On Friday I had the pleasure to taste the beautiful new releases at The Walls — one of Walla Walla’s great spot for a brilliant range of wines and hospitality. Former Microsoft executive, Mike Martin founded this Walla Walla house and also owns one of the best local restaurants, Passatempo Taverna. They have moved their production to a beautiful spot in downtown Walla Walla. This is a really great spot for hospitality with brilliant food and an awesome patio location just outside of downtown.
Back in 2020 Martin made a major purchase in acquiring the Rockgarden Vineyard from Nina Buty. The wines from this site are really exciting and stony. There is also a great new winemaking team that has joined The Walls. Executive Winemaker Sally Johnson Blum and Associate Winemaker Suzie Harryman were hired last year. Johnson Blum has a massive amount of experience, formerly being at St. Francis and Pride in Sonoma County. She also has served as winemaking consultant at Mullan Road under Dennis Cakebread. I really enjoyed tasting with Johnson Blum and learning more about her background and what she is going to bring to this program.
I love the unique new 2021 The Walls ‘Wonderful Nightmare’ (OB, 95) which is dense and chewy with serious tannin and aging potnetial. The best wine I tried and arguably the finest yet from The Walls is the incredible new 2021 ‘Curisitas’ Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 97) which has some really good cellaring potential. Soft, silky and refined, this is a gorgeous Cab. Learn more about these outstanding new wines at https://www.thewallsvineyards.com Here are the great new releases from The Walls.
2023 The Walls ‘Cruel Summer’ Rose- Fresh, lithe and neatly textured, the 2023 ‘Cruel Summer’ offers bright watermelon and orange zest water flavors that mingle well with copious minerals and stony accents on the palate. Enjoy now. Drink 2024-2028- 91
2022 The Walls ‘Martin’s Gold’ Chardonnay- The 2022 ‘Martin’s Gold’ was stored in mostly neutral oak puncheons before bottling. The wine opens with beautiful honeysuckle tones alongside pear and brioche. The palate is fresh and soft with good texture and sense of weight. Drink 2024-2032- 93
2021 The Walls ‘Mahana’ Red Wine- Mike Martin acquired the Rockgarden Vineyard back in 2020, as this wine coms from both the River Rock and Rockgarden sites in the Rocks AVA. Once on the nose this takes on layers of marionberry and wet stone alongside black currants and shades of black licorice. The palate is fresh and lithe considering the heat of the vintage. A beautiful melange of red and dark fruits combine with the stony character with charcuterie notes. Drink 2024-2032- 94
2021 The Walls ‘Wonderful Nightmare’ Red Wine- This Tempranillo has 25% Mourvèdre blended in. Inky in the glass, this offers beautiful stony character on the palate, alongside dark currants, wet stone and pipe tobacco notes with blackberry compote. Delicious and rich, enjoy over the next ten years to come. This is seriously good stuff. Drink 2024-2036- 95
2021 The Walls ‘Bellamy’ Red Wine- The 2021The Walls ‘Bellamy’ Red Wine combines 25% Merlot coming form the River Rock and Rockgarden Estate Vineyards. This is rich and refined on the mouth with serious weight and salty undercurrents. Wild blackberry and black tea notes dominate the palate. Drink 2024-2034- 94
2021 The Walls ‘Curiositas’ Red Wine- The stunningly good 2021 The Walls ‘Curiositas’ Red Wine has 5% Petit Verdot blended in. Coming from the Quintessence and Heart of the Hill Vineyards, this delivers heady dark fruits that combine with mocha, tar and allspice alongside creme de violette notes and tar. This is incredible stuff — for my palate the finest wine yet for The Walls. A must-taste! Drink 2024-2040- 97
2021 The Walls ‘French Creek Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2021 The Walls ‘French Creek Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a stunning new wine that comes from this old vine site planted back in the 1990s. The palate is refined and soft with good richness and loads of dark fruits that parade with black licorice and fresh sage. Drink 2024-2034- 94
2021 The Walls ‘Champoux Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The brilliant 2021 The Walls ‘Champoux Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon comes from this famed site in the Horse Heaven Hills. Sagebrush, lavender and creme de violette all mark the nose alongside anise and graphite. The palate is fresh and soft with a refined texture and great sense of weight. Finishing very long, this is dense, well-structured and generous wine that is built to age. Drink 2024-2038- 96
2021 The Walls ‘Rockgarden Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2021 ‘Rockgarden Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a dense, heady and inky bottling that offers loads of rich dark currants, tar and black tea notes on the palate, alongside pencil lead and dark chocolate notes. Fleshy and rich, with nice savory notes, this is a beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon that has a long way to go. Drink 2024-2034- 95