The Secret Squirrel – Unmasked!

Also: Reviews of Appassionata, Beaux Frères, Evesham Wood, Haden Fig & Wine of the Week

Secret Squirrel, the wine equivalent of that mint condition Tommy Bahama shirt you found at Goodwill for $4.99, is also unique among the brands owned and produced by Michael and Lauri Corliss. Unlike the flagship Corliss Estates, the Rhône-centric Tranche and the San Juan Vineyard wines based in the Puget Sound AVA, Secret Squirrel masks its meaning and origins, even its raison d’être, in myth and mystery.

The standard story about this value brand is that the wines come from declassified grapes grown at one of several Corliss-owned vineyards. Those vineyards include the Blue Mountain vineyard (adjacent to Tranche); the Red Mountain vineyard (named for the AVA) and the Celilo vineyard in the Columbia Gorge.

Calling the Squirrel a budget label seems unfair. The wines are too good for that dismissive term. There are scores of budget/bargain labels, many offering pretty good wine. Almost without exception they are made from purchased grapes, or from bulk wines ready for bottling. They are rarely if ever made entirely from fruit grown on estate vineyards located in prestigious appellations; nor are they generally fermented with native yeast and given extended maturation in concrete and French oak, including a considerable percentage of new casks and barrels. Secret Squirrel does all that and more.

But questions remain. More secrets to unravel. In journalism the unasked questions are the unanswered questions. It’s always best to ask. So I took a swing and queried Nichole Bigley, recently appointed General Manager for the Corliss Estates portfolio, to find some answers. Here is the dialogue that unmasked the squirrel!

PG: Why are new releases of Secret Squirrel held back so long? The new reds are from 2019!

NB: “We want the wines to be truly “pop-and-pour” ready upon release. Since much of the fruit originates from programs built for longevity and structure, particularly Corliss, the wines benefit from additional bottle age before release. The goal with Secret Squirrel is different. We want the wines to deliver immediate enjoyment and accessibility while still carrying the pedigree of the vineyards and winemaking behind them.”

PG: How and when are the components selected?

NB: “Our winemakers intentionally bring in more estate fruit than is ultimately needed for Corliss and Tranche, usually about 30–40% more. That additional fruit gives them flexibility for blending, quality control, and stylistic decisions across the portfolio. Secret Squirrel is built largely from that same tier-one estate fruit and many of the same vineyard blocks and barrels used for Corliss and Tranche. In addition, we farm certain lots specifically with Secret Squirrel in mind so we can shape blends that are vibrant, approachable, and ready to enjoy earlier. The important distinction is that these are not ‘leftover’ wines. They are thoughtfully selected lots that simply fit a different stylistic goal.”

PG: How much Secret Squirrel was originally destined for a Corliss or a Tranche wine?

NB: “More than half of the fruit in a given Secret Squirrel blend was originally farmed and fermented with Corliss or Tranche in mind. All of the fruit is estate-grown, sourced from six estate vineyards, with four vineyards regularly contributing to the Secret Squirrel program. Because we own and farm the vineyards ourselves, we have the flexibility to remain highly selective for Corliss and Tranche while also creating another tier of wines from exceptional fruit that still deserves a home.”

PG: When are Secret Squirrel wines blended?

NB: “The wines are typically blended a little more than a year after harvest. For example, the 2019 reds were blended during the winter of 2020 before bottling in July of 2021. We give the wines time to develop individually in barrel first, then begin building the final blends once we have a clear picture of how each lot is evolving.”

PG: Will there be more releases from subsequent vintages?

NB: “Absolutely. Every vintage. The 2019 and 2020 vintages are relatively small productions, and we expect them to move quickly. Subsequent vintages are already bottled through the 2023 vintage and waiting in the wings. The 2024 White Wine is also bottled, and the 2024 blends have been completed and will bottle this year. Secret Squirrel is now an ongoing part of our portfolio rather than a one-off project.”

PG: Are there plans for more Secret Squirrel rosés?

NB: “2025 was our first rosé release, so we approached it cautiously to gauge both consumer and distributor response. After introducing the White Wine program beginning with the 2022 vintage, many of our distributor partners encouraged us to ‘complete the lineup’ with a rosé. The response has exceeded expectations, which gives us the confidence to farm and allocate more fruit specifically for rosé production in future vintages.”

PG: Bottom line… what’s the bottom line here? None of this adds up financially!

NB: “That’s probably the question we get most often. The reality is that Secret Squirrel exists because we own and farm exceptional estate vineyards, and we intentionally keep Corliss and Tranche highly selective. Corliss, for example, is built around free-run juice and very specific lots from Red Mountain. But when you farm at that level, you inevitably have outstanding press fractions, blending lots, and vineyard blocks that may not fit the exact stylistic target for those wines while still being objectively excellent.

