William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Impressed again. I continue to be impressed by the skill of winemaker Marie-Eve Gilla of Forgeron Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington. While it is easy to be impressed wine tasting at a winery, the true qualities of a winemaker are most evident at home, when sharing wine with family and home cooked meals. Forgeron Cellars Vigneron Select 2010 Chardonnay Columbia Valley. On day one, this wine was an elegant Chardonnay with an endearing golden yellow color, the attack was all racy, spicy, ginger and fresh pastry which followed through the finish. It was balanced, restrained, elegant, and graceful. By day three this wine blossomed. A floral quality with vanilla was noticeable on the nose, it was fuller in the mouth, with stone fruit, bright on the tongue, creamy on the  edges, and eminently enjoyable with dinner. Tonight I baked a whole cut-up chicken – a simple recipe of salt, pepper, and garlic, half-way through baking I turned the chicken over and added apple cider to the ...

An expression of New World and Old World wine. Last month I had the pleasure of visiting with Forgeron Cellars winemaker, Marie-Eve Gilla . She sent me home with a bottle of wine I did not taste, her non-vintage Walldeaux Smithie. This week I had the pleasure of enjoying this gift. Originally from France, over the last two decades, Marie has made wine in Washington State for some of my favorite wineries. She is part owner of Forgeron Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington and she my friends, is making outstanding wines. NV Walldeaux Smithie. A red wine blend, this is a food friendly wine, with enough character to keep you pleased before, during and after dinner. Marie has blended several vintages in this bottle, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Her intent was to create an expression of maturity and youth, and to capture elements of new world wine and old world wine. Walldeaux had good dark color on opening, delivering a rich mocha nose, and expansive depth. On the palate there was just enoug...

Last week  I reviewed the 2009 Blacksmith Syrah by Forgeron Cellars.  Since then, I have searched all over town for more Blacksmith Syrah, without success. Craving more bottles of that lovely Syrah, I finally emailed Marie-Eve Gilla, winemaker and co-owner of Forgeron Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington, requesting a visit with her at the winery. Marie-Eve was very gracious and agreed to meet for a wine tasting Friday morning. While Walla Walla is only an hour drive from my home, it does seem difficult for me to schedule time to make the drive to Walla Walla wine country. Desire for more Syrah erased all obstacles. Also, my friend Ben Simons agreed to go with me. Ben is a wine blogger too, his blog is at, www.vinotology.com his twitter handle is @vinotology – a great guy to go wine tasting with. Leaving an overcast Tri-Cities for a misty Walla Walla, the Friday morning drive was laden with wine conversation. Never go wine tasting alone. Forgeron Cellars Winery on Bir...

Really Good Stuff. This week I enjoyed a bottle of Blacksmith Syrah, and the smile is still on my face. Blacksmith is made by winemaker Marie-Eve Gilla of Forgeron Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington. Blacksmith is a second label by Forgeron and priced at half the price of their 2008 Forgeron Syrah. Go find this wine. Now. I've seen a lot of discussion on wine blogs questioning which varietals become the best examples of Washington wine. Washington winemakers work with many different varietals and they make fantastic wine from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Riesling, Chardonnay, Semillon, etc. But, if you were to ask me this week I'd answer, “Syrah” yes, yes, yes. Syrah is the varietal of Washington. 2009 Blacksmith Syrah - I'm accepting gifts of this wine. Everything good about Washington Syrah can be found in a bottle of 2009 Blacksmith Syrah.  Quote me on that. This wine was immediately enjoyable when I removed the cork. It had a captivating deep col...