Spring Valley Katherine Cabernet Franc for lively sipping

Spring Valley Katherine Cabernet Franc for lively sipping

It was a bit poignant getting an announcement from this producer about ShariLee's (Corkrum - Derby) birthday yesterday, the matriarch of Spring Valley Vineyards in Walla Walla. Sharilee (pronounced Sher’ a lee) Corkrum Derby, is granddaughter of Spring Valley founder Uriah Corkrum. We paid tribute recently to her husband Dean Derby on his passing just last month. 

Family owned and operated Spring Valley Vineyards goes back three generations to ShariLee's father Frederick, and grandparents, Uriah and Katherine Corkrum. All the wines in the SVV portfolio sport a namesake label of one of the family members. As members of their Family Circle club we hold a mini vertical and horizontal collection of all these wines dating back up to a decade. 

So it was fitting I pulled a Spring Valley wine last night for casual sipping with biscuits, cheese and holiday treats by the fire, watching a movie. I opted for the Katherine Cabernet Franc, 2011, the oldest in our collection of this label.

I've written in these pages about our visits to Spring Valley Vineyards in Walla Walla, and meeting Dean Derby, writing a tribute to him on his passing recently. One of the highlights of our trip to Walla Walla was when we had the pleasure of meeting Dean Derby during our visit to the vineyards during our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2019.

Spring Valley Vineyard Cabernet Franc Walla Walla Valley Katherine Corkrum 2011

 Spring Valley Vineyards Katherine Cabernet Franc 2011

This Cabernet Franc label is named in honor of founder Uriah Corkrum’s wife Katherine, a native of Wales who immigrated to Walla Walla Territory in 1897.

Katherine Williams arrived in the Walla Walla Valley from Hay-On-Wye, Wales to visit her brother David, who was married to Uriah’s sister Rado Corkrum. Katherine and Uriah were married in 1897, and had four sons, including Frederick Corkrum.

This label is from grapes planted in 1995. It was first released in 2002. 

This vintage release is a blend of 90% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot.

It was awarded 90 points by Wine Spectator and 89 points by Wine Enthusiast. 

Winemaker Notes - The 2011 vintage is very floral with predominant notes of violet. Rounding out the nose are aromas of dry herbs and hints of orange peel, white pepper and currant. On the palate, fresh red berries, cassis and strawberry. This wine has plenty of texture and is rich mid-palate, but has a soft and creamy finish.  

At a decade, this was garnet colored with a very slight brownish tinge, medium bodied, spicy black currant, raspberry and black cherry fruits with notes of white pepper, tobacco, spice and herbs with a moderate soft finish. 

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1659841

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/ 

Spring Valley Vineyards Tasting and Vineyard Visit

Spring Valley Vineyards Tasting and Vineyard Visit

During our recent wine appellation visit to the Walla Walla (Washington) wine region, we visited the Spring Valley Vineyards tasting room and then ventured out to the winery and vineyards. Spring Valley Vineyards is most likely the longest and deepest collection of Washington State wines in our extensive cellar collection, spanning vintages going back a decade and a half. We first discovered Spring Valley Vineyards Uriah Walla Walla (Right Rank Bordeaux) Red Blend dating back to the 2001 vintage. We still hold more than a dozen vintages dating back to the 2004 vintage in our collection.

Hence, a visit to Spring Valley was on our shortlist of winery or vineyard site visits during our Walla Walla appellation visit. We first visited their tasting room downtown Walla Walla. Spring Valley Vineyards have an extensive and growing brand of wines based on the Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot and also a Syrah.

Due to the remoteness and vast distances to many of the Washington State wineries and vineyards, it is commonplace that Washington State producers have tasting rooms retail sites in central locations. The most common site for such tasting rooms is Woodinville, Washington in suburban Seattle which advertises as having more than 130 such tasting rooms. We visited the Seattle suburb last month as part of our Woodinville (Washington) Tasting Experience.

The charming, historic small rural town of Walla Walla, in the center of the Walla Walla Valley wine region in the Southeastern corner of Washington State, is another such site with dozens of tasting rooms, including Spring Valley Vineyards.

The branding of Spring Valley wines is based on the rich family history and heritage. The land that the Corkrum, Derby, and Elvin families farms today has been farmed by the family dating back to the mid 1800’s. Current vineyard owner Shari Corkrum Derby’s grandfather Uriah Corkrum began farming in the area acquired the land now known as Spring Valley in 1910. Shari and Dean Derby planted the first grapes at Spring Valley in 1993 and the first vintage of Estate grown and bottled Spring Valley Vineyard wines were produced with the 1999 vintage. All the wines are named for ancestral members of the family going back to Uriah and Frederick and others. 

In the Spring Valley retail site tasting room, we got to taste their range of primary labels, six labels that span their primary brand. We tasted all six labels from the recent vintage. Two or three vintages were available as boxed sets of the family of labels. No library wines were on offer, or apparent in the retail tasting room.

More on the tasting room wine flight to come.

Wines tasted:

Uriah Red Wine Blend 2014 - Blend: 56% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec
Frederick Red Wine Blend 2015 - Blend: 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec

Katherine Corkrum Cabernet Franc 2016 - Blend: 100% Cabernet Franc

Sharilee Petit Verdot 2014 - Blend: 90% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Franc

Mule Skinner Merlot 2016 - 100% Merlot

Nina Lee Syrah 2015 - Blend: 99% Syrah, 1% Viognier

The Spring Valley Vineyards and wine production facility lie about fifteen miles northeast of downtown Walla Walla. The vineyards are a stark contrast to the vast openness and plains of the surrounding wheat fields that cover the wide vast expanses of the central and eastern parts of the State. The vineyards stand out in stark contrast even on the Google satellite imagery, as shown below.

We drove out Middle Waitsburg Road, around the Walla Walla airport, to Corkrum Road, aptly named for the patriarch ancestor of the Spring Valley producer's family, to the winery and vineyard site. 

There we ran into Dean Derby patriarch, husband to Shari Corkrum Derby, ancester and co-owners of the family business. What a treat and honor to meet Mr. Derby and what a delightful visit we had.
 

The vineyard site sitting amidst over 110 acres of vineyards is open to the public from May to September during posted hours during the week, and at other times by special appointment.

The Spring Valley Vineyards from a distance down Corkrum Road. 

The Spring Valley Vineyards adjacent to the winery site

 The Spring Valley Vineyards adjacent to the winery site

The Winery Production Facility 

Much of the adventure and interest of visiting the region and the Spring Valley site is the magnificent expansive vast vistas of the surrounding hills, as shown below. 

Spring Valley Vineyards continues to expand operations with new vineyard plantings and a growing staff of family members and professionals joining the organization. It is a historic institution in the region and a label of serious quality wines to be sought out and appreciated. It should be on the shortlist of any visit to the Walla Walla appellation.