Buty Winery 2014 Sèmillon-Sauvignon-Muscadelle, Columbia Valley, $25

Walla Walla vintner Nina Buty continues to gain an audience for her expression of white Bordeaux that 10 years ago may not have been widely appreciated in our corner of the New World. And she doesn’t stray far from the winning formula of Sèmillon (60%) from historic Rosebud Ranch and Boushey Vineyard with Sauvignon Blanc (22%) and Muscadelle off Lonesome Spring Ranch. Why mess with success? Complex winemaking by Chris Dowsett involved aging in both neutral oak and concrete with 60 percent of the lot going through malolactic fermentation. (The absence of cold stabilization means if the bottle is overly chilled, tartaric crystals may drop out.) It leads to lemony aromas with Asian pear, Gala apple, jasmine and white pepper, followed by plush flavors of that same white fleshy orchard fruit. Pleasing peach pit bitterness merely adds to its depth. Food applications range from virtually anything pulled from the Salish Sea to lighter dishes involving asparagus or pesto. Thankfully, Buty has increased production by nearly 40 percent from the prior vintage.

Rating: Excellent

Production: 1,130 cases

Alcohol: 13.7%

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