  So if you have access, pick up a bottle for yourself today, and enjoy it with a rare ribeye and some grilled veggies like I'm doing tonight!

Finally, a note for my friends at L'Ecole No. 41: I know you've spend a lot of effort on the new labels and marketing, and I think it's fabulous.  The embossed white labels of the Walla Walla wines and special wines is sophisticated and projects a solid image for the winery.  However, some of us have enjoyed the Recess Red over the last few years, and before that the School House Red, they were fun and whimsical, and fit well with the old labels, so I can understand how they might not make it with the refreshed 2009 vintage.  That said, the new "Red Wine" that replaces the recess red has to be renamed.  I mean really, we go from whimsical "Recess Red" to "Red Wine"?  You may as well save the printing fees and stencil it on the bottle with white paint!  Here's a suggestion, how about a contest to name the replacement?  Get your fans involved, offer a nice prize, maybe a free bottle of the newly named wine in their honor?  I'll get you started, here is my suggestion, let's go back to School House Red, but with a French twist, "l'école maison rouge."  Now set loose the creativity of your rabid fans to honor the best red table wine on the planet under $20 (in my opinion anyway) with a name that fits the great product that it is!