If there was ONE Washington wine you non-Washingtonians should taste, this is it.
2018 Savage Grace Wines Blanc Franc Red Willow Vineyard Yakima Valley Cabernet Franc
Don't just like it, I LOVE it. Pale pink-white. Exquisitely tangy with stone fruit like nectarines accented by lime fruit and lime leaf. An exceptional super pale rose from one of Washington's best vineyards. Michael Grace (who worships Loire Valley wines above all others) really hit it out of the park with this one--it truly embodies the best of both sides of the winery name.
And there's a story here. This is the third of four vintages he has made of this wine. In 2016 and 2017 he just called it rose. In 2018 he called it Blanc Franc, seeing an opportunity in the attention going to white pinot noirs. Somehow uncertain of the success of the rebranding, in 2019 he bottled 50 cases as rose and 300 as Blanc Franc to conduct a 'social experiment' out of his tasting room--but they were the same wine. Blanc Franc won. I was so blown away by this wine I called him up to discuss it hence me learning the above. Red Willow is one the oldest vineyards in this state--in face probably THE oldest in terms of getting single vineyard mention on bottles, and that would be from WA state legend David Lake.
And a side note: while I haven't been as fond of his reds, I have loved Michael's very minerally high-acid whites. I rarely buy full cases of anything but have purchased full cases of his chardonnay and sauv blanc in the past thru retailers. More of both, his reisling and the '19 Blanc Franc are on their way to me now winery-direct. I love my new home state and this stupid pandemic has made me hyper-sensitive about making sure that every wine dollar I spend benefits the people making and selling wine here. If we drink no other whites this summer other than Michael's, I'm good with that.