Sean P. Sullivan - Washington Wine Report

The following is excerpted from an on-line article at Wine Enthusiast. Follow the link below to the complete article.

From the state’s first Syrah plantings to the creation of some of its finest wines, Red Willow has made a name for itself in Washington.

One of Washington State’s most influential sites, Red Willow Vineyard, sprung up from humble beginnings.

“I was a new kid on the farm, 22–23 years old,” says grower Mike Sauer. “Just came to the farm looking for my place.” Sauer would decide that his place was to grow wine grapes, a relatively novel idea back in the early 1970s.

Below are my Wine Enthusiast reviews for May 2017. Wines are listed alphabetically by winery. Read additional information on how I review wines here. All of these reviews are freely available on-line at the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide. There is also a freely available Wine Enthusiast Tasting Guide app. See previous Wine Enthusiast reviews re-published in this space here. Search Wine Enthusiast's on-line database here.

60 wines reviewed in the May issue of Wine Enthusiast. They include a strong set of wines from Cairdeas, including the Cairdeas 2014 Caislén an Papa Red Wine Blend Meek Vineyard Washington ($45, 91 points); Cairdeas 2014 Trí Red Blend Yakima Valley ($39, 91 points); and Cairdeas 2014 Consonance Red Blend Yakima Valley ($42,  91 points).

Bud break is occurring in eastern Washington. This picture is Phelps Clone Syrah on April 10th at the Ziggy Stardust block of Elevation Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley and comes courtesy of Trey Busch at Sleight of Hand Cellars. Busch reports that bud break took place at the same location last year on April 1st.

Bud break has also been reported in Grenache by Ryan Driver of Tertulia Cellars at the winery's Rivière Galets Vineyard in The Rocks District; by Hillary Sjolund in Chardonnay at Gordon Estate Winery in the Columbia Valley; and at Watermill Vineyard in The Rocks by Brian Roy.

Let the 2017 growing season begin!