Changing the Game in Washington State Wine: WeatherEye Vineyards
Some of you may have seen our limited pre-arrival offering on these wines back in July. They have now arrived in stock, and the wines are just too good and the vineyard so monumental I thought the WeatherEye project deserved a broader audience. WeatherEye Vineyard, on the ridgeline of Red Mountain in Washington, is without doubt one of the most exciting vineyards anywhere in the United States: a site so radical, its implementation has been 15 years in the making! The planting consists of dozens of tiny individual blocks draped over the peak and north-facing aspect of the mountain in areas previously deemed inhospitable for vines because of the exceptionally rocky soils and constant wind exposure. Every block is intimately fine-tuned to the specific altitude, slope, exposure, soil composition, and unique qualities of the land. There are multiple types of vine trellising systems used in different blocks ranging from regular VSP (vertical shoot positioning), to head-trained blocks, en échalas (single stake), to vines planted as you might see in the Canary Islands off Africa’s northwest coast with individual rock walls built around each vine as a physical windbreak. Vine densities on the hillside range from 300 vines per acre to 4,000 per acre in the super-tight spaced meter-by-meter blocks. The incredibly rocky, volcanic soils, constant wind, elevation, and lengthy growing season give the wines immense concentration and structure. Even though the vines are relatively young, the intensity of the wines here is already formidable.
Another unique element of the WeatherEye Vineyard is that instead of clearing the land of native scrub before planting vines, existing local plants have been incorporated into the vineyard in an effort to capture a true sense of place in the wines, which includes the natural “sous bois” or garrigue-type elements one might find, for example, in the wines of the Rhône Valley. These wildflowers and plants are allowed to grow year round among the vines. Rabbitbrush, Wild Lupine, Sagebrush, various clovers, and many more break up the typical monoculture of a vineyard and are embraced as part of the terroir. They also support beneficial insects and soil biodiversity that all have positive impacts on vine health. Vineyard Manager/Viticulturist and WeatherEye founding partner, Ryan Johnson, has spent many years developing this project when many believed it was impossible. He had previously spent 15-years managing Ciel du Cheval Vineyard and Force Majeure Vineyard on Red Mountain and has used every bit of his knowledge and a good amount of creativity to make this ambitious planting what it is today.
The focus here is on Rhône varietals with Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre taking the lead in terms of red grapes; Roussanne, Marsanne, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, and Viognier providing the whites. However, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot are also planted, and they recently added an experimental block of Graciano. With 33 acres now under vine I wouldn’t be surprised to see this mix of varieties continue to grow. Even within the separate blocks, Ryan Johnson is quick to point out that they don’t have any monoclonal blocks; everything is planted to a mix of their favorite selections, further adding to the intricacies of farming but also the complexity of the final wines. Nothing at WeatherEye is done because it’s easy.
The WeatherEye Estate wines themselves are made by Todd Alexander, one of the state's most highly regarded and critically acclaimed winemakers. Before taking Washington State wines to new heights Todd’s resumé includes making the wines at cult Cabernet icon Bryant Family and Cade/Plumpjack in Napa Valley, as well as blue-chip Washington stars Force Majeure, Pášxa, and The Walls.
The buzz about WeatherEye is palpable throughout the wine business, and these are sure to become some of the most coveted wines in the region in short order. Noted wine writer Alder Yarrow visited WeatherEye and has written extensively about the project. He recently commented: “The greatest wines Washington State has ever produced will come from one of the most ambitious vineyard projects I have ever seen in the United States. [WeatherEye wines] are about to become some of the most sought-after wines made in Washington State, and perhaps the country.” Another renowned Washington wine critic, Sean Sullivan, formerly of Wine Enthusiast, now writing his own publication, comments: “In just the first two releases, the WeatherEye Vineyards estate wines are already at the extreme upper echelon of wines being produced in Washington State… and are some of the finest wines I have ever had from Washington. I would say that the sky is the limit for this producer, but they have already reached that.”
These wines are truly magical but miniscule in production—between 60 and 225 cases total for each bottling. And so, I’m delighted to share these with you and hope you will find them just as compelling and delicious as I do!
2020 WeatherEye "Estate" Red Mountain Mourvèdre $79.95 98WA 96JD
The WeatherEye Mourvèdre comes from a tiny block right on the ridge line of the mountain at 1300 ft. The block is less than one acre of head-trained vines. The aromas and flavors are captivating—the wine at once expresses huge intensity of deep, smoky dark fruit, but also lifted spiced red berries, crushed flowers, dried herbs, wild thyme, dusty earth. The combination of fruit and savory elements is just so compelling. The structure is pretty serious, but at the same time, the wine is very expressive and resolved. Every element of the wine is amped up and dynamic, but all in perfect balance. A category-defining wine.
2020 WeatherEye "Estate" Red Mountain Grenache $79.95 96WA 96IWR 94-96JD
WeatherEye's Grenache is super impressive, and I say that as a huge fan but a tough judge of Grenache! Grenache can easily produce rich, ripe, powerful, fruit-driven wines. However, finding one that can harness that powerful fruit expression while retaining aromatic freshness and balanced acidity can be more challenging. Add in Grenache's notorious lack of color and structure... making truly inspirational Grenache is no mean feat. Well, the team at WeatherEye absolutely nailed it here! The Grenache block that produced this wine is just a third of an acre! However, the vines are packed in at a super high density and trained using a goblet pruning method. Soil in this micro-block is very sandy with chunks of basalt throughout and very little organic matter. You can taste the struggle of the vines in the wine. Grenache is vigorous, and will throw a lot of crop on richer soils. The almost-barren soils here and high-density planting seem to have concentrated the vine's efforts into producing unbelievably flavorful fruit. Once again, even though WeatherEye is a relatively new estate, this is already a benchmark for the varietal in the U.S.
2020 WeatherEye "Estate" Red Mountain Syrah $79.95 97IWR 96JD 95+WA
The Syrah from WeatherEye is right up in the same realm as some of Washington's most famous and celebrated bottlings—wines like those from Christophe Baron at Cayuse, Horsepower, and Hors Catégorie. The magic of this wine, like all of the WeatherEye wines for me, is the combination of focused power, explosive varietal expression, and a very real sense of place—a savory terroir-driven aspect and a rocky mineral core. The 2020 Syrah has the classic hallmarks of the variety: lifted floral tones contrasted against saturated dark fruit, bramble, seared meat, cracked peppercorn, crushed rock, and a touch of scorched earth. Once again, a powerful structure provides ample framework for the wine, but it's not aggressively tannic or backward—despite its obvious aging potential you can (and I did) enjoy the wine right now! A wine that is set to shake up the upper echelons of Washington State Syrah.
2020 WeatherEye "Estate - Hillfighter" Red Mountain Proprietary Red $49.95 94-96JD 94IWR
If all of this intrigues you, but you're not ready to spring $79.95 for one of the varietal wines, then WeatherEye's "Hillfighter" Red Blend is a perfect introduction to the wines from this incredible vineyard. Each vintage the blend can vary; in the 2020 bottling the composition is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Grenache, 11% Merlot, 6% Tempranillo, and 4% Syrah. Sharing much of the intensity of the monovarietal wines, the Hillfighter Red combines rich, ripe, powerful red and black fruits with wild bramble elements, floral top notes, garrigue, hot stone, hints of leather and earth. Quite supple on the palate with plush mid-palate fruit and fine tannins. A stunning value and hugely satisfying wine.
