Day 1: For sure past peak. One of the bigger Kevin White fans in the world but this is a boring and not interesting wine at this point. Earth, water, minerals and celery. Very little left here. This is just past peak and not flawed in any way. 82 points Day 3 & 4: So no go here. This is a tired wine past its peak. Tobacco, earth, diluted and light fruits. Not much left here. Could be an off bottle as I gave it 91 points earlier but not detecting and flaws. Recommendation: Get another vintage.
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90pts. A wine that improved with age based on previous notes from 2019, 2020 and 2021. This time it had its best showing. Tannins were mild, blue berry, black currant fruits. Very good QPR all these years later. Not sure it will improve from here though, in its prime right now.
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Lively blueberry and blackberry. Pepper, orange and spice compliment the fruit on the palate. Supported by fresh acidity. Drinks well upon opening and seems like near term drinker.
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(Kevin White Winery La Fraternite) Hello friends. At what point does a rising star winemaker drop the ‘rising’ portion and just become an established superstar? For my view of Kevin White, I can pinpoint the exact moment: it was on August 9 at 11:22am, when I took my first sniff of Kevin’s 2016 Rhone blend, La Fraternite. My goodness. I mean, this guy has been knocking it out of the park for years now. Check out this string of accolades from Seattle Magazine’s annual wine awards issues: Winemaker to Watch in 2015, Best Red Blend $20-$40 in 2016, Best Rhone Blend, $25 and under in 2017, Best Emerging Winery in 2018. And that has been during the string of hot-hotter-hottest vintages (2013-2015) that didn’t perfectly suit his house style. Now, with the 2016, he has a vintage that works, he’s seven vintages into his winery, and he is just killing it. I get the sense that Kevin is really dialed in right now. He knows the style of wines he wants to make, and he has the vineyard partners to make it happen. The result, at least for this pair of ‘16s, is something really special. I should also mention: Kevin’s pricing remains ridiculous, with these wines competing with bottles at twice the tag. Kevin seems determined to offer exceptional value as he builds his brand, and I’m really pleased that our list members can continue to be the recipients of his efforts in that direction. A few logistics notes. First, we’re likely to only get one shot at these. They’re small production, and they always move fast. If possible, I’ll over-buy so that we have some availability for reorder, but I’d say the odds of that are less than 50/50. Second, reviews of these wines are always positive, but they also always come well after release, and I’m not taking any chances on waiting. The backbone here is Upland Vineyard Grenache (64%), a site with a proven track record of producing some of the best Grenache in the state. The remainder is Mourvedre (27%) and Syrah (9%) from Boushey and Sugarloaf Vineyards. Aged in neutral French oak for about a year, this clocks in at 14.8% listed alc. On first sniff, it just comes rocketing out of the glass with super-expressive, practically joyful aromatics: strawberries and raspberries, blossoms galore, and a pronounced, attractive minerality. What is exceptional about this wine is its purity. The fruit is crystalline, the texture sculpted and polished. There’s not an awkward knee or elbow to be found. That kind of textural seamlessness paired to the fruit-flower-mineral complexity of a good Rhone blend; my goodness is that a pleasurable drinking experience. It had me in mind of slow-simmered white beans, studded with pork and greens. Autumn on the ascendancy. No reviews yet for the ’16, but it’s worth noting that the ’15 earned a 93pt review from Sean Sullivan in Wine Enthusiast (of course, several months after our initial offer last year). Context note: of the 30 Washington Rhone reds Sean reviewed from the 2015 vintage, only one scored better, and that was *another* Kevin White wine: the 2015 Pionnier at 94pts. For my palate anyhow, the ’16 is a superior vintage. We shall see…
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10/17/2023 - bajayngo wrote:
Always deliciously ripe fruit that pushes the modern envelope, but stays balanced with great acids.
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5/21/2023 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 82 Points
Day 1: For sure past peak. One of the bigger Kevin White fans in the world but this is a boring and not interesting wine at this point. Earth, water, minerals and celery. Very little left here. This is just past peak and not flawed in any way. 82 points
Day 3 & 4: So no go here. This is a tired wine past its peak. Tobacco, earth, diluted and light fruits. Not much left here. Could be an off bottle as I gave it 91 points earlier but not detecting and flaws.
Recommendation: Get another vintage.
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3/24/2022 - BoyBacchus Likes this wine: 90 Points
90pts. A wine that improved with age based on previous notes from 2019, 2020 and 2021. This time it had its best showing. Tannins were mild, blue berry, black currant fruits. Very good QPR all these years later. Not sure it will improve from here though, in its prime right now.
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1/29/2022 - golfhawk Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good blue fruits and soft tannins. Drink now as I don’t see it getting much better.
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12/13/2021 - gmbdds wrote: 91 Points
Lively blueberry and blackberry. Pepper, orange and spice compliment the fruit on the palate. Supported by fresh acidity. Drinks well upon opening and seems like near term drinker.
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