Secret Squirrel gives those wines a home.

As for Tranche, certain lots may bring more richness or earlier approachability than what we ultimately want in the final blends. Other times, fruit from Blue Mountain Estate may add brightness and freshness that makes a wine especially compelling for earlier drinking. Those components become incredibly valuable within the Secret Squirrel program.”

PG: Any final thoughts?

NB: “The project also allows us to introduce people to our vineyards and winemaking philosophy at a much more accessible price point. We often describe it internally as ‘weeknight luxury.’ It’s serious estate-grown Washington wine that doesn’t require a special occasion. Importantly, the wines are made by the same winemaking team, from the same estate vineyards, with the same level of farming attention and cellar care. The tone may be more playful and the price more approachable, but the quality standards remain very high.

And honestly, it has become a genuinely fun creative outlet for the team. Secret Squirrel gives the winemakers freedom to collaborate in a slightly different way while still staying true to the vineyard quality and philosophy that define the rest of the portfolio.”

PG: There you have it. Unlike Batman, Zorro and the Lone Ranger, the Secret Squirrel has been unmasked. Sincere thanks to Nichole for her thoughtful and detailed responses.

These wines \are truly exceptional values. My reviews are below. You may purchase Secret Squirrel here.

Secret Squirrel 2023 White Wine – A generous blend of six Rhone-ish white varieties, this full-bodied, lightly spicy wine is sourced entirely from Tranche’s Blue Mountain vineyard. Fermented in both concrete tanks, eggs and Burgundy barrels, it shows light touches of new barrel highlights. Cinnamon dusted apple, like an unbaked apple pie, holds the center. This is so perfectly built, so tenaciously balanced, that the flavors continue to expand all through the finish, while retaining exceptional freshness. The fresh garden herbs frame the finish perfectly, even on the second day. A stunning value. 376 cases; 13.6%; $20 (Walla Walla Valley) 94/100

Secret Squirrel 2025 Rosé Wine – Pale but powerful, this brings unusual concentration and depth given its overall lightness and elegance. Estate-grown Mourvèdre, Grenache, Counoise and Cinsault are blended into a fresh and immaculate rosé with rhubarb and lemon and crisp green apple flavors, all bringing ample acidity that carries the wine through an extended finish. Drink it well chilled over the coming summer and fall. 165 cases; 12.9%; $25 (Columbia Valley) 92/100

Secret Squirrel 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon – One of the unique assets of this value brand is access to well-aged wines built from components originally destined for pricier brands. Given its age this Bordeaux blend, three quarters Cabernet with Cab Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot filling it out, is remarkably fresh. It’s packed with deep, dark, dense black fruits highlighted with barrel flavors of toast, earth, licorice and espresso. They darken the finish, which rides on grainy tannins down a long gently fading trail. Note: as I post this there are still SS Cabs from the 2017 and 2018 vintages available on the website, at the same $25 price. Remarkable! 5655 cases; 14.5%; $25 (Columbia Valley) 93/100

Secret Squirrel 2019 Rhône Red – This is the current release, 72% Syrah, 17% Grenache, 7% Mourvèdre and 4% Cinsault. Secret Squirrel is a sister brand to Corliss and Tranche and that same commitment to quality is clearly evident. Secret Squirrel releases some wines with extra years - not months - of bottle age. Remarkably fresh, quite tannic and dark fruited, this is annotated with broad streaks of chocolate and espresso that carry on through the finish. 1962 cases; 14.5%; $25 (Columbia Valley) 93/100

Appassionata

This is another winery that intentionally holds back release dates. It’s expensive, delays income and brings added risks such as brett developing in the bottle. But when it pays off, as it often does here, it’s a gift to the consumer.

Appassionata 2023 Über Sauvignon Blanc – Über is the right word, suggesting that this is on the extreme, over-the-top edge of this variety. Which fits the flavors, which are acidic, bone dry, herbaceous and persistent. It’s a particular style pushed to its limits, fermented in a large acacia barrel that emphasizes texture over toast. Take note of these notes, and if this style is your style, here’s your wine. 60 cases; 12%; $40 (Chehalem Mountains) 92/100

Appassionata 2021 Chardonnay – The extra bottle age may have slightly taken the edge off the acids, without diminishing freshness in any way. Held on the lees for two years before bottling, then cellared another year or longer after bottling, this is an elegant wine with light almond butter and coconut pastry flavors around clean green apple fruit. Drinking nicely and built to age for another decade. 75 cases; 13.5%; $75 (Chehalem Mountains) 93/100

