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Weathereye 2021 Hillfighter Red Wine

(Carefully curated notes below are taken from the Producer’s website)

Varietal Composition: 35% Grenache, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Syrah, and the rest Tempranillo

Location: Red Mountain

Cellar Aging: Drink now or cellar until 2033

A Few More Details: 

Crafted from the same vineyard blocks and varietals used in our WeatherEye Estate wines, Hillfighter Red … are vinified with greater flexibility—allowing for vintage-specific expression through exploratory blending. Free from rigid stylistic targets, these wines reflect an evolving understanding of our site’s microclimates, clonal selections, and fermentation techniques. This series plays a key role in advancing our viticultural precision, offering both early-drinking appeal and the structure to reward cellaring. 412 cases produced.

Tasting Notes 

The 2021 Hillfighter Red Wine is an interesting blend of 35% Grenache, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Syrah, and the rest Tempranillo, and it functions as a catch-all second wine for the estate. Juicy red, blue, and black fruits, spring flowers, graphite, and leafy herb notes all emerge from the glass, and it’s a plump, rounded, wonderfully textured and forward red that will be perfect to drink while you give the other wines here some needed bottle age.– Jeb Dunnuck 94-96 points

The 2021 Red Blend Hillfighter opens with an exotic bouquet as blood orange, incense and violet pastille give way to crushed cherries and hints of clove. This is soothingly round and silky in feel with juicy acidity propelling ripe rep and blue fruits. Structured yet not overly tannic, the 2021 leaves the senses drenched in primary concentration yet still craving more. – Vinous 93 Points

… I loved how its dried blueberry, worn saddle leather and graphite aromas reminded me of a mature Bordeaux. The wine’s flavors of black cherry, lemon zest and salted peanuts are ably backed by fine-grained tannins. — 94 Points Wine Enthusiast

Food Pairing

• The 2021 WeatherEye Hillfighter Red pairs beautifully with grilled or roasted meats—like lamb, beef, or pork—alongside earthy vegetables and hearty Mediterranean dishes.

From them to you:

WeatherEye is both a vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA of Washington State, and an estate wine brand utilizing the talents of Vineyard Manager Ryan Johnson and Owner Cameron Myhrvold. The WeatherEye Estate wines are offered on an allocation basis with three releases per year.

“You can add WeatherEye Vineyards to the list of most exciting new developments in Washington. Located at the top of Red Mountain, WeatherEye Vineyard was purchased by Washington State wine advocate Cameron Myhrvold in 2004. Cameron quickly brought on Ryan Johnson to plant the vineyard and hired Todd Alexander to make the wines. The first vintage was 2018, and while the wines are already impressive, the best is unquestionably still to come. I believe there is already a waitlist (they don’t produce much), so don’t miss your chance.” – Jeb Dunnuck

Shawnee Hill Farm Grenache

(Carefully curated notes below are taken from the Producer’s website)

Varietal Composition: Grenache

Location: Sugarloaf Vineyard, Yakima Valley AVA

Cellar Aging: Drink now or cellar until 2029

A Few More Details: 

“The dominant red of the Mediterranean, it is fun to see how it grows in WA…this is a new world red that would be good on its own or with chocolate,” –Stephen Buffington, Winemaker. 

Tasting Notes 

Medium ruby with a slight garnet edge. On the nose, ripe red fruit—think strawberry, raspberry—mixed with baking spice (clove, cinnamon), a touch of dried herbs (thyme, rosemary) and floral lift (violet). On the palate, Juicy red fruit core, moderate to lively acidity; soft to medium tannins; warm spice and earth undertones. Finish: Smooth and medium-length; fruit lingering, a subtle tannic backbone, a gentle herbal or peppery note as it fades.

Food Pairing

• Pair this Grenache with herb-roasted lamb, Mediterranean vegetables, or mushroom risotto to highlight its bright red fruit and subtle spice.

From them to you:

Shawnee Hill Farm started 20 years ago after the birth of our first child. We found a place on Vashon that allowed meaningful exploration of many of the rural arts while also having a great place to raise our kids. The piece of land we found allowed for all these things but it took work, a lot of work. Over that time we have built 2 new houses, a barn, a new well, 2 new septics and numerous fences and trellises, planted hundreds of nut and fruit trees, as well as 2 vineyards. We have been blessed that for the most part everything worked out and now we are able to share many of these things with other people, through our products and experiences here.

Wine has been a part of my life for a long time now, as a drinker, amateur maker, traveler and now as a sales distributor, my day job. It is the perfect complement to my favorite things: food, farming, culture and trathen It is also fun to make and experiment with. There is nothing like the smell and color of red wine fermenting in a tank as you punch it down or white wine squeezing through the press slats.I love trying new varieties and thinking about where they came from and how my wine is similar and different from its country of origin. Because of that and my love of working on blends we make way more different wines then any winery of this size and age should.