Winery - Watermill
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is three quarters Cabernet Sauvignon and one quarter Merlot, from McClellan Estate, Lewis and Seven Hills vineyard fruit. Keeping things simple, winemaker Rich Funk has crafted an open, appealing red wine loaded with flavors of raspberry jam and baking spices. It’s fresh and balanced, a fine summer red for immediate consumption.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Sourced from McClellan Estate vineyard, this excellent effort is balanced and juicy, bursting with boysenberry and cassis. It is 100% varietal, from young vines, but winemaker Rich Funk has handled it well so that the barrel aging adds just the right touch of espresso to the finish without burying the fresh fruit.
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Watermill Malbec - 2006
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
100% Syrah from the same mix of vineyards as the 2005: Stone Valley, Les Collines and Va Piano. It’s ripe enough to bring in brambly berry flavors, while retaining some herbal, peppery notes. Streaks of coffee and fresh-turned earth run through it, with excellent definition and balance.
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Watermill Syrah - 2006
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A nice improvement over the 2005 version of Estate Midnight Red, this is 60% Cabernet, with the other four Bordeaux grapes making up the rest in equal (10%) proportion. Dark and sappy, with lush flavors of cherry sour candy, mocha, chocolate, licorice and baking spices, this combines the barrel and the fruit bowl flavors of Walla Walla Bordeaux blends to good effect.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Definitely one of the smoothest and most deeply concentrated Petit Verdots to come out of the Pacific Northwest, this Walla Walla winery and vineyard sources these grapes from their McClellan Estate vineyard. It’s is pure varietal, silky and packed with rich boysenberry and blueberry fruit flavor. The tannin management is exceptional, and the finish brings in details of coffee, earth and licorice.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The unusual label—a bright green praying mantis on a plain brown background—does not suggest a reserve-quality Syrah, but that is what this is. Spicy and well-defined, young and full of verve, it opens with blueberries and other wild blue fruits, adds layers of coffee, milk chocolate, moist earth and lead pencil, and moves through a tart, sappy midpalate into a nicely-focused finish with the promise of a long cellar life.
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Watermill Syrah - 2007
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Watermill made an excellent “regular” Syrah in 2005; this seems to be a barrel selection from two of the same vineyards. It’s just slightly jammier and has been given a little more time in barrel and bottle. As with the regular, there’s good definition, cut and grace to this wine. The fruit is pure and quite ripe, but does not bleed over into raisin or prune, and the wine retains its balance and spine. It could be cellared for up to five years, and odds are will continue to evolve and improve.
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Watermill Syrah - 2005
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
French oak fermentation and sur lie aging give this wine just a hint of toast and softness in the mouth. It is just at 14% alcohol, which keeps it from getting either too bitter or too hot in the finish. It’s downright elegant, with a refreshing light touch that is all too often missing from Viognier.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The newest vintage ramps up the complexity of this wine, while keeping the fruit front and center. Good concentrated flavors run through all the citrus and into the stone fruits; there is just a hint of cardboard on the end. Light toast is there if you look for it.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This tastes like a reserve, though the odd name and label don’t suggest it. But it has the depth and power of a reserve, a rich stew of meat, earth, soy and loads of black fruits. The details and depth are exceptional.
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Watermill Syrah - 2006
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