Appassionata 2018 ‘GG’ Riesling – Riesling more than any wine in this lineup revels in extra bottle age. This wine comes from 40-year-old Medici vineyard fruit, and remains downright ebullient at eight years of age. A rich gold, it deftly mixes honeysuckle, honeycomb, sweet tea and lemon pastry in a lush and lingering palate. Dense and detailed, it’s that rare and splendid wine that just keeps building on itself the longer it lasts. Don’t rush that second sip; let the first one play out completely for maximum enjoyment. 300 cases; 14%; $50 (Chehalem Mountains) 96/100

Appassionata 2019 Andante Pinot Noir – I frequently pull out older vintages of Willamette Valley Pinots to check on their condition, and almost always they are outstanding. This is just entering a window of what I’d call early mid-life; at 6+ years of age it’s beginning to soften, and the fruit and spice and tannin components are in harmony. It looks older however, which might indicate that it has already reached its prime. The finish stops a bit short, so decant and drink in the next couple of years. 256 cases; 13.5%; $80 (Willamette Valley) 93/100

Appassionata 2013 Fortissimo Pinot Noir – An elegant and harmonious wine, now in its drinking prime, still firm through the palate with crushed roses, peach skin, pie cherries and plums. Tannins are ripe and firm, centering the finish with a graphite core. Lovely texture, mouthfilling fruit, sassy acid and a long, trailing finish with a touch of mint. 130 cases; 13.5%; $185 (Willamette Valley) 95/100

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Beaux Frères

In 2017 Robert Parker and other investors divested their ownership shares in the winery, and co-founder/winemaker Mike Etzel sold a majority stake to Maisons & Domaines Henriot. In 2022 that winery group merged with Artémis Domaines, whose portfolio now includes Château Latour, Champagne Jacquesson, Clos de Tart, Château Grillet and Eisele Vineyard. Still in control of roughly 10% of the winery, Mike D. Etzel, the middle son, had been making Beaux Frères wines since 2016 and took over full control in 2023, the year that these current releases were made.

Beaux Frères 2023 Willamette Valley Chardonnay – One third estate grapes, the rest from purchased grapes, well-built and amply ripe at relatively low alcohol. There’s a tight, buttery brioche note, crisp green apple and green banana fruit, and accents of fresh-picked garden herbs. 797 cases; 12.9%; $90 (Willamette Valley) 92/100

Beaux Frères 2023 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir – This is 61% estate grapes, and most of the rest from two vineyards planted and farmed by Mike D in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. A small portion (3%) is from Sequitur, adjacent to The Upper Terrace. It’s young, tight and steely, with lightly toasty aromas and bright raspberry fruit. A seam of cola runs into a chocolatey finish, along with hints of licorice and tea. This was aged on the lees for 10 months in 20% new French oak barrels. 2824 cases; 13.7%; $70 (Willamette Valley) 93/100

Beaux Frères 2023 The Beaux Frères Vineyard Pinot Noir – This is the original estate block started in 1988, though how many of the original vines remain is unknown. The flavors here are subtle and complex, with a wash of savory chicken stock, light red fruits and dusty spices. It’s textural and neatly woven into a seamless whole, but starts slowly and reluctantly to fully unwrap. Still tight on day two, open and drinking at its best on day three. It was aged on the lees for 11 months in 20% new French oak barrels. 2886 cases; 13.75%; $125 (Ribbon Ridge) 94/100

Beaux Frères 2023 The Upper Terrace Pinot Noir – Planted in 2000 with Dijon clones, this delivers a spicy, bright, forward and concentrated Pinot Noir, the sort of young wine that invites a deep dive but requires time and patience. Purple berries, plums and cherries build a bold, brisk and dense mid-palate, compact, flavorful and deep. Guessing that new oak was limited to 20 or 30%, bringing a suggestion of baking spices without taking over from the delicious fruit. Lovely already, but built for another decade of improvement. Showed well on day three. 1372 cases; 13.7%; $140 (Ribbon Ridge) 95/100

Beaux Frères 2023 Sequitur Vineyard Pinot Noir – Mike Etzel, the co-founder of Beaux Frères, planted this young vineyard in 2012 with 17 different clones of Pinot Noir. It’s just reaching an age where the particularity of the site begins to come into full view, an expressive tapestry of wild berries, forest floor phenolics, pine needle spiciness, juicy citrus and tannins with suggestions of breakfast tea. This has a kind of elegance that unwraps slowly, yet it’s already so impressive that there’s no doubt about its immense potential to age over decades. ?? cases; 14.15%; $100 (Ribbon Ridge) 96/100

