A winery that keeps trending upwards, Rocky Pond is one of the excellent producers in the Chelan region. They have now formed their own AVA, Rocky Reach, as their estate vineyards are planted on very stony soils, in close proximity to the river. One of the great moves they made was hiring former Quileceda Creek GM John Ware to their team. Ware was a large part of Quilceda Creek becoming one of the prominent houses of the Pacific Northwest.
A few years back I had a great visit to their Double D Vineyard, which is lined with massive rocks that were taken from their site. Rocky Pond owner David Dufenhorst has huge ambitions with this site and has hired Steve Levesque to serve as consulting winemaker. For years Levesque made world class Cabernet Sauvignon at HALL. Rocky Pond has recently hired the former assistant winemaker at HALL, Elizabeth Keyser. At HALL she made wines for their three brands (HALL, Walt, and Baca) and also formerly worked for Cliff Lede in Yountville, and A to Z Wineworks in Oregon. I am very excited to see Keyser’s deft touch on the wines moving forward.
The new Rocky Pond wines were good across the board. I really enjoyed the 2021 Rocky Pond ‘Tumbled Granite’ White Wine (OB, 91) which is fresh and nicely textured stuff that shows excellent flavor range. I really enjoyed the 2020 Rocky Pond ‘Statastone’ Red Wine (OB, 91) which is dense and rich, with a nice red fruit profile. Learn more about this winery at https://rockypondwinery.com Here are the new release wines by Rocky Pond.
2021 Rocky Pond ‘Tumbled Granite’ White Wine- Mostly Viognier (71%) with the remainder Roussanne, this offers ripe peach with kiwi and green papaya on the palate. The soft texture really entices, as this is best consumed now and over the next five years. Drink 2022-2027- 91
2020 Rocky Pond ‘Tumbled Granite’ Red Wine- A blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) with the remainder Syrah and Merlot, this offers ripe dark currant flavors with tobacco leaf, blackberry compote and black cherries on the palate. Very ripe, enjoy now and over the next five to seven years. Drink 2022-2028- 91
2020 Rocky Pond ‘Stratastone’ Red Wine- The 2020 ‘Stratastone’ combines Grenache (46%) with smaller portions Mourvèdre and Syrah. Very juicy with a soft texture and nice purity of red fruits with smoky and stony undertones, this is excellent wine to consume now and over the next five to seven years. Drink 2022-2028- 91
2020 Rocky Pond ’11 Dams’ Red Wine- Mostly Merlot (54%) this reveals ripe kirsch notes alongside cocoa powder and light underlying finesse on the palate. This is a touch out of balance. Enjoy now. Drink 2022-2028- 89
2020 Rocky Pond ‘Double D Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2020 Rocky Pond ‘Double D Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon shows off heady dark fruit with sweet pipe tobacco flavors on the palate. Enjoy now. Drink 2022-2027- 90