Winemaker Notes
Beautiful, vibrant, bright, and energetic. Impresses immediately with wild strawberry, black cherry, and red plum followed by incredible floral notes of white flowers, violets, and lavender, rushing forward into orange peel, black pepper, and crushed rock. Elegant yet resourceful, bold, and brilliant. Blackberry, clove, curedmeats, and sea breeze. Both wonderful and intriguing.
Blend: 47% Mourvédre; 26% Grenache; 13% Counoise; 5% Syrah; 3%
Cinsault; 3% Grenache Blanc; 3% Picpoul (co-fermented)
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A floral nose of roses and violets with sliced strawberries, fresh red cherries, ground pepper and crushed herbs. Medium-bodied with gentle, silky tannins. Fresh and bright, but turns more savory and complex as the palate goes on. Sage and tarragon mix with ground white and black peppercorn. Drink or hold.
-
Wine Spectator
The translucent ruby-hued 2019 Charlotte is another rocking wine in the lineup. Based on 47% Mourvèdre, 26% Grenache, and the rest a mix of red and white varieties, it reveals spicy, complex notes of cherry, ripe strawberries, leather, sandalwood, and white pepper, followed by a medium to full-bodied, supple, elegant, seamless wine. Very pretty, pure and polished, with fine tannins, this silky beauty is balanced and delicious.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.