It was a bustling winter afternoon in Woodinville. I opened the door to Kevin White Winery and a lively holiday crowd had gathered for their winter wine club party. My friend, Tan Vinh, and I thoroughly enjoyed tasting through the new releases — and savored some of their really good library wines from the 2015 vintage. Kevin White Winery was founded twelve years ago back in 2010. Inspired by the wines of the Rhone Valley, Kevin sought to learn more and more about wine, taking classes in chemistry, microbiology and enology. Kevin started making his wines at nearby Baer before opening his tasting room in the warehouse district of Woodinville.
Taking with Kevin, he was very bullish on his wines from the 2019 and 2020 vintages — years that were relatively hard for winemakers to navigate due to the freeze of 2019 and smoke conditions of 2020. I have little doubt that Kevin has commanded these conditions really well. His wines show good finesse and a seamless quality from beginning to end. I love the new 2021 Kevin White ‘Memoire’ White Wine (OB, 92) which shows great underlying finesse with plenty of richness. Even better is the sensational 2020 Kevin White ‘Pionnier’ Grenache (OB, 94) which has outstanding range and deftly depicts the sheer beauty of Boushey Vineyard Grenache. Learn more about these outstanding wines at https://www.kevinwhitewinery.com Here are the great new wines by Kevin White.
2021 Kevin White ‘Memoire’ White Wine- A southern Rhone-inspired blend of Roussanne (85%) and Grenache Blanc (15%) from the Boushey and Olsen Vineyards, this is fresh and marvelously textured, with a serious underlying stony minerality. Ripe cantaloupe and Japanese pear flavors collide with lighter flinty and citrus rind undertones. Enjoy now and over the next eight years. Drink 2022-2030- 92
2020 Kevin White ‘Pionnier Boushey Vineyard’ Red Wine- The 2020 ‘Pioneer’ blends 85% Grenache with 15% Mourvedre which was all sourced from the Boushey Vineyard. Translucent in the glass, this offers really good range on the nose. Smoked meats collide with white pepper dusted red fruits, kumquat zest and suggestions of Earl Grey tea. The palate is rich and concentrated, drinking very seamless and plump on the mouth. Very pure in its red fruit character, this is absolutely delicious wine to consume now and over the next seven years. Drink 2022-2029- 94
2019 Kevin White ‘Les Terrasses Weathereye Vineyard’ Grenache- Extremely translucent and very Pinotesque once in the glass, the 2019 ‘Les Terrasses’ Grenche comes from the high elevation northern slopes on Red Mountain which is managed by Ryan Johnson. Flinty and fresh once on the mouth, this delivers a gorgeous range of red fruit flavors, with yarrow, sagebrush and white pepper dusted bacon flavors on the palate. Generous and showing good verve, enjoy now and over the next eight to ten years. Drink 2022-2030- 94
2020 Kevin White ‘La Fraternite’ Red Wine- Entirely coming from the Yakima Valley, the 2020 ‘La Fraternite’ blends mostly Grenache (62%) with smaller parts Mourvèdre and Syrah. Garrigue notes collide with red raspberry coulis, black peppercorns and suggestions of roasted lamb. The palate is soft and very plush, showing no rough edges. Forward and juicy in its red fruit profile, enjoy now and over the next eight plus years. Drink 2022-2030- 93
2020 Kevin White ‘La Paysanne’ Mourvedre- The 2020 ‘La Paysanne’ is a 100% Mourvèdre bottling from the Boushey, Olsen, and Sugarloaf Vineyards. Smoked brisket and green peppercorns mingle well with Moroccan spices and suggestions of black tea on the nose. The palate is ripe and juicy with a wonderful purity of red and dark fruits. Very seamless and elegant, enjoy this very Washington vs. Beaucastel wine now and over the next eight plus years. Drink 2022-2030- 94
2019 Kevin White ‘L’Odyssee’ Red WIne- The 2019 ‘L’Odyssee’ Red Wine is a Right Bank-inspired wine that combines Red Willow and Boushey Vineyard Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Very linear and balanced on the palate, this displays baking spice dusted red fruits with tobacco leaf, blackberry cobbler and coffee ground accents. Drink 2022-2032- 92
2019 Kevin White ‘Heritage DuBrul Vineyard’ Red Wine- Roughly 57% Merlot with the reminder Cabernet Sauvignon from the famed DuBrul Vineyard, the 2019 ‘Heritage’ offers beautiful aromatic range once in the glass. Red raspberry and freshly tilled soils combine with dried herbs, and stony undertones on the nose. The palate is plush and nicely concentrated with good underlying verve. Finishing long with black fruits and minerals, this is seriously good stuff to consume now and over the next fifteen years. Drink 2022-2037- 94