Dunham Cellars and Tamarack Cellars, both located by the Walla Walla Airport, have fun tasting rooms and do wonders with Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends. And Saviah, south of the city, surprised me with a fabulous Malbec that I think could be the next hot grape for this area, if everyone does it like this! Saviah has a good line of Walla Walla wines, but Dunham and Tamarack are all Columbia Valley, a fact (as I mentioned in posts and on Episode 74 of the podcast) I still find weird. That said great stuff so I can't complain!!!I'll be brief on the winery rundowns and then get to the great wines:
Dunham Cellars
Truth be told, I only learned about Eric Dunham because I'm a big fan of Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks, Sex in the City, Desperate Housewives), and I read an article in the New York Times about his foray into wine called "Pursued by Bear." The article talked about his partnership with winemaker Eric Dunham. I wanted to check out the wines (and of course, secretly hoped for a KMacL siting, which never took place).  |
| Cool homemade winechillers with daffodils at Eric Dunham |
His desire to make wines that were pure expressions of the land, (i.e., light-handed in the winery) comes through in every wine. The tasting room, a converted World War II airplane hangar, is warm, hospitable and fun to visit. Add it to the list! Here's the lineup:
2011 Shirley Mays Chardonnay, Columbia Valley
Price: $24
Grapes: 100% ChardonnayAlcohol: 13.3%
Description: A rich dark yellow even though only 30% was aged in oak (which darkens the color), this is from ripe grapes with lots of pigment. The wine smelled like fresh-squeezed lime and a little bit like vanilla, caramel, and wood from the oak. It had a great taste -- strong acidity with a crisp, ripe, red apple note and a little bit of vanilla from the oak.
Drink or sink?: Drink. Great balance between fruit and oak. A nice wine for food or outside on a nice day.
2011 3 Legged Red, Columbia Valley
A red blend of a bunch of stuff, this wine's name comes from a puppy that Eric saved from being mauled by a bigger, fiercer dog. The pup was injured and lost a leg, but found a great home with Eric, with a wine named after him! I wish they'd donate a portion of the proceeds to animal shelters, but I digress...
Price: $19Grapes: Kitchen sink blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec
Alcohol: 13.8%
Description: Dark purple colored with plum, red berry and blackberry smells. The wine was a little bitter and sharp, with a metallic note to it. It had nice ripe strawberry and raspberry flavors, but was harsh.
Drink or sink? Sink. I was not a fan of this wine. It should have worked but the structure was off for me and I don't even think age will fix it. His other reds are great, so this is a skip for me.
2010 Trutina, Columbia Valley
Price: $29
Grapes: 63% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Syrah
Alcohol: 14.2%
Description: Dark red with a brown rim from a few years in the bottle. The wine smelled like rich spices, dark berries (like blueberry almost), prunes, and also had this floral note like laundry drying outside. The flavors were "darker" -- cinnamon, nutmeg, and dried fruit -- especially apricot and cranberries. On the finish there was a ton of coffee, tea, and leather flavors with chewy, long-lasting tannins but it was still velvety and delicious.
Drink or sink?: Drink. Excellent wine. So many layers of flavor and texture. Fabulous, especially for the price. We had a bottle when we got back home and it was even better than it was at the winery!
2010 Dunham Syrah, Columbia Valley
Price: $35
Grape: 100% Syrah
Alcohol: 13.8%
Description: Dark ruby, the wine stained the glass on the swirl. The 51% American oak came across loud and clear: coffee and coconut were all over this wine on the smell. It tasted like dark cherry, plum, lavender, and saddle leather with cloves, coconut, chocolate, and a bready flavor that was cool and unusual (I usually get that in Champagne but it was clear as day in this wine for me!).
Drink or sink?: Drink. Another great wine, this guy is clearly a master of figuring out how to make layered, complex wines.
Pursued by Bear...
The next two wines are the Kyle MacLachlan wines. They're pricier and definitely need some time in the bottle to chill out but I think they've got potential. It's nice to have an option of wines to drink now and wines to hold and Dunham offers both, especially with these wines.
2009 Baby Bear Syrah, Columbia Valley
Price: $48Grape: 100% Syrah
Alcohol: 14.2%
Description: An opaque, dark plum color with a watery rim -- looked like it was made from ripe fruit. Dark berry, prune, leather, horse saddle smells made this fit the bill for a classic Syrah smell. The wine was very textural -- it hit me with tannin and lots of acidity and then complex flavors -- plum, strawberry, and something that reminded me of Thanksgiving stuffing because of the rosemary, thyme, and cooked herb notes. The finish was chewy and felt like drinking espresso!
Drink or sink? This is a drink, but a hold for few years and drink. I know this wine will be a knockout in a few years, but you're going to need to wait for it. Now it's a little sharp and closed. It needs some time.
2008 Pursued by Bear, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Price: $65
Grapes: 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 11% SyrahAlcohol: 14.2%
Description: A little brown from age with thick legs from the alcohol, the wine smelled like dark cherry, black pepper, and cinnamon spice. It had nice green pepper, dark cherry, dark plum, chewy chocolate, and coffee flavors with good acid and tannin. A healthy hit of vanilla and caramel from the oak.
Drink or sink? This was the first wine of Dunham's where I got a good sense of earth and I loved that. Fruit and terroir together. A great wine, but like the Baby Bear, this one needs a few more years too. I'd say another year or two and it will be pretty stunning.
