617 cs. made.  $40/btl.

92 pts. Vinous | 92 pts. James Suckling

The 2019 is 61% Grenache, 19% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah from Upland, Lawrence, and Freewater Rocks vineyards with 55% whole cluster/45% whole berry. Garnet hued blend with aromatics of black cherry macerated with black pepper, gun metal, sanguine. Crackling palate with solid acid and polished tannin. Grenache gives the red fruited framework and garrigue, Syrah the gamey depth and expansive mouthfeel, Mourvedre holds down the bottom with bloodied blackberry and spice. 

Fermented on native yeast and punched down by hand for an average 28 days before pressing. This blend is aged in neutral 500L and 228L barrels for 22 months before bottling. 2019 gaves us tremendous freshness and tension in our "Latta Latta" blend, this is one to enjoy for years to come.

100 cs. made.  $60/btl.

93 pts. Vinous | 94 pts. Sean Sullivan

The 3rd iteration Mayor Bill is 69% Grenache, 17% Mourvèdre, and 14% Syrah all from Upland Vineyard. This micro-production single vineyard GSM leads with piercing aromatics of bright bramble fruit, garrigue, and incense. An intense palate with balanced acidity and refined long tannin. We selected our most robust Grenache puncheons as the center here with Syrah and Mourvèdre supporting a blend built to age. Fermented on native yeast and punched down by hand for an average 27 days before being basket pressed to neutral 500L puncheon for 22 months.

Who is Mayor Bill again? Upland Vineyard in Sunnyside, WA was planted in 1917 by William “Bill” Bridgman making it the first commercial planting of Vitis vinifera in our fair state. Bill is the visionary grandfather of Washington wine and all of us that make wine here now owe a debt to the twice elected former Mayor of Sunnyside. We are honored to work with the Newhouse family farming the same hill of rocks and dirt that “Mayor Bill” saw potential in over 100 years ago.

213 cs. made. $60/btl.

Welcome back "Gants de Suède"! This blend is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Malbec all from Lawrence Vineyard in the newish Royal Slope AVA. The integration of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and 60% new French oak puncheons is seamless and ready for your consumption now or for many years to come. A dense blend wound with currant, clean leather, and tobacco from the Cab Sauv. Fruit density and full body from the Malbec. When tasting this wine from barrel the texture often reminded me of suede leather, the tannins are present and serious but polished and supple. This wine is squarely in the bold red category, pair with hearty meaty fare.

A note on the somewhat out-there name! I don't think the request was made on our first date but pretty soon after, my wife (I think mostly facetiously) wanted to know when I was going to name a wine after her. As I climb the barrel stacks, I taste and think about our wines through the months and years. How they are maturing and what they may become. For this wine, a suede textural note kept coming to my mind and each time brought me a smile as I thought of my wife. Swade, is my wife's nickname, born out of efficient collegiate brevity. Sara Wade > S.Wade > Swade. So these barrels kept making me think of her nickname and when we made it legal and married in 2017, I decided this was it, the fates wanted this wine to be hers. Naming it "The Fantastic Sara Wade" would have been a bit on the nose for her taste so a 1800's Parisian fashion craze for Swedish made gloves gave us the root for suede type leather and the name of this wine, Gants de Suède. This one is for you Sara Wade. Thank you all for putting up with this long-winded intro and, Sara, thank you for putting up with me. I love you. Enjoy the wine!

138 cs. made.  $52/btl.

91 pts. Vinous | 94 pts. Sean Sullivan

Our Upland Grenache is a silken mix of red fruit and wild herbs. This brilliant ruby wine opens with wild strawberry, rosemary, and cardamom accents. The expansive palate is deeply saturated with lengthy soft tannins. Long maceration with 50% stems and 50% whole berries lends wildness to those aromatics and length to the finish. This 100% Grenache is aged in neutral 500L puncheons for 22 months before bottling.

Upland Vineyard is a rolling, extremely sloped site located in the Snipes Mountain AVA. Snipes Mountain was named for Ben Snipes, an early Yakima County pioneer who built a house at the base of a mountain in the 1850s. The area was first planted in 1917 by Washington State wine trailblazer William B. Bridgman. The vineyard on Snipes Mountain was one of the first to plant Vitis vinifera in Washington. Snipes Mountain is a seven-mile-long anticline ridge created by fault activity. The "peak" is 1,290 feet high, rising from the floor of the Yakima Valley with unique, rocky soils.  Soil deposits below the area are composed of gravels and sediments left by ancient riverbeds, deposits range in size from a fist to a football. A truly unique site in Washington and a standout for Grenache.

162 cs. made. $52/btl.

