In the spirt of Washington Wine Month we bring you a new winery out of Shoreline, Washington. I love discovering new winery projects and it is my great pleasure to introduce this limited production winery that was founded in 2013 by Kevin and Kathryn Mueller. stablished in 2013, our mission is simple: produce world-class wines. They source from some great sites in Eastern Washington and produce roughly 1,000 cases of Bordeaux and Rhone style wines each year. The wines are very reasonably priced when you consider what is in the bottle.
I have never tried these wines and was really excited about what they did in the warm 2018 vintage. Look to the 2018 Virtue Cellars ‘Sincerity’ Syrah (WWB, 91) which is plush and dense with delicious dark fruit and smoky tones. Just as good was the 2018 Virtue Cellars ‘Fortitude’ Red Wine (WWB, 91) which has a good veil of tension and excellent length. Learn more about these wines at https://www.virtuecellars.com Here are the great new releases by Virtue Cellars.
2018 Virtue Cellars ‘Unity’ Red Wine- A blend of 48% Syrah and 32% Mourvedre, with the remainder Grenache, the ‘Unity’ has a good sense of softness, as round, rather forward red fruits collide with minerals and smoky undertones. Enjoy this over the next five to seven years. Drink 2020-2025- 90
2018 Virtue Cellars ‘Sincerity’ Syrah- Sourced from the Wallula Gap Vineyard, this shows good ripeness and acidity with layers of boysenberry cordial and mocha tones that combine with baking spices and smoked meats on the palate. Well-balanced and showing a good sense of mouthfeel, this downright delicious new Syrah will cellar well over the next seven to ten years. Drink 2020-2027- 91
2018 Virtue Cellars ‘Charisma’ Cabernet Sauvignon- Sourced from the Olsen and Solaksen Vineyards, the ‘Charisma’ shows nice smoky and sagebrush tones with blackberry compote on the nose. The palate has good freshness with medium to full-bodied dark fruit, chocolate and pipe tobacco flavors, with light tannins rounding things out. Drink 2020-2027- 90
2018 Virtue Cellars ‘Fortitude’ Red Wine- A blend of mostly Merlot (48%) with smaller portions Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon, this shows chocolate covered cherry and espresso bean flavors with a good acidity and long finish. I can see this providing drinking enjoyment for another decade. Drink 2020-2028- 91