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In a completely spartan former airport hangar with a non-descript, industrial-looking exterior, I never would have found this place if not recommended to me by David "Merf" Merfeld of Northstar. And it would have been my loss. Because as they say on the web site, Tamarack is not about the romance, glitz, or glamour, it's about the quality of the wine. Founded in 1998 by Ron Coleman, a former wine salesman and sommelier, this high class operation makes great juice and is actually kind of deceptively big by Walla Walla standards -- they make 20,000 cases of wine a year. Most of that production is a great red blend that has pretty widespread distribution around the United States -- the Firehouse Red, reviewed right here. Another must-try for great Columbia Valley wine!
2011 Firehouse Red, Columbia Valley
Price: $16
Alcohol: 13.8%
Description: A nice ruby color the wine smelled like dark plum and dark flowers. It had a good hit of cinnamon spice with red fruit and ripe berry flavors. A great balance between firm tannins, good mouth-cleaning acidity, and fruit.
Drink or sink?: A complete steal for the price. This is far better than most domestic red blends out there and should be on everyone's radar as a huge value red. It's more than a weeknight wine, so get on it. Tasting this makes me feel like I'm getting robbed when I buy sub-par Meritages from farther south for more money...
2010 Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley
Price: $28
Grape: 100% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14.2%Description: Ruby color with thick, colored legs -- clearly from ripe, darkly pigmented grapes. Earthy but kind of floral too with some saddle leather and caramel smell from the oak. A nice green pepper earthiness, with red berry flavors. Similar to the Dunham Syrah this wine had some breadiness to it - a nice contrast to the earthy, peppery notes. The wine had great mouth-drying tannins but the acidity was a little low for me.
Drink or sink?: Drink, but it's not my favorite of the line. 2010 was a cooler year so I'm surprised the acidity in the wine wasn't stronger. If it had been this would have been perfect!
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Price: $32
Grapes: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Melot, 3% Cabernet FrancAlcohol:14.53%
Description: Plum colored with thick legs and a nice spice, plum, blackcurrant smell that was very fruity. Tasted like black plums, blackberries ,and black cherry with a ton of cinnamon and nutmeg spice. A little like mint which was nice albeit a little medicinal. Very powerful tannins and good acid gave the wine a nice balance.
Drink or sink?: All the components of a great Cabernet are here but this wine needs to sit in a cellar for a few years. A little age will take off the medicinal flavors and soften the tannins to make this a great food wine. For $32, buy it and save it for 2 or 3 years. You won't regret it!
2008 DuBaul Vineyard Reserve, Columbia Valley
Price: $50
Grapes: 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14.1%
Description: A dark ruby with thick, stained tears, and a pink, watery rim. Black licorice, plum, blackcurrant, and an awesome dark earth thing made me want to smell this all day long! This wine had GUSTO! It tasted like like black licorice, dark tea, and ripe, juicy, right from the tree plums or black cherries. Great tannin and good acid gave the wine perfect balance.
Drink or sink?: Drink, I'm glad I ended with this. It's a complete showstopper. I loved it.
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Saviah Cellars
Located on the south side of town, this family operated winery makes small lots of wines from a bunch of different vineyards. Richard Funk is a self-taught winemaker who worked at a few wineries before he launched his own in 2000. In a short time, he has done wonders. With a friendly tasting room staff (actually the woman was the girlfriend of the knowledgeable guy at Eric Dunham -- Walla Walla really is a small town!) and great wine, I was so happy to have found this place. Saviah is the name of Funk's wife's great grandmother. 2011 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley
Price: $25
Grape: 100% Chardonnay
Alcohol: 13.9%
Description: A clear color, despite the 9 months in oak barrels (20% new, which would impart more color), the wine looked like it would have good acidity from it's transparent appearance. The wine smelled like green apple and fresh herbs, like basil and tarragon. It tasted like green apple and lemon but was creamy from the malolactic fermentation, and even had some light tannin from aging. It had a very nice mouth-cleaning quality and a fabulous citrus flavor.
Drink or sink?: Drink, A refreshing wine -- great balance between fruit, oak, and acid.
2010 Malbec, Walla Walla Valley
Price: $30
Grape: 100% Malbec
Alcohol: 14.1%
Description: Black in the center with a ruby rim, this wine had such an earthy smell -- like salt and dirt. There was a blueberry aroma and it tasted like plums, blackberries, and black tea leaves. All this flavor and a great balance of acid and tannin make this a great surprise -- I hadn't seen a Malbec anywhere on this trip and I now I was questioning why!Drink or sink?: Drink. This was spectacular. I was so impressed that this wine was so tasty. Didn't expect it at all in this land of Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet! Malbec seems to have a bright future here.
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley
Price: $28
Grape: 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot
Alcohol: 14.3%
Description: A dark center with big, thick, ruby legs -- ripe grapes are in here! A typical Walla Walla Cab smell -- the wine was like earth, black plum, blackberries, and a little green pepper. It tasted like minerals, black tea, black fruit, and green pepper and it had has great tannins.
Drink or sink?: Excellent wine if you like that earthy, Walla Walla style. Really tasty and a crazy value.
2009 Syrah, Walla Walla, Estate Vineyard
Price: $45Grape: 100% Syrah
Alcohol: 14.6%
Description: Black, inky purple with very thick tears that were stained in color. What a great earthy, mineral smell. The wine smelled like pineapples, red cherries, and grapes with a little funk -- like horse saddle and wet earth. I loved the flavor of this wine -- salty minerals and soil, tea leaves, dark cherry and dark berries, rich, full, espresso flavors. Softer tannin and good acid kept a nice balance and let the fruit and earth shine.
Drink or sink?: Drink. Another excellent wine -- true to Syrah (fruity but leathery and tannic) and to Walla Walla. Saviah makes wines of terroir and for that I so love them.
All in all, a great lineup of wines and wineries. Thanks to everyone who recommended these three and everyone at the wineries who made the experience so fun and welcoming. Walla Walla really IS the city so nice, they named it twice!
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