As our summer turns up the heat, I wanted to share one of the outstanding boutique wineries in Walla Walla, now complete their their own tasting room in the airport district of Walla Walla. Keith Johnson of Sleight of Hand fame started his own project winery a few years back by utilizing a great fruit source, the ‘French Creek Vineyard.’ This is a south-facing site that has some relatively old vines and is planted to a range of varietals, from Chardonnay to high density plantings of Rhone red grapes such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. Set on silt loam soils, the site is located high atop the Yakima River and lies at the edge of canyon allowing for great air drainage especially during spring frosts.
Before we tasted the red wines, we ran through his lineup of Devium sparkling wines which is a Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs from the famed Cello Vineyard. These wines were spectacular and will be released later. The wine has a silky mousse and a wonderful sense of tension. This is highly fresh Chardonnay sparkling wine that are going to age brilliantly.
As for the vertical I saw a common vein of salty soils and great terroir in each of the wines. he ‘French Creek Vineyard’ Red Wines all really impressed. Their 2015 wine was really impressive and is showing brilliantly even with the heat spikes that occurred which made it more difficult to construct wines with freshness, good flavor density and flavor range. The 2018 Devim Red Wine was really young and fresh but had such a vibrant sense of acidity. More evolved was the beautiful 2017 Devium Red Wine which weighs in at less than 13% alcohol and shows really good flavor and aromatic range, almost Burgundian in the wine’s approach with its incredible finesse and construction. Keith has asked me not to score these wines but for my palate, each oft these showed beautifully. Learn more at deviumwine.com Here are my tasting notes from a glorious vertical tasting.
2015 Devium ‘French Creek Vineyard’ Red Wine- The wine is nearly all Mourvedre (90%) with a touch of Syrah and Grenache Blanc. Stony accents come together with red cherry preserves, hoisin sauce and charcuterie. This is delicious wine that is truly unique. This shows good flavor density and range considering the heat of the vintage.
2016 Devium ‘French Creek Vineyard’ Red Wine-The 2016 blends 76% Mourvedre with the remainder Syrah and a touch of Grenache Blanc. The wine comes off quite peppercorn driven with a heavy dose of white pepper. The wine is considerably more youthful than the 2015, showing great verve. Layers of wild blackberry and smoked brisket combine with orange rind
2017 Devium ‘French Creek Vineyard’ Red Wine- 81% Mourvedre with 18% Syrah and a smash of Grenache Blanc, the wine weighs in at only 12.7% alcohol. This was picked extremely late. Peppered bacon falls on the nose with violets, orange blossom and pretty red fruits. The palate is soft and fresh, highly linear. Layers of huckleberry with green olives combine with salted Parma ham, giving this a very savory edge.
2018 Devium ‘French Creek Vineyard’ Red Wine- The 2018 ‘French Creek Vineyard’ Red Wine is a beautiful, finesse-driven wine. The palate is very saline-driven with a savory edge. Black olive tapenade and salted meats combine with a great core of dark fruits. This is just an infant.
2019 Devium ‘French Creek Vineyard’ Red Wine- The 2019 Devium ‘French Creek Vineyard’ blends 70%Mourvedre with 28% Syrah and a dollop of Grenache Blanc. The flavor range here is outstanding from black fruits to Parma ham, black olives and shades of smoky, smoldering stones.