We have been talking a lot lately about winemaker Dave Phinney, The Prisoner, and Orin Swift Cellars. The reason is because he is fabulously successful, much like Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots has been in the NFL. Dave, like Bill, somehow manages, year after year, to put an outstanding product on the “field,” making everyone else sit up and take notice.

Phinney’s latest venture is the Locations wine brand. The concept is simple: make only one wine from one location, the best possible wine that location can produce. The first Locations wine was produced in 2009, from the Roussillon region of Southern France, a Grenache blend named D66, and the concept took off from there.

This week’s feature is from Washington State, called simply WA. Only the finest grapes were sourced from all over the Columbia Valley, and the result is a blend of Syrah, Merlot, and Petit Sirah that is delicious, and quite an amazing bargain. Famed wine critic Robert Parker had high praise for the Locations wines, saying there are no “better wines for under $20 a bottle in the world today.”

Locations WA is brimming with aromas of blueberries and earth, and rich plum and chocolate flavors. This was a much more layered wine than I expected! After the fruit flavors hit, a long finish of licorice and tea; deliciously complex.

On my five-cork scale based on taste and value, Locations WA from Orin Swift Cellars gets 3.75 corks! You can find it for $19.99 at The Party Source, and about $5 more elsewhere – which knocked it down a quarter point.

If you’d like to try interesting wines like this, please join me at our next private wine party at The Party Source! I host a wine dinner there every month with sommelier and wine manager Steve Tartaglia, and we feature several interesting wines, paired with a delicious catered dinner from Kate’s Catering and Personal Chef Services. There are always cool prizes to win, too, so listen Wednesday at 4:15 to win your spot on the guest list, or click here for a chance to win!