The wines of Sleight of Hand & Va Piano with Trey Busch and Justin Wylie
Peter Pratt's Inn
Tasted February 3, 2012 by Vinomarcus with 545 views
Introduction
My local wine shop, Suburban Wines, put together a wonderful event held at Peter Pratt's Inn that included the wines of Sleight of Hand and Va Piano from Walla, Walla Washington. Trey Busch and Justin Wylie attended to show their wares and along with distributor Paul Myers gave us a great amount of insight into the Washington wine scene and its history. I was lucky enough to score a seat next to Trey and I had a real blast talking with him all evening. He's a great guy and a great advocate for Washington wines. I brought along two rare extra bottles from Trey's earlier days of winemaking: 05 Basel Cellars Lewis Reserve D-Vine and 05 SoH D-Vine Champoux Vineyard Cabernet. I think Trey said production on both was less than 2 barrels each. I think he enjoyed the mini trip down memory lane. The food was wonderful as usual as Chef Nick DiBona had a wonderful menu prepared. I scratched out some meager notes, but the tasting solidified my love of Washington Wines even more.
Flight 1 - Amuse Bouche (1 note)
Lamb Kefta & Grilled Pita
Flight 2 - First Course (2 notes)
Pan Seared Grouper, Orange Bearnaise
Flight 3 - Second Course (3 notes)
Braised Breast of Hudson Valley Veal, Savory Cauliflower Cake, Black Truffle Reggiano
Red
2009 Sleight of Hand The Spellbinder
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Very young and tight, big black fruit notes, hints of saddle leather, cassis, a bit stemmy though. Nice body, a bit high strung right now, needs time to settle.
Red
2008 Sleight of Hand The Archimage
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
A dead ringer for a young Right Bank Bordeaux both on the nose and palate, really nice wine. Still very young and immature, but showing loads of promise. Notes of concentrated dark fruit, licorice, cigar box, cedar, could be a great wine in time.
Flight 4 - Third Course (3 notes)
Pan Roasted Moulard Duck Breast, Braised Red Cabbage, Seared Foie Gras, Blackberry Honey Sauce
Red
2007 Va Piano Vineyards Syrah Estate Walla Walla Valley
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
1st "wow" wine of the evening, poured black as midnight, loaded with dense plums, blackberry and blueberry fruit, hints of flint and wet stones, leather and the slightest touch of espresso beans. This is a great wine, needs some time still in the cellar.
Red
2009 Sleight of Hand Syrah Levitation
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
This was open for business, loads of ripe blueberry, raspberry, cedar and mushrooms. Really delicious wine, great body, well focused.
Red
2010 Sleight of Hand Syrah The Funkadelic
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Whoa Nellie!! This was a huge but not over-the-top wine, the initial attack was in your face blast of black fruit, roasted game, anise, coffee beans, and then it settled down just a bit mid palate, deep and layered wine with a whole lot going on. This is a great wine that rivals the best Syrah's being produced in Washington.
Flight 5 - Dessert & Bonus Wines (2 notes)
Almond Pot De Creme
Red
2008 Va Piano Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
This was a dark wine, a wonderful nose, hints of vanilla bean, lush with great depth of red fruits, hints of red raspberry, currant, shoe leather, very young and in need of some long cellaring.
Flight 6 - My Bonus Wines (2 notes)
Red
2005 Basel Cellars Syrah D'Vine
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
I brought this to drink with Trey. Dark fruit, hard tannins still, minerals, some oak, mushrooms and black licorice, hints of smoke as well. This could easily live another 10 years.
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