As we near the closing of another epic Washington Wine Month, we bring to you a great Washington winery that needs little introduction. Figgins Estate is devoted to one vineyard which was largely planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Spearheaded by eminent Washington vintner, Chris Figgins, Figgins Estate makes only two wines each year, a Riesling and a Red Blend. The vineyard is set against the Blue Mountains and is set in the far east corner of the Walla Walla Valley at 1750 feet. It is not surprising that this vineyard receives massive diurnal shifts. Starting with the inaugural 2008 vintage, the quality of the wines has seemingly improved with each vintage.
Last year’s epic 2013 Figgins Estate Red Wine landed itself on our 2016 Washington Wine Blog Top 100. This new release, the 2014 Figgins Family Estate Red Wine (WWB, 95, slated for Fall 2017) is a massive wine that needs a few more years in the bottle to settle. For me it took more than three hours in the decanter to fully dance. This dazzling effort shows impressive minerality alongside dense dark fruits. This wine is quite simply unlike anything I have tried this year from Walla Walla. Learn more about this outstanding winery at http://www.figginswine.com Here are the outstanding new wines to be released Fall 2017 by Figgins Estate.
2016 Figgins Estate Riesling- Weighing in at 12.1% residual sugar, this excellent Riesling begins with aromatics of white peach, beeswax, pink grapefruit and honey. This leads to bright flavors of Gravenstein apple, pink grapefruit, lemon oil, white flowers and unripe pear. This has lovely acidity and weight. Drink 2017-2026- 93
2014 Figgins Estate Red Wine- The Figgins Estate Vineyard is located on a south slope where Mill Creek enters the Walla Walla Valley. Known for major diurnal shifts, the Figgins Estate Vineyard is set with the Blue Mountains in the background. The 2014 Figgins ‘Red Wine’ is a blockbuster wine that needs a ton of time in the decanter to settle. This great red wine was aged for 22 months in French oak (61% new) prior to bottling. Following a more than three hour decant the wine slowly unveils black olive tapenade, smoke, cigar box and creme de cassis aromatics. The mouthfeel is ripe, showing intense black cherry cough syrup, boysenberry pie, mocha, graphite and creme de cassis flavors. Not for the weary, the extremely long and memorable finish accentuates this heavyhitter of a wine. Try to avoid this decadent bottling for at least two years. This is just a stunning effort by superstar winemaker Chris Figgins. Drink 2019-2035- 95