{"id":1741,"date":"2014-09-23T10:48:38","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T17:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danthewineguy.com\/?p=1741"},"modified":"2014-09-28T10:54:32","modified_gmt":"2014-09-28T17:54:32","slug":"watermill-winery-a-standout-among-walla-walla-valley-appellation-wineries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=1741","title":{"rendered":"Watermill Winery a Standout Among Walla Walla Valley Appellation Wineries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mention the words \u201cWalla Walla Valley\u201d in a wine-related conversation and you\u2019re likely to receive a smile and a nod of approval. <\/p>\n

Wines produced from this Washington wine region have developed quite a reputation over the last several years. And with that recognition you can expect to pay higher prices \u2013 some of it warranted and some of it, perhaps, based on what I refer to as a \u201creputation surcharge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"null\"That\u2019s why it\u2019s so refreshing to taste and recommend wines from Watermill Winery<\/strong>. Not only are they absolutely stunning on every level, they\u2019re extremely well-priced, considering the source.<\/p>\n

The Walla Walla Valley Appellation straddles the Washington\/ Oregon border, and Watermill is located on the Oregon side in the town of Milton-Freewater, which is about 10 miles south of the city of Walla Walla.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s not uncommon for wineries in this area to charge $40 to $50 a bottle for red wines, nearly all of Watermill\u2019s current offerings are priced in the much more reasonable $20 to $35 price range. <\/p>\n

Winemaker Andrew Brown has done a masterful job with these wines. They\u2019re expressive, true to the varietal and an absolute pleasure to taste. Here are my tasting notes:<\/p>\n

2009 Estate Midnight Red<\/strong> (about $35) \u2013 This cabernet sauvignon-based Bordeaux blend includes four other red varietals sourced from McClellan Estate Vineyards (which is adjacent to Casey McClellan\u2019s Seven Hills Vineyard). Red and black currant aromas and flavors predominate, with a touch of black cherry and roasted coffee on the extreme finish. The first food pairing that came to mind: gamey meats such as elk or venison.<\/p>\n

2010 Merlot, Walla Walla Valley<\/strong> (about $24) \u2013 Dark plum, blackberry and rum raisin flavors lead off, followed by a lighter contrasting note of woodsy, sweet cedar and nuances of cocoa and vanilla bean on the finish. This wine opens big, and then shows beautiful finesse as each wonderfully complex layer reveals itself.<\/p>\n

\"null\"2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley<\/strong> (about $24) \u2013 This drop-dead gorgeous cabernet features inky, jet-black currant flavors that melt into a chocolaty mocha swirl with accents of baking spice. I challenge you to find a comparable cabernet from the Walla Walla Valley at this price point.<\/p>\n

2012 Viognier, Columbia Valley (about $16)<\/strong> \u2013 In addition to Walla Walla fruit, Brown uses 60-percent of his grapes from the Rattlesnake Hill Appellation\u2019s Elephant Mountain Vineyard for this elegant viognier. It carries the characteristics of its Northern Rhone cousins, roussanne and marsanne, with its nutty, almond-like flavor, clover aromatics, and pleasantly unctuous full-bodied texture. <\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find Watermill Winery wines locally at the Barkley Village Haggen and The Market at Birch Bay, and occasionally on the menu at Dirty Dan Harris and LaFiamma restaurants. They can also be purchased on line at watermillwinery.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mention the words \u201cWalla Walla Valley\u201d in a wine-related conversation and you\u2019re likely to receive a smile and a nod of approval. Wines produced from this Washington wine region have developed quite a reputation over the last several years. And with that recognition you can expect to pay higher prices \u2013 some of it warranted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-washington-wines","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1741"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1746,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions\/1746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}