50+ wines reviewed below and in the database, including the latest from Avennia, Brockmeyer, Foolhardy, K Vintners, Kiona, Liminal, Massalto, Samā, Valo, Virtue, and Walla Walla Vintners.

Last fall, I wrote about Matías Kúsulas, head viticulturalist at Lawrence Vineyards, and the impactful wines he makes for Gård Vintners, Slope Life Wines, and Contact Natural Wines. The set of reviews below includes wines from Kúsulas’ own projects, Massalto and Valo, two wineries that he co-owns with Michael Ruhland.

“Massalto is my playground,” says Kúsulas. Indeed, Massalto shows a winemaker exploring and pushing boundaries. Perhaps the best example is the Sauvalanche – a Sauvignon Blanc-Chenin Blanc blend. It had a 20+ day pre-fermentation maceration and was then co-fermented in barrel. The results? Glorious.

All of the Massalto wines are of exceptional quality and have distinctive personalities. All of them are explorations, with their own style. The bottles also have striking, edgy artwork by Loui Jover, an Australian artist. The bottles are as much a pleasure to look at as the wines are to drink.

Valo, meanwhile, is considerably more staid, yet the wines are no less impressive. Valo focuses largely on Bordeaux varieties, with fruit from Conner Lee Vineyard. Conner Lee has made its mark over the decades producing exquisite Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and other varieties. Under Kúsulas’ guidance, the vineyard has never been in better hands.

Overall, the Valo and Massalto wines show impressive range, both stylistically and in terms of the sheer number of varieties that the winery is working with at a high level. Both wineries also met the challenge of the 2022 vintage, a year when many producers in the Columbia Valley struggled due to the coolness of the year and the large crop. All of the Valo and Massalto wines are worth exploring.

Valo and Massalto have tasting rooms in Vancouver, Ellensburg, and a recently-opened one in Tacoma. The wineries will also be pouring at Taste Washington later this month.

The reviews below also include the 2023 wines from Virtue Cellars. I’ve written multiple times before about Virtue Cellars. (See here and here.) The winery has its own, distinct style, with use of whole berry fermentation providing vivid aromas and flavors while the lower use of oak and (relatively) lower alcohol helps the wine pair well with food. The results are wines that very much have their own voice.

Virtue’s 2023 vintage wines are exceptional. Better still, the wines also provide great value. Virtue Cellars has a tasting room in Edmonds.

Without further ado.

* * *

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.

Note that access to reviews and ratings at Northwest Wine Report requires a subscription. Wineries submitting wines are under no obligation whatsoever to subscribe and can receive reviews freely after they have been published by contacting [email protected].