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Evesham Wood

Evesham Wood 2024 Le Puits Sec Chardonnay – Old vine, estate grown, dry-farmed, vinified with native yeast and aged in neutral French oak, this is an elegant wine, aromatically intense, with exceptional grip. Lemon polish, beeswax, pollen and honeycomb are front and center, bringing texture and dynamic length to the wine as it unfolds. It starts out feeling light and gains volume and weight in the glass, with tangy citrus and apple fruits. Vibrant, crisp and clean, it’s a pleasure with food or in a solo role. 50 cases; 12.5%; $40 (Eola-Amity Hills) 95/100

Evesham Wood 2024 Pinot Noir – Eight vineyards contribute to this wine, including such all-stars as Koosah and Sojeau. It’s an incredible value, built like a brick outhouse (my old man’s favorite expression, though he used saltier language). In other words sturdy, big, full-bodied, with blocky black fruits, stiff tannins and power to spare. Finishes hard stop with bitter greens and clean earth. 7500 cases; 13%; $24 (Willamette Valley) 92/100

Evesham Wood 2024 Eola-Amity Hills Cuvée Pinot Noir – A multi-vineyard blend, still tightly bound, with white pepper and rhubarb and pomegranate fruit flavors. It’s framed with balanced phenolic notes of stem and earth, trailing out with touches of tobacco and black tea. Good length; it resonates beautifully for a full minute or longer. 925 cases; 13%; $34 (Eola-Amity Hills) 93/100

Evesham Wood 2024 La Grive Bleue Pinot Noir – More of this was made in 2024, sometimes an indication that more of the best grapes went into the blend. It’s dense and textured, laced with lightly saline acids, a sprinkle of espresso grounds and a weave of berries, chocolate, forest floor and graphite. Just 15% of the barrels were new. It brings accents of just-picked sage and rosemary, and those savory notes frame a long, clean finish. 175 cases; 13%; $48 (Eola-Amity Hills) 94/100

NOTE: At the end of this week’s post, past the paywall, is one more Evesham Wood review – the Wine of the Week.

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Haden Fig

Haden Fig 2024 Juliette Chardonnay – Sourced as per usual from the Mahonia vineyard, planted in 1985, this is barrel-aged for additional texture and roundness. It retains its defining citrus-soaked acids, with refreshing minerality and a hint of mint. It’s fruitier and fuller than, say, a Muscadet, but has that same palate-cleansing zesty character. No reason not to shuck a few oysters with this wine. 150 cases; 13%; $40 (Willamette Valley) 94/100

Haden Fig 2024 Pinot Noir – A blend of fruit from four vineyards, this I was told “is our looking glass to figure out what is yet to come from all of the other Haden Fig and Evesham Wood wines that are still in barrel.” Tasted alongside the Evesham Wood Willamette Valley bottling the two wines offer different flavors but are comparably good values. Here more savory notes suggest a chicken stock flavor, rich with herbs and a silky, almost oily texture. The fruit is red, tart raspberry and pomegranate. Balancing tannins form a clear frame around the finish. 1500 cases; 13.5%; $26 (Willamette Valley) 91/100

Haden Fig 2024 Croft Vineyard Pinot Noir – This tickles the senses with mixed aromas of clove, orange peel, dark chocolate and moist earth. The juicy blood orange, pie cherry fruit pumps up the mid-palate, then tightens back down in a tannic finish. I suspect this may still be coming out of bottle shock, and needs aggressive aeration. I gave it a few squeezes with my turkey baster/aerator, and the raspberry fruit jumped up. Plenty of bright acids here also; definitely a wine for springtime. 50 cases; 13.5%; $40 (Mt. Pisgah) 93/100

Haden Fig 2024 Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir – Forward and fruity and pretty as a young wine can be, this is seductive from the very first sip. Juicy berry fruit jumps out, with highlights of chocolate-covered orange peel. It’s like a peek into a box of chocolate truffles, and you grab this one first. The opening flavors persist, the chocolate builds, a peppery note emerges as the wine holds court through a strong, solid finish. 175 cases; 13.5%; $40 (Mt. Pisgah) 94/100

DISCOUNT – Our friends at Troon are offering a 10% discount on tickets to the upcoming Rhône Rangers Grand Tasting in McMinnville on June 13rh. Use the code TROON. Great lineup of wines – here’s a link.

Wine of the Week – This new feature is a paid subscriber bonus. The goal is to spotlight the most interesting wine I’ve tasted during the week. Not always the highest scoring, but often (as here) a very fine value. Why was it the most interesting? I’ll explain that in the review.