If there’s one vineyard in the country that I’m most excited about right now, it’s gotta be this one. WeatherEye is one of the most extreme, unique, and inspiring vineyard sites I’ve encountered in my 20 years in the wine business. In fact, in August I’m taking a detour from my trip to Walla Walla just to see this spectacular site with my own eyes! WeatherEye is planted on the very crest and upper ridgeline of Red Mountain. Despite Red Mountain’s long history of producing some of the most famous, critically acclaimed, and age-worthy wines in Washington, this upper portion of the hill was, until recently, deemed unplantable due to the almost solid bedrock, lack of soil, and constant exposure to wind. However, a decade ago, the idea for WeatherEye was born: a vineyard planted against all commercial convention. Looking to the Northern Rhône for inspiration, much of the site is planted to high-density, head-trained or single-stake, sur échalas, methods favored on the hills of Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie, where the famed Mistral wind wreaks havoc on the vines. The vineyard is a patchwork of dozens of small blocks draped across the rock-strewn hillside. The team at WeatherEye also made the very unconventional decision not to remove much of the native vegetation from among the vines. The rows are interspersed with mountain chaparral growing freely among the vineyard, and I’m convinced its influence can be seen in the complex, garrigue-like component in the wines. The Hillfighter Red Blend is the perfect introduction to the powerful wines of WeatherEye. It combines some atypical blending partners, such as Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller portions of Syrah and Tempranillo. But this wine really isn’t about varietal typicity. It’s about a sense of place: a bold expression of a rugged, rocky, windswept mountain. There’s rich, powerful dark fruit, but also wildflowers, dried herbs, cured meats, dusty spices, crushed rock minerality, and camphor. I went deep on this compelling wine to get the very best pricing we could, almost 50% off the typical cost. It’s right up there with some of the most intriguing and compelling wines on our shelves anywhere near this price point. If you haven’t experienced these wines yet, there’s no better time, or better wine, to take the leap.

The wines from Weather Eye are some of the most exciting wines that we have tasted recently here at K&L. It was first brought to my attention a few years ago by a Spanish wine importer. It makes sense, they do have Garnacha and Tempranillo planted, but when you look at the images of the vineyards, it looks so much more like Spain than California, or in their case, Washington (that being said, I have no feet on the ground experience in that corner of the state. These vineyards were deliberately planted in what most viticulturalists would never plant vines. They are planted in bush vine style and echalas, making sure that everything is done manually. What is even more exciting is that they never cleared the native scrub when planting the vines, it gives the wines a distinctive local “garrigue”. These are wines that were intentionally crafted to take on a very challenging terroir and express it! And these wines are expressive! The Hillfighter is their entry into the project, and it has captured my attention. A blend that does not make immediate sense when you see it; Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Tempranillo. It reminds me a little bit of the wines that you find in the hills of Aragon, and I do not think it is a stretch of the imagination to say it reminds me a little bit of Priorat!. The fruit has a vibrancy and richness and there is a distinctive mineral energy to the finish. The CS and Syrah give this wine a little more structure than you will find in wines from that region. But the aromatic lift, purity, and complexity put me in an “old world” mindset rather than anything from the “new world”. For $30 this is a crazy deal, especially when you stop and think about the cost and effort that went into the production of it.