The 2019 harvest marked the 10th anniversary of the first commercial vintage for proprietor Jim O’Connell’s first vineyard, which frames his inaugural tasting room south of downtown Walla Walla. And while winemaker Ryan Raber has three estate vineyards in the portfolio and Syran is represented at each site, Whistling Hills is the only source for his Viognier. Sweet aromatic scents of fresh peach include apricot and honeysuckle blossoms from the Roussanne (22%). Zesty citrus on the entry picks up marzipan at the midpalate and and a light toast in the finish, making it an ideal pairing for a tropical fruit salad laced with fresh basil or a baguette joined by chèvre. Last fall, this earned a gold medal at the 2020 Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition, a judging staged on behalf of some of the Northwest’s leading wine buyers, merchants, sommeliers and writers at the Columbia Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Ore.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 200 cases
Alcohol: 13.1%
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