Not only is Stillwater Creek the source for Novelty Hill’s top rated estate wines, the vineyard also grows grapes for some of Washington’s best wineries; and increasingly the Stillwater Creek name is making its way on to the front of the label. Two recent releases include L’Ecole 41’s 2014 Stillwater Creek Semillon and Pondera Winery’s 2012 Stillwater Creek Reserve Malbec.
Marty Clubb’s reputation for Semillon is legendary. It has been a while since L’Ecole made a single-vineyard Sem so we were particularly honored Marty liked our fruit enough to make 290 cases of this delicious wine from the 2014 vintage. L’Ecole describes it as a “crisp, aromatic gem (that) shows multiple layers of fresh Pink Lady apple and lanolin with floral passion fruit aromas and hints of lemon and tropical fruit on a refreshingly balanced finish.”
Woodinville’s Pondera Winery recently released a 2012 Stillwater Creek Reserve Malbec (90 pts. Wine Enthusiast). Critic Sean Sullivan described it as showing a “classic Washington Malbec profile of green, stemmy herbs, citrus, black pepper and plum along with light barrel accents. It’s soft in feel, palate-staining with plum flavors, tart acids and lightly gritty tannins, disclosing blood-orange flavors on the finish.”
Look for more single vineyard bottlings of Stillwater Creek Vineyard wines from other acclaimed Washington producers this fall.