A relatively new Walla Walla winery founded by some very cool people, Brandon and Emma Kubrock, I recently had the chance to stop by their spacious tasting room and review their great new wines. I had already sampled their huge Syrah successes (Spring 2016) and was pretty impressed with their new white wine releases. The Kubrocks call on superstar winemaker Aryn Morell to do their winemaking. Aryn also serves as winemaker at Alleromb and crafts beautiful wines for Matthews and Tenor. Ardor sources from some of the best vineyards for Syrah in the state, including the Art Den Hoed Vineyard and the esteemed Stoney Vine Vineyard. His new releases from the hot 2015 vintage showed wonderful restraint and deep fruit flavors. The 2015 Ardor Cellars Rose (WWB, 90) was absolutely killer, showing a lovely range of red fruit flavors and aromatics. Learn more about Ardor at http://www.ardorcellars.com Here are the great new wines from Ardor Cellars.
2015 Ardor Cellars Picpoul/ Marsanne White Blend-The wine begins with aromatics of white peach, lychee, and poached pear. There are bright flavors of Gravenstein apple, macadamia nut and hints of lychee. Drink 2016-2020- 90
2015 Ardor Cellars Roussanne/Viognier White Blend- The wine opens with aromas of white peach, Pink Lady apple, oak and hints of nutmeg. There are flavors of white peach, lychee, Gala apple and cantaloupe. This has a lovely weight and texture. Drink 2016-2020- 91
2015 Ardor Cellars Rose- This wine is a blend of 80% Mourvedre and 20% Grenache. The wine begins with aromatics of watermelon, white peach, guava and red cherry. There are pretty flavors of red cherry, guava and watermelon with papaya suggestions. The texture of this wine is outstanding. Drink 2016-2019- 90
2014 Ardor Cellars 'Bouchey Vineyard' Mourvedre- Ardor Cellars have crafted another excellent Mourvèdre to add to their excellent portfolio. This wine opens with aromatics reminiscent of sagebrush, wet stone, blackberry, smoked pork shoulder and lavender. The palate yields dense flavors of blueberry pie, black olive, braised beef and crushed gravel. Seamless and velvety, this is hard to resist right now. Drink 2016-2026-93
2014 Ardor Cellars 'Lawrence Vineyard' Syrah- The 2014 Lawrence Vineyard Syrah from Ardor Cellars shows the richness of the great and warm vintage. The Lawrence Vineyard is located in the Royal Slope in the Frenchman Hills. This expressive Syrah opens with aromatics of anise, sagebrush, cassis and mocha with a leather accent. This has winemaker Aryn Morrell's signature mineral backbone throughout with flavors of black cherry, black olive and blueberry compote and a lovely, plush texture. A bit aggressive right now with its youth boasting 15.3% alcohol, and would be best to cellar this for another year or two. Drink 2017-2026- 93
2014 Ardor Cellars 'Quarternarium' Syrah- The Ardor Cellars 'Quaternarium' is another strong release from this estate. The wine has aromatics of roasted dates, blood orange, wild blackberry cobbler and smoked meats. This leads to flavors of black cherry, black raspberry, blackberry preserves and roasted figs with a graphite edge which coat the palate. It possesses a seamless texture, as the wine glides effortlessly through the mid-palate. Exceptional bottling from Ardor, which has the structure to cellar well into the next decade. Drink 2016-2026- 93
2014 Ardor Cellars 'Red Heaven Vineyard' Syrah- The 2014 Red Heaven Vineyard Syrah is another gorgeous release from Ardor Cellars, and winemaker Aryn Morrell. Located on the South Western edge of Red Mountain, the Red Heaven Vineyard has a diverse soil profile of three main soil types; Warden, Hezel and Taunton soils. As this begins to open it releases aromas of cassis, black raspberry with hints of forest floor and black truffle. There are flavors of blackberry jam, black raspberry, mocha and cedar that connect with the strong minerality. A touch hot at 16.2% alcohol, so this seductive Syrah is not for the weary. This is a fantastic bottling that has the structure to cellar for another decade. Drink 2016-2025- 92
2014 Ardor Cellars 'Art Den Hoed Vineyard' Syrah- The Art Den Hoed Vineyard spans 250 acres across the southern slope of the Rattlesnake Mountains, in the Yakima Valley AVA. First planted in 1978, the vineyard lies at 1,300 feet in elevation. This gorgeous bottling has aromas of blueberry, blackberry, black olive and wet rock. There are flavors of blueberry compote, red cherry, pomegranate seed and suggestions of mocha. The texture and mouthfeel is polished and generous. This is an esteemed and exquisite bottling by head winemaker Aryn Morrell, who brings his trademark minerality to this Syrah. Drink 2016-2026- 93
2014 Ardor Cellars 'Stoney Vine Vineyard' Syrah- Located in Walla Walla and first planted in 2007, vines from the Stoney Vine Vineyard are set on an ancient alluvial fan of river tumbled basalt cobblestones formed by the Walla Walla river. The stones in this vineyard can be quite massive. The wine begins with the prototypical Walla Walla rocks nose with crushed wet rock, red cherry, red raspberry and blackberry pie aromatics. In the glass flavors of blackberry, black cherry, anise, wet stone and graphite emerge, alongside wonderful minerality. This mineral driven Syrah is absolutely fantastic and is hard to put down right now. Drink 2017-2027- 94