92 pts. Vinous | 92 pts. Sean Sullivan

Always beloved by the weirdest weirdos in the club, the 2020 opens with iodine, gravel, and the faintest hint of baking spice. The palate reassures you that this wine was indeed made of grapes, with notes of dark ripe mulberry followed by continued savory spice. This 100% Mourvèdre is fermented with 70% whole cluster and 30% whole berry. Aged for 22 months in 500L puncheon and 228L barrique, 10% new French oak from Allier.

Our Mourvèdre is all Upland Vineyard as well, albeit a very different block from the Grenache. One of the most exposed parcels on Snipes Mountain, our Mourvèdre block soaks up the sun on the thinnest rocky soil. This block requires the most attention from Andrew and Todd Newhouse, our grower partner here, of any block we farm. Notoriously finicky, Mourvèdre requires just the right combination of carrot and stick to get to its sweet spot for harvest. Many long hours have been spent staring at the canopy while climbing the extreme slopes of Upland trying to divine what these vines need next. We hope the wine delivers as much mystery and depth as it provides us throughout the season.

306 cs. made.  $36/btl. 

92+ Vinous | 92 pts. James Suckling

Bright yellow gold white wine, with meyer lemon, notes of hay, pronounced salinity, and petrichor. We sprawled the west side of the vine rows to keep sunburn out and freshness in. A cropload of 3.6 tons/acre kept acid and sugar in balance with Lawrence vineyard’s trademark intensity. The Roussanne was whole cluster pressed and fermented native in barrel, a mix of barriques and puncheons with 15% new French oak from Jupille. The wine rested in barrel for 16 months until bottling.

Lawrence vineyard is a cool site overlooking the Royal Slope and the Saddle Mountains to the south. The Roussanne block sits at 1450 feet of elevation in Taunton silt loam soils that give way to broken basalt. The sloped elevation of Lawrence gives it protection from frost that wreaks havoc in vineyard sites lower on the slope. The long cool growing season is ideal for serious white wine such as this Roussanne.

149 cs. made. $55/btl.

92 pts. Vinous 

175 cs. made.  $30/btl.

92 pts. Vinous, 91 pts. Sean Sullivan

New project, new technique for a Syrah from an old haunt. These grapes are from Stoneridge Vineyard, a site I spent much time in for many many years. 2021 was a warm season that resulted in the classic dark expression I remember well. This hand harvested fruit was gently sorted into the fermenter and sealed with loads of carbon dioxide starting the carbonic maceration process that's commonly associated with Beaujolais (BOJO). We didn't peak for 13 days, then opened it to foot stomp the whole clusters and kicked off primary fermentation with basket pressing five days later, much in the fashion of the elevated crus of that region (CRU). BOJO CRU. 

Lucius Joseph Latta was my great-grandfather's name, one that always captured my imagination. My grandfather told tough tales of his hardworking father, a farmer & blacksmith in Virginia who took up machining as time marched on. Lucius is our space to adapt to new varietals, techniques and vineyards. A place to learn and explore Washington's incredible terroir with an eye on the horizon. These wines are made from sustainable sites with minimal intervention.

1686 cs. made. $17/btl.

60% Solaksen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Scarline Vineyard Malbec, and 15% Freewater Rocks Vineyard Syrah

Blending is nothing if not an excercise in change, creating a new sum. The parts here are three varietals from outstanding vineyard sites to produce this robust Washington red. Cabernet vines grown in the basalt derived gravel of Royal Slope give excellent depth of fruit and ample structure. Scarline Malbec brings concentration, spice notes, and fruity volume to the palate. Funky Freewater Syrah layers on dark-fruited intrigue and breadth to the finish. Label artwork is by Kris Chau, based on a work titled, "Alter of Labor + Love."

We're inspired by taking the name KIND STRANGER quite literally and turning toward others around us. We've seen our national landscape shift over the last few years and we feel it's as important as ever to be a real kind stranger in the world. Proceeds from this wine benefit Mary’s Place at the local level here in Seattle and the International Rescue Committee on a broader scale, please click the links to see the important work they do. Cheers!

1204 cs. made. $17/btl.

Welcome our latest addition to the Kind Stranger lineup, Pinot Gris! High elevation Pinot Gris from rocky soils littered with caliche and broken basalt. This fresh new wine is primed for summer drinking. Full of citrus blossom and tosca pear, the palate is thirst-quenching and demands another sip. Fermented dry in stainless steel without malolactic conversion and aged sur lie for six months prior to bottling. Artwork, as always, by Kris Chau.

We're inspired by taking the name KIND STRANGER quite literally and turning toward others around us. We've seen our national landscape shift a bit recently and we feel it's as important as ever to be a real kind stranger in the world. Proceeds from this wine benefit Mary’s Place at the local level here in Seattle and the International Rescue Committee on a broader scale, please click the links to see the important work they do. Cheers!