New Release for What Will the Women Drink!

I feel like I write about Walsh every few posts on this blog, but they’re always worth writing about! And last weekend’s release party was extra special because….. it was the release of the 2020 What Will the Women Drink. As a case member, I get four bottles to add to the three 2019 WWTWD in my basement currently aging. AND…… just to keep you on your toes, this release included a special sneak preview. More on that later.

I met up with my dear friend Wine Friend 1 at Walsh. Living in Central Virginia now, we have to plan ahead and make arrangements to meet at wineries. I brought some amazing mozzarella, tomato and basil with toasted baguette put together by dear husband for us to snack on while we sipped. When we arrived, we went right on in and got our taste of the first Sauvignon Blanc (Bethany Ridge) and headed over to the production facility, where our tasting would take place. I think we finished our Bethany Ridge before we even got to the production facility, but hey, it was that good! The Bethany Ridge SB has all of the acidity and zing to it that I love about this wine.

Kent was doing the release tasting again. He and his partner in crime (whose name I did not manage to remember) ran a great tasting with some good-natured ribbing along the way. They took a vote about preference for Bethany Ridge Sauvignon Blanc versus the Twin Notch one, and a slight majority favored the Bethany Ridge. For once, I agree with the majority (however, they needed a vote for “Why am I choosing between them, when they are both good?”)! Both are fantastic, but I feel Bethany Ridge’s wine just has more character, feel, structure, it’s more full. Twin Notch is pleasant, but where Bethany Ridge is an extrovert, Twin Notch is the introvert version, waiting for you to come to it and see what’s happening. It’s still crisp and has some zip of acid to it, but it’s not as charming and forward as Bethany Ridge. I still like both, but Bethany Ridge is my go-to.

Then it was the moment we’ve been waiting for, the pouring of the 2020 What Will the Women Drink. This wine will sell out for sure. And fast. And it’s good. This one is a blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tannat.

It’s dark. It’s gorgeous, Petit Verdot leads in it and you get that rich, round feel full of tannin and joy. This wine makes me feel warm in the cool production room and in my heart. It was fantastic and what I had been waiting for. I feel like I tasted the oak a bit more in this vintage than I did in the 2019, and I will need to do a comparison of the two soon to get a better sense of what felt different. Kent noted the cooler growing/harvest season and that it was a little tougher on the red grapes – and I’ve noticed that in other 2020 reds – they do seem softer and more subdued than their 2019 counterparts. But this wine is very good, and I am very excited to give these four bottles a home in my wine rack (well, wine racks now that I’ve got so much). I’ve put aside a 2019 and 2020 WWTWD now for future in-house vertical, so if you’re looking for an invitation to that, you better like and comment on all my blog posts. Soon.

My favorite moment of this tasting, however, was when Kent went to the tank and pulled samples of the 2021 WWTWD for us. It’s blended and ready to go into bottle and sleep for a year before I come get it all. This tasting knocked my socks off. Petit Verdot was so much stronger in this one, and the fruit felt much fuller to me than in the 2020. It may be that the time in bottle softens the wine some as it integrates, and what I perceived in the taste may be because the 2021 was getting ready to be filtered again, but I adored this preview, and I wanted to take the entire tank home with me. Watch for this one, it rivals the little bit that I remember of the 2017 WWTWD. You heard it here first, the 2021 WWTWD will be A-MAY-ZING.

After our tasting, we wandered back to the tasting room and ordered a flatbread and a bottle of Albariño to share on the patio. It was a perfect afternoon, as there was a great breeze – the shades kept the sun off my bald head, and the breeze and chilled wine made it all perfect. The Albariño is entirely PERFECT with crostini of tomato, mozzarella and basil. If only someone had remembered to pack the balsamic vinaigrette to drizzle on top of the masterpiece – alas.

As always, the Walsh team is fantastic and ensures you have a great time. They lead a vineyard tour while we sipped and ate, and people were arriving for the next release tasting.

I ended up leaving with my case and added two bottles of Albariño and a bottle of Rosé, because I am Rosé-deprived at the moment, and Albariño has really become my go-to wine this summer. I didn’t trade anything on this allocation because each wine was stunning. Wine Friend 1 grabbed some Albariño too, as well as a Rosé and WWTWD. She has great taste. She’s my friend, after all.

Hurry in, and if you’re not a member, getting your WWTWD is the perfect excuse to join, cause you cannot get it otherwise, unless you have a friend who truly loves you. This wine won’t last, and you do NOT want to miss it again.