Tasting with Trey Busch is a blast. I recently caught up with him at his SoDo tasting room, located adjacent to Rotie Cellars and we ran through his gorgeous new lineup of Washington wines. Trey founded Sleight of Hand in 2007 along with two other partners, Jerry and Sandy Solomon. The winery focuses on both estate and non-estate fruit and has slowly been increasing production since the winery’s inception. Trey is a downright awesome, down to earth guy that has attained great success in a relatively short amount of time. Jerry and Trey choose when to pick the wines, while Trey oversees the winemaking. Their production winemaker whom I interviewed in the spring, Keith Johnson, does an excellent job working hand and hand with Trey.

Some new releases to watch for includes their absolutely awesome new Riesling, the 2014 Sleight of Hand ‘The Magician’ (WWB, 91) which shows a vibrant mineral streak that is not typical from this vintage. This is truly one of the best Riesling wines from Washington that I have sampled in the past year. An absolutely awesome value is their 2014 Sleight of Hand 'The Conjurer' Red Wine (WWB, 92) which shows intense dark fruit character from this hot vintage. Finally, one of their cult wines is the 2014 Sleight of Hand 'The Psychedelic' Syrah (WWB, 94) which shows incredible Walla Walla Rocks terroir and lithe minerality. Learn more about this great winery at http://www.sofhcellars.com Here are the fantastic new release from Sleight of Hand.

2014 Sleight of Hand 'The Magician' White Wine- This Riesling wine was sourced from the Evergreen Vineyard. This wine begins with bright aromatics of Granny Smith apple, green papaya, and hints of unripe pear. There are rich flavors of lychee, unripe pear, Gravenstein apple and a touch of sweetness. The lively wine is a great value. Drink 2016-2022- 91

2015 Sleight of Hand 'The Magician's Assistant' Rose-Sourced from the Black Rock Vineyard, this is a Cabernet Franc Rose that was 100% whole cluster press. The wine begins with aromatics of white peach, red cherry and red raspberry. There are flavors of red cherry, guava and wild strawberry. This has a lovely mouthfeel. Drink 2016-2020- 90

2014 Sleight of Hand 'The Enchantress' Chardonnay- Sourced from the French Creek Vineyard, this is all Wente Clone in the Yakima Valley, this is an impressive bottling from this estate. This wine starts with aromatics of ripe pear, Pazzaz apple, starfruit and hints of nutmeg. There are ripe flavors of Bartlett pear, New York apple, and a silky mouthfeel and polished texture, this is lovely wine. Drink 2016-2022- 91

2014 Sleight of Hand 'The Conjurer' Red Wine- This is primarily Cabernet wine starts with aromas of black cherry, baking spices, allspice and green olive. There are rich flavors of black cherry, black olive, blackberry pie and hints of sage. Drink 2016-2026- 92

2013 Sleight of Hand 'Archimage' Red Wine- Primarily composed of Cabernet Franc (56%) with the rest Merlot and Cabernet, this wine begins with aromas of red bell pepper, anise, creme de cassis and mocha. There are rich flavors of black cherry, green bell pepper, wild blackberry jam and hints of coffee grounds. Smooth and polished, this is lovely wine. Drink 2016-2026- 92

2013 Sleight of Hand 'The Illusionist' Cabernet- Primarily sourced from the Blue Mountain Vineyard, this deep hued wine begins with aromas of black cherry, black olive, creosote and creme de cassis. There are flavors of black cherry, black tea, mocha and black olive. Lithe and polished this is absolutely delicious wine. Drink 2016-2026- 93

2014 Sleight of Hand 'The Sorceress' Grenache- This was 75% whole cluster fermented and spent 16 months in mostly neutral oak (85%). The wine opens with sexy aromas of black cherry, blood orange, crushed stone and seaweed. The palate is lovely and lithe, having flavors of red cherry, Umami, seaweed, Mandarin orange rind and horse manure. The texture is gorgeous, as this impossible to resist wine shows its feminine side. Drink 2016-2028- 94

2014 Sleight of Hand 'Levitation' Syrah- This deep colored wine begins with aromas of black cherry, blackberry cobbler, mint and mocha accents. The palate is plush with flavors of blackberry pie, coffee grounds, black cherry and black tea. Deep and round, this wine needs a long decant before enjoying. Drink 2016-2028- 93

2014 Sleight of Hand 'The Psychedelic' Syrah- This wine starts with smoky aromas of smoked pork shoulder, tar, sage, blood orange and hints of Umami. There are flavors of Mandarin orange, Umami, black truffle and seaweed with red cherry accents. Lithe and polished, this will age beautifully. Only 350 cases made of this delicious wine. Drink 2016-2027- 94