A southern French-insiperd blend from one of our favorite Washington estates.

Deep straw on the pour, the nose is rich with notes of golden honey accented by pears and apples. The entry is excellently weighted with medium-to-medium+ acidity uplifting lemon and beeswax with excellent minerality, piquing with spice as you move to a finish of fresh butter, toasty barrel influence, and delicate hints of warm, spiced caramel umami. Rich and exciting, this wine shows itself to be the perfect middle ground between solo sipper and an excellent, versatile food pairing option.

The Walla Walla Valley is home to about a hundred wineries and produces some seriously good wines that are fetching increasingly high praise from critics and casuals alike. Known not only for superb Cabs, Syrahs, and Merlots, the Walla Walla Valley (and Washington as a whole) is a bastion of the world’s more obscure grape growths in New World expressions. Today’s release is a perfect embodiment of that grape growing culture.

Lot 741 comes to us from an estate winery in Walla Walla whose wines are crafted by their in-house team in collaboration with one of the world’s most famous consulting winemakers. A superb amalgamation of Picpoul, Viognier, Clairette Blanche, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc, it's Old World styling with New World fruit at a killer price.

Sub-$15 southern French-inspired, full-bodied blend with indelible pedigree? Stock up!