WA Tasting Trip Day 3: Cougar Crest, Reynvaan, Woodward Canyon

Walla Walla
Tasted Saturday, April 9, 2011 - Wednesday, April 13, 2011 by manonthemoon with 955 views

Introduction

Last day of tasting started off strong at Colville Street Patisserie which was a nice find as they make awesome pasteries and decent coffee. Lunch was had at Andrea's Kitchen located at Woodward Canyon this day, awesome as always, and seemed like they had done really well this weekend as he was almost out of everything at around 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. The burger is what I always go with and was excellent, the wife had the last Cuban they were offering, bot were great with a small order of fries.

Flight 1 - Cougar Crest (13 Notes)

The staff was nice and showed us a plethora of wines as you can see. Wasn't really blown away by any, just not my typical style. This stop was one we wanted to make since we hadn't visited for 3 years or so, plus one of our friends really enjoys the wines, and it also opens earlier than most places.

Flight 2 - Reynvaan (4 Notes)

This was probably my favorite stop of the entire trip as it was pretty lowkey, probably 20 people tops in the winery and half of those were family with Gale, Mike, grandchildren, and of course Matt being present. Matt is a great guy and showed us all the new wines and we were completely blown away with the Contender and the Stonessence, so much so that we had to double our previous order for the wines. I think the wife commented that The Contender was her favorite of the trip and mine was between the Stonessence and The Widowmaker Cab we had a Cayuse. As the vineyards are growing in age and Matt in experience the wines are showing better and better. He was also nice enough to run us through quite a few barrel samples of 10's that were resting in the back room. It was interesting to see the differences in the vine ages and site differences between the samples. Great stuff and highly reccommend that you set up an appointment next time you are in Walla Walla. The only downside is that I didn't spit a little more as I was definately feeling some palate fatigue after this stop.

  • 2009 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah The Unnamed 90 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    (4/10/2011)

    Barrel sample at the winery.
    3% vio blended in, down from last year so more toned down.
    Dark purple to black in color.
    Nose of mushrrom, bacon, blackberry, and decent floral.
    Palate of blackberry, tart blueberry, a little floral, meat, and pepper with minerality.
    Finish was above average in length and there was good focus and acidity present as well.
    90-91

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  • 2009 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah In the Rocks 93 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    (4/10/2011)

    Barrel sample at the winery.
    Unsure of the vio blend on this one.
    Dark purple to black in color.
    Nose of black raspberry, toast, lavender, peppered bacon.
    Palate of black raspberry, pepper, olive, funk, minerals, and tons of bacon.
    Finish was long in length and there was good minerality and lots acidity present as well.
    92-94

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  • 2009 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah The Contender 94 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    (4/10/2011)

    Barrel sample at the winery.
    Marsanne blended in, but no specifics.
    Dark purple to black in color.
    Strong nose of major funk, floral, old leather, strawberry jam, brine, and earth.
    Palate of raspberry berry, wild strawberry, roses, seared meat, and pepper with minerality.
    Finish was long in length and there was great minerality and acidity, and this also seemed to be a little tight with the tannins on the back end.
    My wife's favorite of the visit and potentially her favorite of the trip, wasn't in a "buying phase" and she still made me buy more. No complaints here.
    93-95

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  • 2009 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah Stonessence 96 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    (4/10/2011)

    Barrel sample at the winery.
    100% syrah, only made in certain years.
    Dark black in color.
    Best nose of the trip major game, smelled like rare elk, with blackberries, and boysenberries, some earth as well, little pepper.
    Palate of blackberry, tart blueberry, major seared wild game, herbs, and black pepper with minerality.
    Finish was long in length and there was great minerality, focus, and acidity, and the mouthfeel was the best of all the wines.
    Either this or the Widowmaker was my favorite wine of the trip, wasn't in a "buying phase" but more had to be purchased.
    Amazing stuff, hold. 96+

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Flight 3 - Woodward Canyon (6 Notes)

This was our first time stopping by as it is a little out of the way on the road into Walla Walla, but was the location for Andrea's truck so after a quick bite we commensed more tasting. Rick the winemaker was actually pouring the wines and we were impressed with the lineup in general. We had some good conversations about their style and farming practices that I really enjoyed. I really want to try the lineup again on a fresh palate as I dont think I could guage all the complexity of the wine. There's always next year right?

