Wine Club Newsletter

May 2024

Reserved for connoisseurs of the extraordinary, your membership unlocks unparalleled access to a realm where rarity, exquisite taste, and magical craftsmanship converge. Revel in the exclusivity and the assurance that each sip is a tribute to the unique experiences our winemaking team has meticulously crafted, ensuring you’re among the select few to savor these rare and enchanting offerings.

2021 Vintage Growing Season

The 2021 growing season commenced with a dry spring characterized by typical growing conditions. However, summer ushered in unprecedented heat, making it the hottest growing year ever recorded. This sweltering summer resulted in crop yields reduced to 25-50% of our initial spring estimates. Despite the challenges posed by the arid, hot, and low-yield season, the 2021 vintage yielded wines with remarkable density, flavor, and structure.

Estate Update

Spring has sprung in Walla Walla, and there’s no better time to visit Seven Hills. As the days grow warmer, our tasting room team looks forward to your visit to share these new releases with you, especially our first vintage of the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater Syrah. Each selection offers a unique taste of the region’s rich viticultural heritage. Explore the charm of the area and check out our upcoming events to plan your next visit. Whether you’re savoring a private seated tasting in our tasting room or joining one of our special events, you’re sure to find something to enchant and excite you and your guests.

Syrah Rocks Wine Bottle Label

2021 Syrah, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater $50 retail
Walla Walla Valley

We are thrilled to introduce the inaugural release from our Estate Vineyard, established in 2018 in the prestigious Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. Nestled within the 3,767-acre AVA on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley, our vineyard spans a part of the 640 acres that are cultivated in this region. The distinctive Freewater soil series, enriched with cobblestones deposited by the Walla Walla River around 10,000 BC, endows our wines with a flavor profile unparalleled anywhere in the world.

Our first offering is a 100% Syrah, crafted exclusively from grapes harvested at our estate. We utilize a blend of Phelps, 470, and GGN 19 clones, each grown on own-rooted vines to preserve the purest expression of terroir. The vinification process respects the individuality of each clone: fermented separately in 2-ton open-top fermenters with 27% whole clusters and aged for 22 months in a mix of new French puncheons (500L) and Austrian demi-muids (600L). The wine is then gently filtered through a 1-micron filter to ensure clarity while maintaining its robust character. As a commitment to sustainability and inclusivity, our Syrah is certified vegan.

Garnet hues lead into exploding aromas of black cherries, blackberry bramble, iron, game, wet earth with hints of violets crushed by river rock. Medium body with lush texture and medium plus acid give way to flavors of pie cherries, iron, tobacco, and stems with a smooth and lingering finish of complexity.

2022 Carmènére $50 retail
Walla Walla Valley

Seven Hills Winery has worked with Bordeaux varietals for over 30+ years and bottles all six varietals, showcasing each grape’s unique characteristics. We work with all the traditional Bordeaux varietals, including Carménère, the “long lost grape of Bordeaux.” This wine is grown in the southern hills of Summit View Vineyard and the volcanic-laced silt loams of our SHW Estate Vineyard, two of the most intriguing Carménère sites in the Walla Walla Valley. It is always delightful for blending, but as the years have gone by, we have become more and more enchanted with it as a remarkable stand-alone wine.

100% Carménère from SHW Estate and Summit View Vineyard in the Southwest Walla Walla Valley focusing on deep silt-loam soils and mid-elevation. Open top fermented, aged in 25% new French 300L barrels for 14 months. Lightly filtered.

Garnet color with purple hues, with pronounced aromas of ripe blackberries and raspberries with hints of cardamom and fresh herbs. Medium body and acid with lush texture provide flavors of crushed blackberries and black cherries, cocoa, pink peppercorns with hints of sweet tobacco. Pair with Carnitas tacos, family barbeques or as an introductory wine for anyone who is looking to broaden their red wine palate.

2022 Carmènére Wine Bottle Label

2021 McClellan Estate Petit Verdot Wine Label

2021 McClellan Estate Petit Verdot $50 retail
Walla Walla Valley

Each year we bottle small amounts of traditional Bordeaux “blending” varietals on their own. To be selected for a single varietal bottling the wine must not only be excellent but also show the typicity and character of the particular grape varietal. Petit Verdot is known for its structure, with bold tannin, bright acidity, dark fruit, and savory undernotes. We have grown Petit Verdot at our McClellan Estate Vineyard since 2003 and have used it as a blending varietal in Pentad (our top cuvee and Flagship wine) and other wines since 2001. 100% Petit Verdot, sourced exclusively from Fan-trained vines at McClellan Estate Vineyard. This exceptional wine undergoes open-top fermentation, enhancing its depth and complexity. Following fermentation, it is aged for 22 months in 40% new Russian oak barrels (225L), allowing the bold flavors to mature and integrate beautifully. Each bottle is then meticulously filtered through a 1-micron filter to ensure pristine clarity without compromising the wine’s robust character.

The wine is deep ruby, providing pronounced aromatics of black currants, violets, cherry cola with hints of green coffee bean and baking spice. The palate has a robust structure with a velvety texture, leading into flavors of black cherry cola and dark chocolate with hints of baking spices and leather wrapped around medium plus tannins and acid. This wine could be enjoyed alone or with some grilled lamb chops with rosemary, sage, and garlic or with stuffed mushrooms.