Les Collines Vineyard

Les Collines is a relatively large vineyard (by Walla Walla standards at least) developed around the turn of the 21st century, and has a strong reputation as a source for quality fruit. I started working with Les Collines in 2020, and my first two vintages from this site have been strong. The first thing that made me want to work with Les Collines is that it has some of the same underlying hydrology and capacity for acid retention as Breezy Slope vineyard (two miles to the east), though not to quite the same exaggerated degree. There are also mature plantings of Semillon (block 51, 1285 feet altitude) and Zinfandel (block 10, 1180 feet altitude) that were available to me at the scale of my operation. The Semillon has appeared in the 2020 Amber Wine, and the Zinfandel is a component of both the 2020 and 2021 Red Wines, cofermented with Breezy Slope Pinot Noir picked on the same day. On the strength of these wines, I have contracted additional fruit in 2022.

The Semillon has a lot to offer during a longer maceration, and the the farming style at Les Collines so far seems to support my goal of working with higher acid, lower sugar fruit. I’m also a huge fan of Zinfandel from old vines in California (though admittedly I tend to like more restrained examples). I’m not going to try to replicate those wines using Walla Walla fruit, but I am excited to explore the flavors of Zinfandel in our region. Zinfandel has some distinctive characteristic flavors, but as the range of single-vineyard bottlings from producers in California proves, Zinfandel should stand along side Pinot Noir and Syrah as a grape variety that can powerfully express differences in underlying terroir.