One of the legendary producers of Washington, Andrew Will is a family run venture that helped put Washington on the map for its age-worthy and compelling red blends. Founded by eminent winemaker Chris Camarda back in 1989, the winery was named his winery for nephew Andrew and son Will, who now serves as head winemaker. Andrew Will is located on Vashon Island not far from Seattle.
Chris started his winery by sourcing from two great vineyards in Washington, the Champoux and Ciel du Cheval Vineyards. Today they source all of their grapes from their Two Blondes Vineyard as well as those two historic vineyards. Will Carmada is relatively young in the winemaking game, but he has learned a great deal from his father. Intelligent and down to earth Will has an enormous ceiling as winemaker. More recently he landed one of his wines at Daniel NYC on glass pour which speaks to the quality of the wines and is a tremendous milestone for Washington State wines.
Will has crafted a beautiful entry level wine, the 2018 Involuntary Commitment Red Wine (WWB, 91) which is rich and layered, as well as downright awesome to enjoy in its youth but has another seven to ten years of life ahead of it. cellar well for at least another six years, picking up tertiary notes. The best wine I tried was the stunning 2015 Andrew Will ‘Two Blondes Vineyard’ Red Wine (WWB, 95) which was a hard vintage to make wines of this quality from with the major heat spikes and record early harvest. It is hard to find the complexity and mid-palate ripeness from any wine of this vintage. This wine is absolutely singing right now, and has the structure and richness to cellar well over the next fifteen plus years. Learn more about these stunning wines at http://www.andrewwill.com/home/ Here are the beautiful new release wines by Andrew Will.
2018 Involuntary Commitment Red Wine- A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot this shows seriously good blueberry compote, mocha and tar aromatics that take shape in the glass. The palate is fresh and deep, showing a rich core of dark fruits that mingle with coffee ground and milk chocolate tones. While a touch forward, I love the sense of decadence. Drink 2020-2027- 91
2015 Andrew Will ‘Champoux Vineyard’ Red Wine- The seriously good 2015 ‘Champoux Red Wine’ is another scintillating release from the talented Will Carmada. A blend of mostly Merlot (51%) with 32% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, this shows intense red and dark fruits with chocolate and sagebrush undertones on the nose. The palate is plush with a good sense of elegance and layers of red and dark fruits with Turkish coffee tones. The combination of freshness and weight is really good. Give this a long decant before enjoying. Drink 2020-2033- 93
2015 Andrew Will ‘Ciel du Cheval’ Red Wine- One of the famed sites in Washington, the Ciel du Cheval Vineyard is located in the Red Mountain AVA. A blend of mainly Merlot (63%) with 37% Cabernet Franc, this shows layers of blackberries and black currants that dance with suggestions of dark chocolate shavings and sagebrush that all take shape in the glass. The palate is soft, round and generous, showing gorgeous creme de cassis, mocha, tar and blackberry cobbler flavors, alongside a bright sense of minerality. This is seriously good considering the heat spikes incurred at this location in 2015. Simply put, the wine is downright awesome now and will evolve well for another ten to fifteen years. Drink 2020-2035- 94
2015 Andrew Will ‘Two Blondes Vineyard’ Red Wine- The 2015 ‘Two Blondes Vineyard’ Red Wine is a unique blend of equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (33%) with equal parts Cabernet Franc and Malbec (17%). The Turkish coffee and blueberry compote aromatics give this an exotic edge as sagebrush and damp earth undertones all entice. The palate is plush, delivering layers of black and blue fruits with espresso bean and shades of sandalwood and cloves all come together on the palate. Deep, layered and rich, with a sterling sense of minerality, the 2015 ‘Two Blondes Vineyard’ Red Wine is truly one of the best wines of this vintage. Drink 2020-2035- 95
2015 Andrew Will ‘Sorella’ Red Wine- Sourced from the famed ‘Champoux Vineyard’ in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, the ‘Sorella’ shows layers of dark fruits and creosote aromatics that mingle with coffee grounds and dark chocolate shavings that all take shape in the glass. The wine has good freshness with layers of blackberry cobbler and black currants with damp earth and sagebrush tones. The plush texture entices as light tannins and a long finish complete this beautiful bottling. Drink 2020-2035- 93