We recently went back to Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley to spend an incredible afternoon with Mike and Jonathan Sauer. Mike is Washington state wine royalty. He and his wife Karen established the vineyard in the early 1970s, with his first planting of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1973. Mike also planted the first Syrah in Washington state in 1986. His son Jonathan is carrying on the family tradition. This includes their clone program, which Mike started in 2005 with the late great Master of Wine David Lake. We sat down with Mike and Jonathan on our trip through parts of Washington wine country earlier this summer. As always, it was a fun, educational day!
Red Willow Vineyard Story
Red Willow Vineyard’s chapel is one of the most recognizable and photographed spots in Washington wine country. Located on top of a steep hillside, this chapel is made of stones from the vineyard. And it provides a place to rest and reflect. The chapel also gives a strong identity to the vineyard.
The Sauers completed the chapel in 1997, 24 years after the initial Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted. Red Willow is part of a fourth-generation family farm established by Clyde Stephenson in the early 1920s.
Fifty years later, Mike Sauer married Karen Stephenson and they began the vineyard. Mike speaks passionately about the vineyard history and how the repeated Lake Missoula floods at the end of the ice age affected land in the Yakima Valley. The area that became his peninsula vineyard, with its high elevation, was above the water level and not affected by the water-deposited silt and sand like much of the valley floor.
By the time the first wine grapes were planted in 1973 at Red Willow Vineyard, the lasting lesson learned was “wine grapes do best on poor soil and vines love the hillsides.” The vineyard’s success, where those 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon vines are still in production, demonstrates that.
The Grapes
In the early 1970s, Mike started experimenting with growing different grape varieties. He worked with Washington wine pioneers Dr. Walter Clore and Master of Wine David Lake, who became a dear friend. Clore is the acknowledged “Father” of Washington wine.
A decade after those 1973 Cabernet vines were in the ground, the Sauers planted Washington’s first Syrah in the mid-1980s. (As well, they planted some of the region’s earliest vines of Nebbiolo, Tempranillo, Viognier, Barbera, Malbec, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc.) These historic Syrah vines are marked with roses in the vineyard to this day.
As the story goes, after these Syrah vines were planted, the crew had a party to celebrate. David Lake opened bottles of French Syrah (Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie) from the northern Rhône Valley where Syrah originated. Then Mike and David dug a hole and buried the bottles to let the vines know about their predecessors. Those bottles are still there.
When Mike and Jonathan showed us the vineyard, we saw old vines, like the Syrah above, and newer plantings. For example, Prohibition Cellars now has a Tannat row, along with their Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
On Prohibition Cellars Instagram: “This varietal is both an experiment for us and Red Willow Vineyard as this is the first time for both of us working with this varietal. We will be aging this wine in both Hungarian and French oak and are excited to see how the oak barrel aging in both will soften up the tannins.”
Mike and Jonathan also planted new vines of Sauvignon Blanc, as different white wines become more prominent in Washington state. In addition, they decided to grow more Viognier for co-fermenting with Syrah.
Red Willow Wines
Currently, Red Willow Vineyard supplies fruit to about 30 wineries in Washington and Oregon, including Avennia, Betz, DeLille, Efeste, Eight Bells, Gramercy, Kobayashi, Lady Hill, Mark Ryan, Owen Roe and Prohibition Cellars.
During our visit, Mike and Jonathan opened three wines made from their fruit: the inaugural vintage of DeLille Cellars Red Willow Vineyard Chardonnay 2022; Betz Family Winery La Côte Patriarche Syrah 2017; and Eight Bells Winery 8 Clones Syrah 2017.
DeLille Cellars Red Willow Vineyard Chardonnay 2022
Mike told us this inaugural vintage of DeLille’s 100% Chardonnay from Red Willow comprises six clones for more complexity. This beautiful white wine features aromas of lemons, oranges, tropical fruit and pears, which echo the palate, along with salinity and bright acidity. This wine is delicious now, but because of its elegant balance, you can enjoy it for a few more years. We applaud DeLille winemaker extraordinaire Jason Gorski, who recently received a well-deserved promotion to Vice President of Winemaking. This is his second 2022 Red Willow wine that captured our attention. Last year, we tasted and loved a “futures” sample of his impressive 2022 Red Willow Syrah from the vineyard’s block of that initial planting of Syrah in Washington state.
Betz La Côte Patriarche Syrah 2017 and Eight Bells 8 Clones Syrah 2017
Next, Mike and Jonathan poured two 2017 Syrahs, with Red Willow as the common fingerprint of these two outstanding and very different red wines.
Eight Bells 8 Clones Syrah 2017 blends eight clones of Syrah, with a smidge of Viognier and Grenache. Mike called it a sleek Syrah, not a big one. Aromas of coffee, plums, blueberries and raspberries lead into flavors of more berries, minerality and black pepper. What a standout wine.
Betz La Côte Patriarche 2017 is a tip of the hat to Mike and David Lake, “the visionaries, who planted Washington’s first Syrah at Red Willow Vineyard in 1986.” La Côte Patriarche comprises grapes from that original 1986 planting. With seven years on it, this is a big Syrah, with aromas of wet stones, blackberries, coffee, black pepper and olives, followed by dense savory flavors of coffee, cassis, smoked meat and more blackberries. Excellent.
Summary
Red Willow Vineyard is the furthest western vineyard within the Yakima Valley AVA. We’ve visited the Sauers there on several occasions, and each time is special to us.
Thanks to Mike and Jonathan, our experience was both educational and enjoyable. We really appreciate the hospitality shown by them. And of course, we plan on experiencing many more wines sourced from Red Willow Vineyard in the future.
Meanwhile, find us here at Write for Wine, Instagram and Facebook.
Cheers!
Margot and Dave