William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Enhance your summer meals with AntoLin Cellars Estate Carménère . Carménère, an ancient European variety, is thought to be the antecedent of other better-known varieties. Originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France and used primarily for blending, it practically disappeared in the mid-19th century due to disease. It is almost impossible to find Carménère in France today. A once nearly lost grape, the world's largest area planted with this variety is now in Chile. Growers in my home state of Washington are producing limited amounts of Carménère. AntoLin Cellars provided me a lovely example of a 100% Washington Carménère. I encourage you to experience the deliciousness of this reappearing and intriguing wine. Well done. Tasting Notes 2010 Estate Carménère Color : Pale ruby. Nose : Light cherry, rose water, candied raspberry, leather, white pepper. Whiff of espresso after an hour. Palate : Ripe cherry flesh, touch tart, light body at opening...

AntoLin Cellars 2010 Malbec a Sonnet for the Senses Typically I try to post a wine of the week on Friday. This week I felt I should post my wine of the week today. Now you have all week to hunt down this bottle of Washington Malbec. Malbec is a red wine variety originally from the Bordeaux region of France, a variety which has become strongly associated with fine wines from Argentina. This bottle of AntoLin Cellars Malbec was all Washington Malbec in style - supple and fresh, a sonnet for the senses. “The name, AntoLin, is a collective of our first names, signifying our partnership. Our passion is winemaking and our dream is to share the fruits of our passion. Here’s to making friends, one glass at a time.” -Tony and Linda Haralson Tasting Notes 2010 Estate Malbec Color : Dark garnet. Nose : Lively, earthy, cherry. Palate : Dark cherry, spicy pepper, light mid-palate, tart and creamy finish. Bright and fresh, well integrated after 10 minutes, cherry dom...

Today I will be writing to catch up on all the delicious wine I experienced this weekend. Briefly, this is what went down. Checking the glasses before I begin pouring. Friday – AntoLin Cellars Sensory Tasting I conducted a private wine tasting and sensory class lunch, featuring AntoLin Cellars Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon. Review soon. Ed Luebben at the Wine Incubators. Saturday – Walla Walla Spring Barrel Tasting Went Walla Walla wine tasting with my friend, winery Architect Edward Luebben. We visited Leonetti Cellars, Corvus Cellars, Cavu Cellars, aMaurice Cellars and Garrison Creek Cellars. Review soon. Virtual tasting at L'Ecole Winery - it was an actual tasting for us. Sunday- L'Ecole 41 Perigee Vertical Tasting My friend Ben Simons, wine blogger at Vinotology.com , joined me for a vertical tasting at L'Ecole No 41 . This was a virtual and an actual tasting at the winery. They poured from their library the 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 20...

Taste Washington! Recommended Wines. Antolin Cellars Winemaker Tony Haralson. Antolin Cellars is a boutique winery located in Yakima, Washington. Founded in 2007 by Tony and Linda Haralson. They source Riesling, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah from their 5-acre estate vineyard and other select sites in Yakima and Columbia Valleys. All three wines poured for me were very good. The Elephant Vineyard Syrah stood out. Antolin Cellars 2010 Estate Riesling. 2010 Riesling - Estate, dry, not sweet, apple, nice. ABV 12.2%, RS 2.03%, cases produced 100. $13.50 retail price. Recommended. Antolin Cellars Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon dry, crisp. Good structure, lighter body. 130 cases produced. ABV 13.7%. $22 retail price. Recommended. * Favorite: Syrah Elephant Vineyard – lighter, very good, must evaluate further. 200 cases produced. ABV 14.6%. $24 retail price.  Winery notes . Wines listed here are the wines I liked and recomme...