What an abundance of riches! L’Ecole Spring Releases include five appealing reds from the 2022 vintage, a consistently excellent 2024 Rosé, and the second vintage of their classic 2024 Sauvignon Blanc. Not surprisingly, the 2024 white and rosé are stellar, and somehow even better than previous vintages. Meanwhile, talented winemaker Marcus Rafanelli told us recently that the 2022 vintage in Washington is exceptional, and these L’Ecole reds demonstrate it.
- 2022 Merlot Estate, Walla Walla Valley
- 2022 Syrah, Estate Seven Hills Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
- 2022 Cabernet Franc / Merlot, Estate, Walla Walla Valley
- 2022 Malbec, Walla Walla Valley
- 2022 GSM, Estate Seven Hills Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
L’Ecole Spring Releases: 2024 Grenache Rosé, Alder Ridge Vineyard ($20)
L’Ecole’s 100% Grenache Rosé has consistently been a favorite – and we drink a lot of rosé! By the way, L’Ecole grows Grenache specifically to produce rosé. This vintage is the best one yet. Clean, crisp and a beautiful Provence-style rosé, we adored it. Scents of strawberries, raspberries, and watermelon lead into citrus, melon and berry flavors. We paired it with tasty spring rolls, but you could also serve it with shellfish, lean fish, spicy food or cheese boards. Year after year, we can only find one problem. It disappears very quickly!
2024 Frenchtown Sauvignon Blanc ($24)
As well, L’Ecole released the second vintage of its Frenchtown Sauvignon Blanc, with a balance of refreshing richness and crisp acidity, with 6% of Sémillon in the blend. Frenchtown honors Walla Walla’s first settlement, founded by French Canadians in the early 1800s. When L’Ecole discovered the popularity of the inaugural 2023 Frenchtown SB, the winery subsequently increased 2024 production to 2,625 cases from 350 cases. With intoxicating aromas and flavors of grapefruit, stone fruit, oranges and green apples, it’s a Sauv Blanc with substance and a silky texture that invites you to pour more, stat. We drank it on the deck with friends on a sunny afternoon and we certainly gave it a unanimous thumbs up. In fact, our friends liked it so much, they went right out and bought a couple of bottles.
L’Ecole Spring Releases: 2022 Merlot Estate, Walla Walla Valley ($42)
For this vintage, Marcus blended 85% Merlot with 15% Cabernet Franc in a 50-50 split from two acclaimed estate vineyards, Seven Hills and Ferguson. This sexy Merlot demonstrates why L’Ecole 41 is recognized as one of Washington state’s top producers of premium wine. Opulent aromas and flavors of red and dark fruits, dark chocolate, spices and espresso jump from the glass. The elegance and old-world structure of Seven Hills Vineyard adds complexity to the earthiness and minerality of Ferguson’s basalt soil. Outstanding!
2022 Syrah, Estate Seven Hills Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley ($42)
Getting ready to barbecue? Pick up a bottle of L’Ecole 2022 Syrah, Estate Seven Hills Vineyard. Sure, most people think about refreshing white wine during warm weather. And if you want to start your evening with a white, go for it. But once you fire up the grill, open this remarkable L’Ecole 100% Syrah. This single-vineyard Syrah combines “some of the earliest Walla Walla Syrah plantings with a new-world profile of bold, expressive fruit.” Like its predecessors, but even better, this Syrah is magical, featuring savory aromas, with earthiness, and bold, yet silky flavors of blackberries, black plums, dark cherries, espresso, olives, and spices. On the day we opened it, the weather did not cooperate for a BBQ. So instead, we paired it with spaghetti and meat sauce, and it was delicious.
2022 Cabernet Franc-Merlot, Estate, Walla Walla Valley ($45)
This smoldering Cabernet Franc-Merlot continues to be one special L’Ecole blend, with a 50-50 composition of each grape, made in a classic right-bank Bordeaux style. This standout wine is also a 50-50 blend of fruit from Estate Ferguson and Seven Hills Vineyards. Talk about symmetry! Cabernet Franc is one of our favorite wines, and when combined equally with Merlot, the taste is magnificent. Aromas of cherries and plums, along with herbs, chocolate and coffee, mirror the stunning palate. We paired this first-class blend with mouth-watering steaks this year, but in previous vintages, we discovered it also is fantastic with beef dip and grilled burgers. L’Ecole only produces this wine during exceptional vintages. All the more reason to order some bottles before it sells out.
L’Ecole Spring Releases: 2022 Malbec, Walla Walla Valley ($45)
We celebrated Malbec World Day on April 17 by opening this beauty, with grapes from two Estate Vineyards (34% Ferguson and 33% Seven Hills), and Pepper Bridge (33%). This means the soil is a combination of wind-blown loess, ice-age flood silts, and fractured basalt. Seven Hills brings silkiness, elegance and old-world structure to the Malbec, while Ferguson provides power and earthiness, and Pepper Bridge adds more big-iron minerality. Marcus told us, “Our goal for these single-varietal wines is always to let the fruit be the star and in 2022, Pepper Bridge, Seven Hills and Ferguson Malbec were all star-studded.” This Malbec features rich, dark fruit flavors, with hints of cocoa, pepper and spices. This is only the third vintage, following the 2007 and 2012. Similarly to those bottlings, this small-production (195 cases) release is “winery-exclusive” — in other words, it’s just available at the winery or their website.
2022 GSM, Estate Seven Hills Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley ($45)
This incredible red wine is a harmony of 50% Syrah and 25% each of Grenache and Mourvèdre. L’Ecole’s GSM bursts with pretty aromatics and textured flavors. Think red and dark fruits threaded with spice and peppery notes. Specifically, we found savory, peppery flavors from Syrah; red fruit and floral notes from Grenache; and more spicy, peppery notes from Mourvèdre. This approachable, versatile wine pairs with multiple dishes, especially hearty fare such as BBQ meats, grilled sausages, spaghetti, and stews. We shared it with friends and paired it with the deck on a spring afternoon. It’s selling quickly, so place your order soon.
Summary: L’Ecole Spring Releases
In conclusion, you can’t go wrong with any of these L’Ecole spring releases that we sampled. Each and every one of them is impressive. L’Ecole offers dozens of varieties in their portfolio. The full list is available at their website.
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Cheers!
Margot and Dave