It my pleasure to share one of the great wineries of Washington on Red Mountain, Upchurch Vineyard. I think this is one of the most beautiful locations in the Pacific Northwest, with sweeping views of the Columbia Valley. Chris Upchurch is a legendary winemaker, having crafted an incredible range of wines for DeLille Cellars before starting his first outpost more than a decade ago.
For years Upchurch made some of the finest Bordeaux style white wines in Washington State and he has continued that trend with his own brand. I love the new 2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Southwest Facing’ Sauvignon Blanc (OB, 94) which is rich and viscous, with great tension and texture. I was absolutely blown away with their finest wine, the 2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Hero Twins’ Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 99) which flirts with perfection and is a world-class wine that will cellar well over 20 years. Learn more about this fantastic winery at https://upchurchvineyard.com Here are the beautiful new wines by Upchurch Vineyard.
2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Southwest Facing’ Sauvignon Blanc- Sourced from the Boushey Vineyard this 2022 Sauvignon Blanc offers honeysuckle and white peach on the nose with pink grapefruit blossom. The palate offers great richness and grip from the underlying finesse. Showing great length, this is gorgeous stuff that is drinking marvelously now. Drink 2025-2035- 94
2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Candy Mountain’ Merlot- The 2022 ‘Candy Mountain’ comes from this site set on clay soils. Inky in the glass, this offers dark currants alongside milk chocolate and shades of tobacco leaf and creosote notes. The palate is deep and viscous with serious tension and richness, showing salty nuances. Drink 2025-2040- 94
2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Counterpart’ Red Wine- 2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Counterpart’ is all Merlot from the Upchurch Estate Vineyard on Red Mountain. The nose is gorgeous with exotic spices and tar notes that combine with figs and shades of espresso grounds. The palate is big and broad-shouldered with serious verve, richness and underlying tension. Beautifully structured, brimming with acidity, enjoy now and over the next ten to fifteen years. Drink 2025-2040- 95
2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Quintessence Block 51’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Quintessence Block 51’ Cabernet Sauvignon comes from this the furthest east block on this site in Red Mountain. Inky in the glass this offers scorched earth and loamy soils with tobacco leaf and dark chocolate shavings. The palate is beautifully concentrated and well-structured with serious depth and flavor density. Drink 2025-2040- 95
2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Heart of The Hill Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- This comes from the esteemed Heart of The Hill Vineyard. The wine shows beautiful tension and refined tannins that combine with shades of creosote, anise, dark currant cordial and shades of creme de violette. Complex and delicious, showing beautiful flavor density, this is showing some serious potential and could easily be a 20 year wine. Drink 2025-2042- 95
2022 Upchurch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2022 Upchurch Vineyard is is all Cabernet Sauvignon, clonal selections 191 and 8 coming from this site planted back in 2007. Black florals mark the nose alongside milk chocolate and espresso bean notes. The palate is plush and rich with serious viscosity and tension. Refined and generous, with broad shoulders, refined tannins and shades of anise seed, with scorched earth accents, this is drinking beautifully right now. Drink 2025-2045- 97
2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Hero Twins’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2022 Upchurch Vineyard ‘Hero Twins’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a barrel-select wine that is very inky in the glass. This is pillowy, soft and concentrated stuff that is nothing short of world-class. This gets better and better with more air, showing a gorgeous array of huckleberry, scorched earth, blueberry compote, espresso grounds and refined tannins on the palate. With glorious length and weight, alongside bright underlying acidity, this flirts with perfection from this slightly cooler vintage. Try to give this beauty another year in the bottle. There is little doubt this will be exceedingly long-aged. Drink 2026-2049- 99