November 4-6 was Fall Release Weekend in the Walla Walla Valley. This year, our focus was on wineries that are open for special events such as this one. Here's what we did that weekend. 

On Friday morning, November 4th, we went to the Reynvaan Family Vineyards at the end of Cottonwood Road in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. As usual, most of the family was on hand - Mike and Gale, winemaker son, Matt, and daughter Angela and numerous sisters and in-laws. We tasted samples of the 2015 vintage, to be released in 2018. It is a stellar vintage, with scores of 19.5 to 20/20 points. A preview report will be in the January 2017 issue of the Review of Washington Wines. 

In the afternoon, we went to Long Shadows to taste the newly released 2014 reds. They are among the best wines ever turned out by Long Shadows. Across the board, they were 19.5/20 points wines. Kudos to Gilles Nicault for coordinating the production of such stellar wines. Reviews will be in the December issue which goes on line November 23. Then we went to Woodward Canyon where we tasted the 2013 Estate Reserve Red and 2013 Charbonneau, to be reviewed in January. 

The next morning, Saturday the 5th, I went to Rasa Vineyards on Powerline Road. I tasted the outstanding 2013's - Plus One Cabernet Sauvignon, Creative Impulse Cabernet-Merlot, and In order to form a more perfect union BDX blend, all to be reviewed in January. In the afternoon, we stopped at Walla Walla Gourmet to sample the Proper 2014 Syrah from the "Rocks," a 19.5/20 points wine to be reviewed in January. Then we went to The Walls Vineyards where we tasted the newly released 2014's, Lip Stinger Grenache Blanc, Cheys Syrah, Gasparts Syrah, and The Ramparts GSM Red. They will be in the December issue. In the evening, we went to Corliss' annual open house where we sampled the 2011 Corliss Red (to be reviewed December) and upcoming vintages.

Watch for the December and January issues for full reviews!