Andrew Will Sorella Champoux Vineyard Horse Heaven Hills Washington State 2015 (750ml)

 

Rated 98 Points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 

The 2015 Sorella is superb, unwinding in the glass with a youthful but already complex bouquet of crushed cassis, cherries, pencil shavings, subtle cigar smoke and espresso roast.  On the palate, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a rock-solid core, juicy acids and a beautifully fine-grained but firm chassis of structuring tannins.  If it's the most promising of these 2015s from Chris Camarda, it's also the most backward and in need of cellaring, and as the track record of this bottling demonstrates, its tenth birthday will be just the beginning of the excitement.

 

Rated 96 Points by Jeb Dunnuck

 

The flagship 2015 Sorella Champoux Vineyard is another include Cabernet Sauvignon dominated blend that’s up with the crème de la crème of the vintage.  Cassis, black raspberries, toasted spice, candle wax and graphite notes all emerge from this tight, concentrated, fresh beauty that really needs 4-5 years of bottle age.  A wine that gains depth with time in the glass, it has fine tannin, beautiful balance, and a classic, elegant style.  Rating:  96+

 

Andrew Will

 

2015 Sorella

 

Champoux Vineyard

 

Horse Heaven Hills, Washington State

 

As usual Champoux vineyard shines through in this Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend in all the best ways.  Notes of blackberries, red plum and current intermingle with cassis, and hints of minerality.  This wine shows true balance from start to finish and lives up to its name as our flagship blend.  Winemaker Notes

 

Blend:  85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot

 

 

Andrew Will Winery

 

Vashon, Washington State

 

Andrew Will Winery has always had a focus on creating wines with a sense of place.  Since the first vintage in 1989, Chris Camarda has been labeling his wines with the vineyard name on the front label to establish a sense of place from the different vineyards across Washington State.  We believe that each vineyard that we work with has unique attributes that set them apart from each other.

 

“The artist is of no importance. Only what he creates is important….”  William Faulkner

 

Chris Camarda

 

Andrew Will Winery

 

By Leslie Kelly

 

Chris Camarda was Seattle’s original garagiste, making his first vintages in a skinny 600-square foot space on Queen Anne, a snug spot that was little bigger than a railroad boxcar.  “It was 10 by 60.  We used a tape measure,” said the man behind elegant Andrew Will label.

 

Even in that humble setting, Camarda set lofty goals firmly planted in the ideal of showing off Washington state grapes.  He was an early fan and customer of fruit from Ciel de Cheval and Champoux, which he became part owner of in 1997.

 

The Wisconsin native moved to the Puget Sound when his father got a job at Boeing.  He went to Seattle Prep and, years later, started his longstanding relationship with wine while working in the restaurant business, first at the now defunct Oyster Grotto and then at the venerable IlBistro at Pike Place Market.  There, he hatched a plan with co-workers to make some wine, as a learning exercise.

 

“We were always talking about wine and drinking wine, so we decided to try and make some,” Camarda said.  That was in 1987 and the experiment turned out to be a noble failure. 

 

“We learned that it’s a lot harder to make a small amount, so the next year, we bought a ton of grapes and made two barrels,” he recalled.

 

It was good enough to convince him to launch Andrew Will in 1989.  “We made about 400 cases that first year,” he said.

 

Like many fledgling vintners at the time, Camarda continued working two jobs.  He was a fixture at IlBistro until 1997.  The biggest change in those early years was making the move to Vashon Island.  “We were trying to remodel the house on Queen Anne, but then we said, let’s live in a rural area.  We looked in Walla Walla, but really liked the idea of being close to the city,” he said.

 

Situated on five acres, 10 minutes from the ferry landing, the verdant space feels a world away from Seattle.  Among the stately cedars and pines, there’s a production facility that’s downright grand compared to the winery’s original space.  Just outside the heavy wooden sliding doors, there’s a basketball hoop and a chipping green.  (Camarda’s a golfer.)  The family garden is protected from deer by high fencing and there’s a chicken coop.  Rural, indeed.

 

The operation remains small, with a three-man crew working harvest and another three on the sales and marketing team.  And Camarda’s imprint is on every carefully-selected barrel.

 

These days, he’s especially keen on focusing on clonal selections that best fit the growing conditions in each particular vineyard.  In charting the direction he’s going to take, Camarda consults with respected scientists and on-site vineyard manager, Chris Hoon.  His Two Blondes Vineyard near Zillah was replanted in 2004 and Champoux is undergoing a dramatic transformation, too.

 

“We are trying to let the vineyards reveal themselves.  I believe that if Washington is ever to be considered a great wine region we need to establish the characteristics of our geographical areas and the characteristics of each vineyard in those areas,” Camarda said.

 

Judging by the rave reviews Andrew Will wines have received from the world’s most respected wine writers – Robert Parker, Jr., called him brilliant - and Andrew Will’s loyal legion of faithful fans – many who make the trek to Vashon for the annual open house in September – those vineyards continue to reveal themselves to be stellar. 

 

House & Garden

 

The winery is located at Chris Camarda's house which explains why there is no tasting room.  The house is influenced by Italian industrial design and sits on 5 acres.  In addition to a large garden which we eat out of all summer long, there are chickens and pigs on the property.

 

Art

 

Visitors are struck by Chris Camarda's serious modern art collection.  Most pieces are by European artists.  The art ranges from whimsical to provocative to moody and dark.

 

Music

 

Chris is an audiophile with an LP jones and has a stereo system that you don't want to touch.  In addition to living room listening, there are live performances which he attends such as the Festival Au Desert 2012 in Mali.  We are looking forward to a private performance at the winery this winter by Third Coast Percussion.  What is Chris listening to now?  Bukka White.

 

Food

 

Breadmaking, pizza ovens, honey production, sausage making, curing meat, kimchi, Parmigiano Reggiano Cravero, pig roasts.  Francis Mallmann from Argentina is a huge hero.