2011 Columbia Valley Syrah, L’Ecole No.41

Nestled up against the Blue Mountains on the Washington and Oregon border, the Walla Walla appellation was approved in 1984 and expanded in 2000. It is unique within Washington’s viticultural regions due to its warmer climate and proximity to the mountains. The combination of climate, soil and latitude create an ideal environment further enhanced by long sunshine hours, cold winters, and cool nights during harvest.

L’Ecole No.41 was founded in 1983 by Jean and Baker Ferguson and is now run by their daughter and son-in-law, Megan and Marty Clubb. The schoolhouse after which the winery is named was built in 1915 in Frenchtown, a small community just west of Walla Walla whose own name is derived from the many French-Canadians who settled there in the early 1800’s and planted the original vineyards. The French name of the winery is in recognition of their efforts (the number 41 is the number of the precinct to which the school once belonged).

The goal at L’Ecole No.41 is to achieve clean, ripe, stylistically expressive and aromatic wines that allow the character of the individual vineyards to shine through. There is the focus we would expect on vineyard management and minimal winemaking: gravity flow, minimal handling, aggressive pruning and green harvesting and sustainable vineyard practices.