You really can't do a tour of Walla Walla without hitting Pepper Bridge and Amavi, the creations of Norm McKibben -- an engineer turned grape farmer who has put his heart and soul into growing great grapes and making great wine in Walla Walla. The wines are outstanding (not a bad one in the bunch) and the wineries are in the vineyards -- which is refreshing after touring around the airport district of Walla Walla and the downtown tasting rooms. These places have a cool story.
As his second act, former engineer turned overalls wearer, McKibben moved his family to Walla Walla to become an apple farmer, but found more allure in the vine. By 1989, he had his first vineyard and he just kept going from there. "Stormin' Norman" became immersed the Washington wine industry, working with folks in the Columbia Valley and then teaming with the other pioneers of Walla Walla -- Gary Figgins of Leonetti Cellars and Marty Club of L'Ecole No. 41 to create the foundation of Walla Walla wine.
The team brought on Jean-François Pellet, a Swiss winemaker who had experience working for the none-too-shabby Heitz Cellars in Napa, and Pepper Bridge Winery was off and running. A few years later, in 2001, Amavi (as they say, rhymes with "mama me" and is a combination of the Latin words for love (amor) and life (vita)) was created to make lower cost Cabernet and Syrah.
When I was at Amavi, I had a chance to meet Eric McKibben, Norm's son and the general manager and business head of both the wineries. Loved him. Modest and kind, the guy was such a straight shooter and had enormous pride for what his family had accomplished. It was great to see that the future of these great wineries is in good hands. I kind of loved dishing with Eric and getting his perspective on the valley, its evolution, and its future.
From a vineyard perspective, Eric was able to tell me more about Walla Walla than anyone else on the trip. For instance, vineyard land is a little limited in growth potential because the valley is shaped like a huge bowl. The valley floor is so big that it doesn't contain the warm air -- it gets too cold at night for grapes to survive. The real action for vineyard land in Walla Walla is in the foothills. Very cool insight and unlike most places where seas of wine can come from the warmer valley where warm air hangs around after dark. It seems like this will keep the wines of Walla Walla in high demand (and of high quality) in years to come.
Most of all, Eric reiterated that the fruit of Walla Walla is something special and unique. The producers have commraderie and a dedication to quality and to the land (the properties are sustainably farmed, which means a little more here than in California), that is rare. You can taste it in these wines. And although I liked the wines of Amavi a little more than those of Pepper Bridge, you can't deny that great wine starts in the vineyard -- and these places more than any other on my visit, have got the stuff in the vineyard DOWN.
Amavi Wines
The Wine: 2010 Amavi Syrah, Walla Walla Valley, $29
Alcohol: 14.5%
Quick Description: A dark ruby with tears that stained the glass (common with highly pigmented Syrah), this wine was full of black plum, blackberry, and black cherry smells and flavors. It had a ton of spice -- black pepper from the grape and cinnamon from the barrel -- that came together perfectly. The tannins were thick and chewy, but not overdone.
Drink or sink?: Drink. A really tasty and excellent wine and great for the money!
I love that I got to try two vintages of the Cab to see the difference. They were similar but different -- a great exercise in seeing Mother Nature's effect on wine!
The Wine: 2009 Amavi Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley, $29
The Grape: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 3% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14.1%
Quick Description: A dark crimson wine with licorice, anise, and nutmeg aromas and a kind of bready smell made it interesting and complex. The wine tasted less like fruit and more like tobacco, espresso coffee, anise, and mint. It had powerful tannin but it was completely balanced by the acid.
Drink or sink?: Drink. I love that this wasn't clobbering me over the head with blackberry and black currant. This wine is a great example of the difference between basic Walla Walla fruit and that of regions like Napa and Sonoma -- much more restrained, less fruity, but with clean, pure flavors of earth and spice. A great wine and another complete steal for the price.
The Wine: 2010 Amavi Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley, $29
The Grape: 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 3% Syrah, 1% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14.2%
Quick Description: Much darker than the '09, this wine was ruby red, opaque, and stained the glass on the swirl. Lots of nice black cherry and blackberry to smell, it also had great floral aromas and a ton of cinnamon from the barrels.
To taste, this wine was far milder in the fruit department (cooler year), but in lieu of the fruit there was an intense herbal quality -- like butter sauteed thyme or tarragon and a lot of earth. The addition of the 8% pungent, dill-like American oak could have something to do with that buttery herb flavor, but I think the vineyard gets lots of credit too. My notes say "gritty" because I could taste the land -- which I loved.
