I am incredibly pleased to present my latest releases. It is remarkable to me that the more I try to stay out of the way with my winemaking, the more the wines seem to reflect me and my ideals. These three wines are so unique, so beautiful and so very Devium. Enjoy.
2020 Breezy Slope White Pinot Noir:
As I am constantly evolving, hopefully improving, and finding Devium’s ultimate direction, I have made the decision to move my vineyard sources closer and closer to Walla Walla. Regrettably, that means that Solaksen Vineyard in the Royal Slope is a casualty of this process. Fortunately for me (and all of you White Pinot Noir lovers), there was not just a suitable, but a perfect site for me to work with for this wine right here in the Walla Walla Valley; Breezy Slope. Breezy Slope is located in the foothills of the Blue Mountains at 1800’ elevation on a moderate west facing slope. It is breezy as the name suggests, but in a much gentler way than some of the other vineyards I work with. If I were to describe Breezy Slope with one word it would be ‘quiet’. Visiting the vineyard on summer evenings to check on my rows with a glass of Champagne was one of my favorite activities of 2020 and a lovely escape. Fortunately, while the vineyard presents as a haven of peace and calm, it reserves all of its energy for the grapes. The 2020 White Pinot Noir is a dynamo of acidity, energy, and personality. Gloriously unfiltered (also new this year), it carries itself with a fascinating combination of grace and wildness. It might be slightly less refined than the 2019 version, and certainly has its own personality, but it is every bit as food friendly and a delight to drink.
2019 French Creek Vineyard Red Wine:
The fifth vintage of the original Devium Wine, and I am running out of superlatives for this wine. I want to say it gets better every year, but if I say that every year it just sounds like I am pushing the new vintage or a bit of a broken record. The fact is, as the vines continue to grow older, the roots deeper and vineyard’s ecosystem develops, I am finding that this wine DOES seem to get better every year. I don’t know that this presents itself in any obvious ways, in fact if anything, it is moving toward being a subtler wine with a wonderful sense of “togetherness”. I believe that this “togetherness” will lead to a continually more age worthy expression of the site (although the 2015 is aging wonderfully, so who really knows?). What I do know is that this wine is drinking beautifully now, will drink beautifully tomorrow and will drink beautifully in 10 years. Don’t miss this vintage.
2020 Lewis Peak Riesling “Méthode Ancestrale”:
First: only a few cases remain, so I will be brief. Second: I am trying out “Méthode Ancestrale” as an alternative to Pétillant Naturel (Pet Nat). They mean exactly the same thing, so I am seeing which term suits Devium best before committing to one for the long term. This wine, from the 3000’ elevation site, Lewis Peak (Breezy Slope's much more extreme, windier and higher elevation cousin), is like a lightning storm over the Blue Mountains. In so many ways, it brings to mind one of my favorite lines from Jim Harrison’s masterpiece “Wolves of Heaven”:
I want to be a yellow wolf of heaven.
They disappeared into the lightning.
Wines will be ready to pick up or ship immediately. If you would like to pick up at Sleight of Hand Sodo, please select "pick up in Walla Walla" and then leave me a note in order notes. All orders of 12+ bottles will receive a 10% case discount. Feel free to mix and match with some of the remaining releases from last year. If you have any particular favorites grab them now as most of my past releases are down to less than 20 cases left!
Now that the fun stuff is out of the way, a few notes of Devium business.
For consistency's sake, here is the new Devium release calendar:
Early January: To clear the doldrums of winter, Lewis Peak Pet Nat Release
Mid-March: To welcome spring, French Creek Red, White Pinot and friends
September: Fall wines including WeatherEye Red, WeatherEye Roussanne, French Creek "Sans Soufre" et al.
2. The Devium space at 1460 F Street at the Walla Walla airport is coming along beautifully and should be ready to open by mid-late April. If you have plans to come to Walla Walla, and would like to set up a tasting appointment, please email me at keith@deviumwine.com. If you are coming before the space will be open, and want to schedule an outdoor tasting appointment at the Sleight of Hand facility, I am happy to accommodate that as well!
3. I will be pouring Devium on April 2nd & 3rd on the crush pad at Sleight of Hand. Similar to how we have done things in the past, this will be an outdoor, socially distanced tasting. If you know you are stopping by, and when, I would love an RSVP, but it isn’t necessary.
As always, thank you so much for your interest and support and for making it through yet another Devium release email. If you have any questions or need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at keith@deviumwine.com or 541-310-0317.
Thank you again and take care,
Keith