Seven Hills Winery has been around since 1988, and is one of the oldest wineries in the Walla WallaValley.  It is located right downtown basically next door the Marcus Whitman Hotel.  This winery has a reputation for producing some excellent wines over the years, so I was pretty excited to give them a try.  Most of the grapes used to make their wines come from vineyards such as Seven Hills, Klipsun, Melrose and Ciel du Cheval.  These vineyards consistently produce excellent fruit and are considered some of the finest vineyards in the state.  The tasting room at Seven Hills is quite nice and relaxing, and the staff was very friendly which made the visit that much more enjoyable.  I decided to give just the reds a try for this trip.  The first I tried was the 2009 Seven Hills Vineyard Merlot.  This was a very good wine.  It had a great structure and a nice finish of ripe fruit, and and was  balanced nicely with the right amount of oak.  Next up was the 2009 Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon.  This was a full bodied that was nicely strutured,  and left off with a nice fruity finish.  I also thought it had a good touch of oak to it, not overpowering and just enough to balance the wine out.  Finally, I tried the 2009 Walla Walla Valley Malbec.  Now I really like Malbec to begin with, and this one was quite impressive.  With a medium purple color to it, I got aromas of spicy ripe plum and blackberry, and it had a great balance of tannins and acids.  Again I thought it had the right touch of oak, and left off with a hint of blueberry and a nice lingering finish.  This one I liked so well I took a bottle home with me.  I thought that these wines were all very good and definitely lived up to their reputation.  If you have not yet tried any of Seven Hills’ wines, I would absolutely recommend them.  And if you find yourself in Walla Walla, it is definitely a winery I would consider a must visit. 

 Cheers,

 Seth