Drink or sink?: Drink. I think I liked this even more than the '09, even though this could use a year or two in a cool, dark cellar before it mellows. Pellet clearly understands balance and how to get the vineyard's best out of the grapes.
The Wine: 2010 Amavi Syrah, Les Collines Vineyard Walla Walla, $35
The Grape: 100% Syrah
Alcohol: 14.5%
Quick Description: A dark, prune-juice colored wine with thick legs that stained the glass, this was going to be a powerhouse of a wine from the looks of it. The wine smelled and tasted like black plum and black raspberry with incredible white pepper and clove notes. It had a mineral/dirt taste to it too, making it so complex and delicious. Big mouth-drying tannins, and great acidity.Drink or sink?: Drink. Outstanding and delicious. I couldn't put it down. This wine is great now, but will be so freaking great in a few years too. Yum!
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Pepper Bridge
The Wine: 2010 Pepper Bridge Merlot, $50
Where it's from: 58% Seven Hills and 42% Pepper Bridge Estate Vineyard in Walla Walla
The Grape: 84% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec
Alcohol: 14.5%
Quick Description: A light crimson color with good legs, this wine smelled like a bouquet of fresh, dark flowers. It had great cinnamon and nutmeg spice notes and was a perfect storm of dusty earth and great spice. The fruit was hanging out in the background, but this wine is from a cooler year and it is still very young.
Drink or sink?: Drink. A well-made wine, it's not ready to drink now, but this is going to be amazing in a year or two when it opens up. At that point the fruit will become more prominent and combined with the spice and earth, this is going to be a freaking fabulous Merlot.
The Wine: 2009 Pepper Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon, $60
Where it's from: Walla Walla, 65% Seven Hills and 35% Pepper Bridge Vineyards The Grape: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot
Alcohol: 14.1%
Quick Description: A dark ruby colored wine with smells like a giant pot of violets -- flowers and dirt were all I could smell (I mean this in a good way!). Lots of dusty earth and potting soil flavors with black cherry, blackberry, and black raspberry notes coming out on the finish. It had strong tannin and great acid -- very nice balance.
Drink or sink?: Drink. A solid Cabernet that I think is still a little tight and not quite ready to show its true flavors. Chuck this in the cellar for two years and you should have something very delicious and food friendly.
The Wine: 2009 Trine (means group of three for the three partners in Pepper Bridge -- McKibben, Pellet, and Goff), $60
Where it's from: 62% Seven Hills and 38% Pepper Bridge Vineyards, Walla Walla Valley
The Grape: 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, 3% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot
Alcohol: 14.1%
Quick Description: Dark cherry color with staining on the swirl, this was looking like a rich wine. Much like the others, this had a floral and earth smell but the flavor was very different! At first, the wine was like potting soil, minerals, and dusty earth (it's much better than what it sounds like, I promise -- take the risk!) but then there was a ton of fruit and other stuff.
Black cherry, black tea, green pepper, and an oaky vanilla flavor came through. Excellent tannins to balance some of the perception of sweetness from the vanilla flavor and great acid to clean out your mouth after.
Drink or sink?: Drink. My personal favorite of Pepper Bridge, this wine had a lot of the same characteristics of the others, but I think the big Merlot component brought the wine to another level for me. The fruit and the way the grape reacts with oak made this a perfect storm of earth, floral, and fruit notes with a great hit of tannin and acid to boot.
The Wine: 2007 Reserve Red, $75
Where it's from: 62% Seven Hills and 38% Pepper Bridge Vineyards, Walla Walla Valley
The Grape: 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot
Alcohol: 14.1%
Quick Description: A brownish crimson from age, the wine smelled a lot like earth and like dark coffee grounds and black cherry. It was a total surprise to taste! Tons of cherry fruit -- red cherry and dark cherry with a nice earthiness jumped out of the glass. There was something berry-like too -- like cooked strawberries or a berry pie here as well. Much less earthy than the other wines, this still had a little dustiness and mellow tannins that kept everything balanced.
Drink or sink?: Drink. A terrific wine that shows how well these Washington reds can age when they are made well. I loved the play between fruit, earth, and tannin.
A total smash hit from these two wineries! And if you can't get to Walla Walla, they are distributed around the country AND they've got tasting rooms in Woodinville too! Who could ask for more?
Thanks to Eric and the crew at Pepper Bridge for great hospitality too!
Great review!. I took a trip to Walla Walla last weekend and tasted the Pepper Bridge line-up. We seem to have similar palates. Looking forward to more posts : )
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