Best Buy! Victor Palencia, already a veteran of the Washington wine industry, deserves a spot on someone’s 30-under-30 list of North American winemakers both in terms of quantity and quality. There’s his work on a massive scale for Columbia River’s Edge Winery in Mattawa, and then there’s the recent launch of his Palencia Wine Co., in Walla Walla’s incubator complex. This bottling from Frenchman Hills Vineyard is part of his second tier, a tribute to the butterfly of his birthplace in Michoacán, Mexico, and this Pinot Gris is dazzling. It opens with tropical aromas of citrus and cardamom along with apricot, cotton candy, rose petal and spearmint. It’s a fun drink that’s loaded with white peach, tangerine and sweet herbs. While a bit off-dry on the entry, (0.7% residual sugar), there’s a bit of oilyness on the midpalate as well as pink grapefruit pith and anise to balance that sweetness. One could enjoy this all day long, especially with grilled fish or green salads. These wines are available in the Tri-Cities at Mid Columbia Wine & Spirits and Yoke’s Fresh Markets, as well as the Walla Walla winery.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 102 cases
Alcohol: 12.3%
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