75+ wines reviewed below, including the latest from Alta, Aquilini, Block Wines, Contact, DeLille, Gård, Hyatt, Long Shadows, Métier by DeLille, Nine Hats, Planet Oregon, Roza Ridge, Saviah, Slope Life, Soter, Succession, and The Walls.

The reviews below include the first red wines that Gård head winemaker Matîas Kúsulas made end-to-end. Kúsulas took over winemaking at Gård in 2021. He is also head viticulturalist at Lawrence Vineyards, which provides the fruit for the Gård wines. This makes Kúsulas the rare Washington winemaker who manages his own fruit.

As the reviews show, Kúsulas is exceptionally talented. These wines, and the wines reviewed July 30^th, are the best I have ever had from Gård. Moreover, the wines are notable for their diversity, both stylistically and varietally.

The wines include high-quality examples of Bordeaux-style blends, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Pinot Noir (yes, high-quality Pinot Noir), red blends, Syrah, Grenache, Tempranillo, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, Bordeaux blanc, Albariño, Riesling, a white Cabernet Franc, and more. That is a diversity few Washington wineries can match.

Kúsulas is also head winemaker at two new projects from the Lawrence family, Contact Natural Wines and Slope Life Wines. The former, as it sounds, focuses on skin contact wines made with minimal intervention. They are delicious. The latter offers wines in the $22-26 range. Wines from both projects are reviewed below. Kúsulas also has his own brands, Valo and Massalto. (See the review database for previous reviews.)

I’ll write more about Valo and Massalto as well as Kúsulas’ background in a subsequent article. He has one of the more fascinating stories in Washington wine. Suffice to say that all of the wines Kúsulas is making are well worth exploring. They are impeccably made, show their location, and have a voice. Kúsulas is just getting started in Washington but has already made a mark.

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At Northwest Wine Report, all scores come from blind tastings in varietal/style sets. Read more about this site’s process for rating and reviewing wines. See the Northwest Wine Report rating system and special designations. Read about how to interpret scores. See a list of recently reviewed producers.

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