Russ Mountain Vertical (and Bethany Ridge too!)

I’ve waited years for this event. The Walsh Russ Mountain Merlot is exceptional and unique. This wine was one of two that made me fall in love with their newly opened winery (more about that below), and nearly every wine I’ve had from them since has just reinforced that sentiment. When this was announced my fingers just drifted to “Purchase Tickets Now” and the rest is history.

The event started auspiciously – running into Va Wine royalty Kathy Wiedemann there – I’ve only met her once before, but she came right over and we started chatting, and I thoroughly enjoy talking with her.

And after a little bit of chatting, we sat down to this:

Five nice pours of Bethany Ridge Sauvignon Blanc, from vintages 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Walsh makes two Sauvignon Blancs, Twin Notch and this one. Bethany is generally my preferred of the two, though both are lovely and come home with me when I visit.

Nate started off by outlining what a vertical tasting really is and how it demonstrates for us what age does to a wine, similarities in the wines produced from one specific plot of land, how vintage variation (weather for the growing season) impacts a wine, and how it can show variations in winemaking approach. For the two wines we would check out this evening, the approach remained very similar every year. The consistency of process let us stay focused on the grapes themselves, with the variables being weather and the maturation of the vines themselves. This is why I love these vertical events – getting the chance to see how the wine gets impacted by our changes in growing seasons and how it ages is so exciting. Walsh did not produce a Russ Mountain Merlot in 2018 – all the red grapes they were able to salvage in that wet year went into rosé (and man was that some good rosé!). I meant to ask Nate about one of the few reds Walsh made that year – the Mezcla – it had a ton of Merlot in it – but I didn’t know from which vineyard – that was a fun byproduct from a rough growing year. Oh well. I’m not wishing for heavy rains during harvest, but if it gives me more of that wine…… well…..

We got into the wines with a short discussion of Bethany Ridge, noting its location in Waterford, and that it was the first vineyard the Walsh label made wine from, quite some time ago. The vines were planted in 2004, and I think he said that the 2014 vintage was one of the first he produced there. Nate suggested that Virginia Sauvignon Blanc may age up to around 10 years, but after that, it is likely going to decline – over time, the acidity drops and past a certain point, the wine simply ages and loses its beautiful characteristics. Nate mentioned later in the event that Walsh is picking Sauvignon Blanc at a lower brix every year, working to keep the acidity higher. Here are a few notes about each vintage:

2017 – the softest of the five, and muted. This is probably at the point where it is “drink now or forever hold your peace,” (it will not be as good – and you will experience peace while drinking Walsh Sauvignon Blanc). 2017 was a very hot year and the grapes were super ripe (2023 will likely rival and/or beat this year for ripeness). Enjoyable, but super soft.

2019 – very soft – another hot year – this is in a very good place and is probably at or close to its high point right now also.

2020 – I had the most odd sensation of honey at the end of this sip. It was very aromatic and floral – Kathy described it as herbaceous. This was the coolest and wettest of the growing and harvesting times, and thus the grapes were the least ripe here. This one was most different from the others and to me, most like Sauvignon Blancs I find outside Virginia. Nate noted that this wine would likely go through some big changes in the coming years – see the notes about Merlot below.

2021 – Much higher acidity (again a very hot growing season, so they picked very ripe grapes), this came across with a ton of balance and was very pleasant. This was my favorite of the five.

2022 – This was shockingly soft and came across as most like the 2017 in my mind. Enjoyable acids and very drinkable. Could potentially sit for a while to see how it evolves.

We had a short intermission at this point so that team could pour the five vintages of Merlot, and we came back to this:

Nate told us about the story behind Russ Mountain where vines were planted in 2004 – how the Russes, the couple who owned the land, consulted with someone (I think at one point I learned this was Jason at Arterra, who would have been working for the Loudoun Extension Service at that time) who urged them to only plant Merlot, not a variety of grapes on the land and ordered the Merlot vines for them. Four acres were planted there, growing very distinctive fruit that made Merlot wine different from other vineyards and winemakers. The owners would sell the fruit off to winemakers and maintain a wait list for potential buyers, but it was highly sought-after. Eventually, North Gate winery took over the full crop load, the Walshes bought North Gate, and as such, took full control over all of the grapes produced on that land. No one else gets these grapes. I’m all for this monopoly, given what they do with this wine.

We moved fairly quickly through these five wines. The 2017 and 2019 are simply rock stars. These wines show absolutely lovely. The 17 had all of the richness and depth I remember, and the 19 is a close cousin. My sense was that the 17 has arrived at its zenith right now and may be in danger of losing the rich intensity that makes it incredible. Six years is a solid run for a Merlot in Virginia, I think. We don’t typically get this kind of longevity out of a grape as fragile as Merlot here. The 2017 has 10% Petit Verdot in it, and PV always adds longevity, so this wine may be good for some time still, but I think we’re at the height now. They have very little remaining in their library, so go get it now if you still can!

As i said, this wine is one of the two that made me fall in love with Walsh (the other being the 2017 Staggerwing Tannat). I still remember my first visit to Walsh (oooof – the early days of my blogging) and trepidation about sampling the Merlot, given my other experiences with Virginia Merlot – but this one was great! In fact, after that first visit I returned only two weeks later to get back to get more of this Merlot, and in all honesty, I think I have almost always had a bottle of the Russ Mountain Merlot on the rack since that day in 2019. This is the point at which my husband starts talking about all my issues and how this is illustrative of only the tip of the iceberg. Personally, I consider this one of my best qualities.

The 2020 vintage felt to me to be in a wound-up kind of place. Though this was done only 10% in new French oak, to me it had a sense of oakiness. 2020 as you will recall was the year of cooler, wetter times, especially at harvest. I often wonder how that impacts so many of my favorite wines, during this different kind of year. Some are coming into their own a bit later than expected. I suspect it will be the same with this wine, and in a year or two we will be talking about the evolution this particular vintage has been through.

The 2021 Russ Merlot is not yet released, though it showed up with a silver medal in this year’s Governor’s Cup medalists. As with other wines, the 2021 is showing great now and I enjoyed it. I actually preferred this to the 2020 that is the current offering. If I recall correctly, Nate said release was coming this fall.

Finally, we had a barrel sample of the 2022 Russ Merlot, which is getting ready for bottling, where it will sit and be released sometime in 2025. This was so interesting and shows promise. I would have absolutely adored a 2023 sample, since that is the vintage we will be talking about for the next few years. That was not pulled for this event. Maybe at the next release party…..

Vertical tastings really allow wine drinkers to get a sense of how a wine will do over time and of the changes in process the growers and makers have made over time through working with the grape. The progression of flavors and refining of the wine is fascinating. There was also a real diversity of thinking expressed by attendees about which wines were preferable to various people – because it really is about individual perceptions of the wine and what people want from their wine.

This was a great event, it was so interesting to hear Nate’s perspective on the wines and taste their progression over time. Walsh consistently produces some of the best and most exciting wine in Virginia, in my humble opinion, and I love how they’re continuing to experiment and try some different things (Paeonia White blend! and vineyard designate blends!). I’m definitely on the lookout for some more great vertical tastings of wines I adore so I can see learn more about how they vary from season to season. Nate and the Walsh team really unpacked the vintage variation and walked us through this in an informative and fun way. If they do this again, you really need to go.

And Walsh, like so many of the wineries I adore, is surrounded by woods. You can get this shirt to show how you love drinking Virginia Wine in the woods, or the original shirts too, just by clicking here. You know you want to.