Yesterday, July 7th, we drove over to Red Mountain to check on what's new there. We had appointments lined up at Avennia, Fidelitas and Frichette. Here's what we did.

Our first stop was at Avennia's new tasting room at the end of Sunset Road. Early last year the Avennia Winery in Woodinville acquired the Tapteil Vineyard from Larry and Jane Pearson. The property included the Tapteil Winery tasting room and Avennia turned it into its Red Mountain tasting room. It was remodeled into a modern, spacious facility, mirroring Avennia's one in Woodinville. With Eli Traverse, we tasted a beautiful 2021 "L'Egerie" Rosé, produced from 75% Grenache and 25% Mourvèdre. The 2020 "La Perle" 65% Roussanne, 35% Marsanne also was delicious as well as the 2029 "Justine" GSM Red: 62% Grenache, 23% Mourvèdre and 15% Syrah. For the "BDX" blends, the 2019 Valery Merlot/Cab Franc, 2019 Sestina and 2018 Red Willow Cabernet Sauvignon were outstanding. 

Then we went back down Sunset Road to Fidelitas where we tasted some 2019 reds along with charcuterie. We got a preview of the Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and two single block clonal Cabernets and a Merlot to be released in Fall. The recently released 2019 Malbec and 2019 Optu BDX Red were knockouts. The 2021 Artz Vineyard Semillon is an outstanding example of what can be done with this underrated variety on Red Mountain. 

Our last stop was at Greg and Shae Frichette's winery near the beginning of Sunset Road. There, the lineup included another outstanding  2021 Artz Semillon and a striking 2021 Merlot "Sashay Rosé." A bevy of 2019 reds were tasted, including a tasty Malbec, Cabernets and a powerful Sashay Syrah and an elegant Reserve BDX blend from the Scooteney Flats Vineyard across the road from Frichette.

Then we drove back home to Walla Walla. Full reviews of the wines will be in the August issue of the Review of Washington which will go on line July 25.