OTB # 3 On the Look Out – Milbrandt 2006 Sentinel Red Blend – Northridge Vineyard, Wahluke Slope

From Cave B, after gorging at the gorge at George, the WBC Busters will be herded back onto the bus for a sleepy ride down the Columbia River toward Sunnyside and DuBrul Vineyards. Depending on speed and route taken, this trip will take about an hour and a half. I’m going to spend my next dozen or so posts describing what you’re missing by staying on the bus. If you ever come back you’ll know where to stop. I’ll even include bathroom breaks as those are sometimes critical on this stretch, right honey?

 [Kay Kay] Yeah, right [/kk].

 There are actually two routes from Cave B; right at the front gate will take you back to I-90. Turn left, and after passing the Amphitheatre entrance and campground, you run into some of the first large vineyard tracts you will see in Washington State. Yes, there are vineyards around Cave B and at a couple of locations on the Wet Side of Washington, but beginning here and continuing until the Bus finally stops in Walla Walla, you’ll be in the heart of Washington wine growing country. These are where the hundred-acre-plus tracts begin for the big time growers. Many of these large vineyards don’t have wineries attached or any public access so they’re mostly unnoticed unless you know where to look.

When the bus takes the off-ramp before crossing (or entering) the Columbia, remove your fingers from the death grip on headrest in front of you and look ahead. Off to the left about 15 miles is Royal City where superstar winemaker Charles Smith found his 100-point Syrah grapes at Stoneridge Vineyard.

 

The driver should take a right onto Route 243 and after some ups and downs, you and the river will be approaching the Saddle Mountains. The river decided to cut straight through; so will the bus. The gap is called Sentinel Gap and the huge incline of rocks resting against the side of the mountains on each side are gravel bars left there during the Missoula Floods.

This gap is also the entry to the Wahluke Slope AVA, and in addition to the five thousand or so vineyard acres, the Wahluke is densely grown with cherries, apples, pears and other tree fruits. By the end of June, the fruit stand just past the gap on the left should be open with ripe cherries from the orchard just behind it. This is where I found the bee boxes on Sunday; they don’t have a restroom though.

 

Further south, you’ll rapidly pass some of Milbrandt’s Wahluke vineyards, Clifton, Clifton Hill, Katherine Leone on the left and their large production facility at Mattawa on the right. Jerry and Butch Milbrandt started converting the family’s croplands, previously primarily wheat and fruit orchards to vineyard in 1997 and at about 1600 acres currently under vine between 13 separate sites, they are one of the largest (if not THE largest) privately owned vineyard operations in the state.

What’s most interesting to me is that after ten years in the wine grape farming business, selling their crop to many of the top wineries in the state, the Milbrandts launched their own label in 2007. They are certainly not the first vineyard owners to launch their own label after being a supplier to other wineries, but the wines they’ve produced (over 25 different wines at various price points), early volume (estimated at 18,000 cases per year), and a new production facility being added at their already large Mattawa production facility (might be finished by June) tells me these guys are ones to watch over the next few years to carry another banner for Washington wines beyond the state’s borders. What positions Milbrandt well are a) its vineyards, b) its eye-catching labels and great wines at all price levels, and c) its vineyards.

How many Milbrandt grapes end up in their labeled bottles vs. (many times higher priced) wines made from Milbrandt grapes by other producers over the next 5-10 years will be interesting. Milbrandt currently supplies fruit to about sixty wineries, but that number, or at least the amount of fruit alloted to each, will certainly decrease as the Milbrandt label ramps up its production levels.  Yes, boutique wineries have some advantages and the good ones will continue to earn trust and also help build the Milbrandt brand, but at what point do the scales tip on where the best grapes from the best sites will be used to make the best (or equal) wines? When a vertically integrated grower/vintner/seller can do this at a lower cost, and sell the wines at a lower price point in the market, the pressure on the boutiques increases and ultimately I’d see Milbrandt competing alongside Hogue, Maryhill, and Barnard Griffin to be the challengers to Chateau St. Michelle, Columbia Crest, and Columbia for Washington’s (increasing) share of the global wine market.

Milbrandt’s first flagship release, called Sentinel,  I think will help test this theory. Sentinel is a Bordeaux style blend containing Cabernet Sauvingnon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Petite Sirah. The grapes are all sourcesd from Milbrandt Northridge Vineyard which is located above the flood line near the base of Saddle Mountain.  We’ve sampled this wine a few times and opened a bottle rarely. Tonight we did so as a sacrifice to this blog post.  Oh and it’s our wedding anniversary, too.  The wine is a medium dark garnet.  Nose is cassis, brambleberry, vanilla, and tobacco leaf.  Palate is medium bodied with smooth tannins and a chalky finish.  We paired this with meatloaf and garlicy mashed potatoes. 

The WBC Busters may have a chance to sample Milbrandt’s wines when they get to Prosser later in the day on the 24th since the Milbrandt tasting room is located there in the Vintner’s Village. Be on the look out for them there too.

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OTB Fun Fact: The Columbia River is one of the major rivers along the Pacific Flyway and along with the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge is home to several hundred species of birds and waterfowl (some temporarily migrating). On a personal note, Barb and I met a very gracious lady one day who we shared a ride over the Pass to SeaTac when the flights from Yakima got fogged out. She and her husband had relocated to the Yakima Valley in the 1950’s because he was an avid duck hunter and he’d picked this area off of a flyway map. The ducks are still flying and he’s still shooting, so look out.