The college search for my son is still ongoing, and while the end is nowhere in sight, we have made a bit of progress, I guess. This past spring, the two of us travelled to the West Coast to look at several small schools.

While several remain in contention, unfortunately, Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, did not make the cut. I say “unfortunately” since I really liked the school, and the prospect of visiting Walla Walla over the next four years was enticing.

This was my fourth(?) visit to the region, and even though this latest trip was all about my son, I did manage to sneak in a visit to a couple of wineries while we were there. One of those was The Walls Vineyards, on Pine Street, just beyond the downtown area.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the “bagnum”, a three-liter pouch of their 2024 Cruel Summer rosé, which was fantastic (although I question if it was really three liters since we drained it very quickly).

The Walls Vineyard is much more than their Cruel Summer Rosé, however, no matter how much I love that packaging. There are actually two labels: The Walls and the premium Pasxa, both of which I sampled while my son was “doing homework” back in the hotel.

The Walls was started by Mike Martin in 2014 after he left the Seattle corporate world behind. The winery was established just before harvest that year at a custom crush facility near the Washington State Penitentiary, one of the largest employers in Walla Walla, and known locally as “The Walls”. Hence the name.

From thewallsvineyards.com

2024 The Walls Vineyards Cruel Summer Rosé, Yakima Valley, WA: Retail $28 (750ml); $99 (3l bagnum). 100% Grenache.. Bright and fruity with plenty of cherry and strawberry. Great acidity with a touch of minerality. Really fantastic. Outstanding. 94 Points.   

2023 The Walls Vineyards Martin’s Gold Chardonnay, Yakima Valley, WA: Retail $45. 100% Chardonnay. A bit tropical but mostly tree fruit with a decided buttery aspect with an oak aspect, too. The palate is round and smooth with a nice dose of acidity, particularly on the finish. Nice. Excellent. 91 Points. 

2022 The Walls Vineyards The Ramparts, Red Mountain, WA: Retail $42. 55% Grenache, 24% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah, 6% Counoise. Medium ruby with dark berry fruit and plum. Maybe even blueberry. A touch savory with a faint floral aspect. The palate is rich and unctuous, velvety even. Fantastic balance and lengthy finish. Quite lovely. Outstanding. 93 Points. 

2022 The Walls Vineyards Wonderful Nightmare Tempranillo, The Rocks District AVA, Walla Walla, WA: Retail $48. 92% Tempranillo, 8% Mourvèdre. Bright nose of dried cherry and a touch of rhubarb, with a delightful herbal aspect of sweet basil and thyme. Good fruit with a hint of oak on the palate with a savory midpalate and a slight tannic aspect on the finish. Excellent. 92 Points. 

2022 The Walls Vineyards Bellamy Cabernet Sauvignon, The Rocks District AVA, Walla Walla, WA: Retail $80. 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Visibly much darker in color than the Wonderful Nightmare. With more of a baked blackberry plum vibe. Quite fruity up front but the acidity quickly chimes in and wrestles back control by the end of the midpalate. The finish is lengthy with supple yet noticeable tannins. This will improve with time, I’m sure, but fantastic now. Whoa. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2022 The Walls Vineyards Curiositas, Red Mountain, WA: Retail $80. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 3% Mourvèdre, 3% Petite Sirah. A lovely magenta violet in the glass with shy red and black fruit on the nose. A bit shy initially on the palate as well but some nice fruit comes in on the midpalate along with some chewy tannins and a nice zing. Definitely could use a bit of time. Excellent. 92 Points.

Even though I was running a bit short on time (my petulant teenager was texting me non-stop), I really wanted to taste through the wines from PÁŠXA, The Walls’s sister winery. All the wines come from The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, and all are single varietal wines and are all from the Rocgarden Estate Vineyard. The name “PÁŠXA” (pronounced “PAH-sha”) is the local native American word for the Balsam Root Sunflower, which appears on each label. 

2022 PÁŠXA Grenache, River Rock Vineyard, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, Walla Walla, WA: Retail $125. Whoa. Simply a fantastic nose, quite mineralwith reserved fruit of raspberry, cherry, and violet. The palate is even more alluring with near-perfect balance, smooth and velvety with a decidedly earthiness and a smoky, flinty aspect. Extremely long finish. Outstanding. 95 Points. 

2022 PÁŠXA Grenache, Rockgarden Vineyard, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, Walla Walla, WA: Retail $125. About 100 yards from River Rock. Brilliant garnet with black raspberry and mineral. A hint of red rose petal with lovely, darker fruit on the nose. Incredible fruit initially on the palate with spice and a touch of cinnamon. Lovely. The fruit eventually acquiesces to the tart acidity and a mocha aspect on the midpalate, and the finish exhibits tannins that are light and integrated. Certainly a more fruit-forward style, but completely delicious. Whoa. Outstanding. 96 Points. 

From pasxawines.com

2022 PÁŠXA Mourvèdre, Rockgarden Vineyard, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, Walla Walla, WA: Retail $125. Darker and meatier than the Grenaches, which one would expect given the variety. Much darker fruit here with oodles of plum and blackberry, and there is a decidedly savory aspect that I expect from Mourvèdre. Whoa. I’m not usually a fan of Mourvèdre, but this is fruity, harmonious, and well-balanced. Sure, there is that meaty, savory sid,e but it is understated and melds well with the fruit. A hint of tannin on the finish suggests a bit of cellar time, but again, delicious now. Outstanding. 94 Points. 

2022 PÁŠXA Syrah, Rockgarden Vineyard, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, Walla Walla, WA: Retail $125. Beautiful magenta in the glass with a minty, meaty, and spicy nose. Yum. Really great red and black fruit on the palate with that meaty spice element prevalent from the jump. I would put this on the “big” side of Syrah, and it is fabulous. Really well done. Outstanding Plus. 97 Points.

Sadly, I am not sure when I will be back to Walla Walla, a town so nice, they named it twice, but I hope it is soon as it is one of the more enchanting wine regions in the U.S.