  • 2009 Woodward Canyon Chardonnay 92 Points

    USA, Washington

    (4/11/2011)

    N Nose of vanilla, tropical, lemon cream, mineral, chalk
    P of lemon, little cream, tropical, minerals, grass.
    20% new French 91-92

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  • NV Woodward Canyon Red Wine 80 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    (4/10/2011)

    N Cherry, cedar
    P cherry, mint, cinnamon, spice, little hot
    F light and short 80-81

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  • 2007 Woodward Canyon Merlot 87 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    (4/10/2011)

    N Mixed raspberries, strawberry
    P Red cherry, herb, mint, spice
    F Ave finish, high acid 87

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  • 2008 Woodward Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series 90 Points

    USA, Washington

    (4/10/2011)

    N Floral, blueberry, herb, vanilla
    P blue fruit, licorice, spice, earth
    F AA to long in length, Good mouthfeel 90-91

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  • 2008 Woodward Canyon Charbonneau 92 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    (4/10/2011)

    N blueberry pie, lavender, vanilla
    P blueberry, vanilla, plum, chocolate, floral, herb, spice
    F Great mouthfeel and long finish really nice acidity 91-92

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  • 2008 Woodward Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines 93 Points

    USA, Washington

    (4/10/2011)

    N Wild Strawberry, blue and black fruit, cinnamon, herb, caramel
    P Blueberry, licorice, tobacco, herb, spice, more oak on this bottling
    F was very long, great structure, mouthfeel, and the kicker is it was 16.5 alc and no heat noticed at all.
    Nice tannin and acid as well even with a shot palate 93-94

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Flight 4 - Whoopemup Cafe, Waitsburg, WA (1 Note)

Had to go with some bubbles for a change of pace.

  • NV Boizel Champagne Brut Rosé 89 Points

    France, Champagne

    (4/10/2011)

    Had at dinner at Whoopemup Cafe, no formal notes.
    Nose of wild strawberry, red raspberry, yeast, little forest floor as well.
    Palate was stawberry, little tart raspberry, yeast, forest floor.
    Finish was average in length, but could use a little more cut, complexity, and acidity to take it to the next level.
    Really enjoyed at dinner for a change of pace from syrah.
    89-90

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Closing

I always get a little sad on the last day of trips, but it helped that we left our visit to Whoopemup Cafe in Waitsburg til this night. The food was very good to excellent with myself having to get a second coup of the mushroom soup which was amazing, probably the best besides Joel Palmer House in Williamette. The wife had the catfish and was pleased and I the 5 o'clock steak which was excellent. Big portions too as we had a light lunch before the flight home. The deserts were hit and miss as the Whoopie pie that the wife ordered was below par, not very good at all, but the Banana Sundae themed desert with bread pudding, chocolate tort, and ice cream was excellent and was just enough to share between ourselves. Jim German was graced for a pre-dinner drink and afterwards to cap off the night. You could tell the staff was really glad the weekend was almost over as they had been swamped all weekend long, so much so that he had declined a couple of large parties due to the hassle. Got to try some homemade Absinthe which was fantastic and the wife had another Pegu and I ended the night with the Cynar/Barolo drink that I am not in love with, great time all around. Plus its awesome to talk to the staff at these small venues as that adds a lot to the charming atmosphere. Also ran into Matt Reynvaan in both establishments and was glad to hear things went well for them this weekend and that a couple of forum members had stopped by after I had reccommended that it was a must try. Plus it sounded like they shared a pretty nice bottle of burgundy with him that I am sure brightened his day.

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