Like a person or a cherished pet, a wine has a personality of its own. Some are slow to open up. They’re intense, complex and take a long to get to know. Others are forward and direct, or they may be hearty and easygoing.
To me, the L’Ecole No. 41 Frenchtown Red, Columbia Valley AVA, is fun-loving and companionable, but not simple. A citizen of the world! Frenchtown would feel comfortable in many different cultures and with various cuisine. It’s a wine that can hold up its end of the conversation.
Family-owned L’Ecole (French for “the school,” pictured above) was the third winery in the Walla Walla Valley and the 20th commercial winery in Washington state. The three-generation winery is housed in the historic Frenchtown School just west of Walla Walla. Frenchtown derived its name from the many French Canadians who settled the valley during the early 1800s.
Billed by L’Ecole as its “entry-level red,” Frenchtown is a blend of Bordeaux and Rhône varieties that are unlikely to share the same wine barrel in France. Too many rules against that sort of thing! The 2019 vintage is 79% Bordeaux and 21% Rhône varieties. The breakdown is 45% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Syrah, 10% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Grenache. In some years, the blend includes Mourvèdre.
Supermarket shelves are lined with red wine blends that are little more than fruit bombs. A winemaker may decide a single variety isn’t good enough to stand on its own so it goes into a blend. Or, a winemaker will buy bulk wine to make their blend. L’Ecole, one of the larger producers in Walla Walla, takes a different approach.
Constance Savage, L’Ecole’s general manager and chief operating officer, calls their Frenchtown red, “a cross-section of the entire program.” Fruit from various Columbia Valley and Walla Walla vineyards – as well as the producer’s own estate vineyard – filters down through the entire system to find a final resting place in this crazy mashup of a wine.
Here’s how it works: After harvest, some juice from each red grape fermentation is set aside for the Frenchtown blend. Amounts differ from year to year depending on yields and desired number of cases for L’Ecole’s single varietal wines and other red blends. Frenchtown is aged in primarily neutral oak barrels for about nine months and then bottled, typically about seven months before the producer’s other reds.
As the earliest of L’Ecole’s wines in bottle, Frenchtown is a harbinger of what to expect from each vintage. 2019 was a particularly challenging year. Harvest was moving along normally at the beginning. Then slightly rainy and cool conditions arrived, and a light frost at the end of the month – along with a forecast of more freezing weather ahead – accelerated picking. Some 60% of L’Ecole’s fruit was harvested during the first two weeks of October.
If Frenchtown does indeed predict what lies ahead, we can expect ripe, aromatic fruit and food-friendly acidity from L’Ecole’s other red varietals and blends despite the challenges of the 2019 vintage. Deep ruby in color with a purplish rim, Frenchtown a lot of cherry and black cherry on the nose. Enjoy the taste of red and black licorice? This wine has both on a peppery palate that ends in herby, meaty notes. Alcohol is 14.5%, but the wine doesn’t feel hot. There’s an appealing restraint. Distributed widely, this wine punches way above its $22 price point. Find more information here.
Throughout 2021, a group of wine bloggers is tasting and writing about wines in L’Ecole’s portfolio. For details on L’Ecole wines I’ve tried, check out these posts:
- Cabernet Sauvignon and Semillon
- Chenin Blanc
- Seven Hills Syrah
- Cab Franc/Merlot
- Luminesce (a Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend)
- Columbia Valley Syrah
For many of the wine bloggers, this Merlot-led Frenchtown red serves as a preview for the upcoming MerlotMe Month. Throughout October, bloggers will be posting about Merlot during this monthlong celebration of the grape.
I decided on a Mediterranean-inspired meal for my new Frenchtown friend – well, more like American-Mediterranean. Here’s the menu:
- Pita bread (I substituted Naan)
- Hummus (a local brand of lemon hummus)
- Falafel (made from Trader Joe’s mix to save time)
- Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers
- Green olives (I was out of black olives)
- Salted almonds
- Greek quinoa and chickpea salad
- Dark chocolate with almonds
Unlike many red wines, Frenchtown won’t overpower poultry or meatless dishes. A little spice is OK and dark chocolate? Now we’re talking. This is one of the first vegetarian/vegan and red wine pairings that I truly count as a success!
Many thanks to L’Ecole for this sample. As usual, opinions are my own.