A Legacy of Learning, A Love of Wine

When you want a Washington wine with both history and precision, L’Ecole No. 41 is a place to begin. Founded in 1983 in a restored 1915 schoolhouse, the Walla Walla winery has spent more than four decades proving that Washington wine can be expressive, age-worthy, and deeply connected to place. Its two estate vineyards, Ferguson and Seven Hills, bring different soils, elevations, and growing conditions into the glass, while the Clubb family has carried the winery forward across three generations.

At a glance: Founded in 1983. Walla Walla Valley. Historic 1915 schoolhouse. Ferguson and Seven Hills estate vineyards. Third-generation family ownership.

That balance between continuity and change is what makes L’Ecole especially compelling today. When we met Marcus Rafanelli at Celebrate Walla Walla, we recognized a subtle brightness and roundness in the wines we had tasted over the years. The difference was not a rejection of L’Ecole’s identity. It felt more like a careful refinement of it: the same respect for place, with a new generation asking how that place can speak even more clearly.

The next evening, Melissa Clubb helped us understand the deeper story. L’Ecole is not simply preserving a legacy. It is using that legacy as a foundation for what comes next.

From Schoolhouse to Standard Bearer

Not every winery begins with a dream to make history. Some begin with a simple desire to do something meaningful. That was the case for Jean and Baker Ferguson, who transformed a weathered 1915 schoolhouse into what would become one of Walla Walla’s iconic wineries, L’Ecole No. 41. Jean was a teacher with a sharp mind for chemistry and a growing curiosity about winemaking. Baker, a seasoned banker, brought financial foresight and steady conviction. What began as a retirement project quickly evolved into a project well beyond that.

Soon, Jean’s son-in-law, Marty Clubb, left his engineering career to join the winery. First as an apprentice, then winemaker, and eventually managing owner, Marty elevated L’Ecole from beloved local winery to a respected name across the U.S. He also helped shape L’Ecole’s vineyard identity with estate-driven winemaking around flagship vineyards of Seven Hills and Ferguson. He did so shoulder to shoulder with fellow pioneers Rick Small of Woodward Canyon and Gary Figgins of Leonetti, founders of Walla Walla’s now-celebrated wine culture. Together, they fostered Walla Walla’s early wine culture, a collaborative spirit that still defines the valley today.

In 1983, they released their first wines, a Merlot and a Semillon, marking the beginning of an era.

The Precision Era with Marcus Rafanelli

In 2018, Marcus Rafanelli stepped into the role of winemaker, becoming only the fourth in L’Ecole’s history. It was a homecoming. Years earlier, Marcus had walked into the same schoolhouse as an intern, fresh from the Walla Walla Community College viticulture program.

Before returning to L’Ecole, he traveled from the Mosel to the Barossa, absorbing different styles, refining his technique, and discovering his own voice as a winemaker.

When we met Marcus at Celebrate Walla Walla in June 2025, we had already noticed a subtle change in L’Ecole’s wines. They seemed a little brighter and rounder. His approach felt grounded in thoughtful restraint and precision, not a rejection of what L’Ecole had built.

“When I walked into L’Ecole as an intern, it felt like stepping into history,” Marcus told us. “Now, I feel a responsibility to honor what came before, and to help shape what’s next.”

At the time of our conversation, that philosophy could be followed through the estate blends of Perigee and Ferguson and the freshness of the Old Vines Chenin Blanc. Working alongside Marty Clubb, Marcus represented the continuity we felt throughout the winery: respect for what came before, paired with a willingness to keep refining it.

In 2018, Marcus Rafanelli stepped into the role of winemaker, becoming only the fourth in L’Ecole’s history.

What to Pour First from L’Ecole No. 41

If you are choosing your first L’Ecole wine, begin with the style you already enjoy.

For a structured Washington red, the current 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate brings together fruit from Ferguson and Seven Hills, the two estate vineyards at the center of L’Ecole’s identity.

The 2023 Cabernet Franc/Merlot Estate offers another way to explore those two vineyards through a Bordeaux-style blend.

If you want the clearest introduction to one estate site, begin with the 2022 Ferguson. Grown at Ferguson Vineyard, this Cabernet Sauvignon-led blend is structured, energetic, and built to age. It connects the winery’s family legacy directly to one of the vineyards Marty Clubb helped establish as part of L’Ecole’s future.

For white-wine drinkers, the current 2024 Semillon Stillwater offers freshness and texture while showing why L’Ecole’s whites deserve attention alongside its better-known reds.

Check current price and availability for the 2022 L’Ecole No. 41 Ferguson Estate Red.

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Where Legacy and Vision Intersect

The beautifully restored schoolhouse still stands proudly on Highway 12, a visual anchor in the Walla Walla Valley. But more than a landmark, it’s a living symbol of what this winery stands for: education, evolution, and enduring values. L’Ecole’s story is part of a larger Walla Walla tradition of small, pioneering wineries working together to define what the region could become. Our story about another Walla Walla winery shaped by loss, art, and the people who carried it forward follows another branch of that history.

What struck us during our visit wasn’t only the wine. It was the way everyone spoke about legacy, with reverence, yes, but also with momentum. Marcus emphasized that he isn’t there to simply maintain tradition, he’s there to add to it. And that’s what makes L’Ecole’s story one we want to keep returning to. It’s not frozen in time. It’s moving forward, with purpose and precision.

Planning a Visit to L’Ecole No. 41

L’Ecole’s historic schoolhouse is in Lowden, Washington, in the Walla Walla Valley. Visitors can taste current releases in the original schoolhouse, explore the Legacy Cellar, or book one of the winery’s more immersive experiences. The winery’s visitor page lists current tasting options, hours, reservations, and locations.

For readers planning a Walla Walla trip, L’Ecole is valuable not only because of the wines. It offers a tangible connection to the region’s early history: a working winery housed in the same schoolhouse that helped establish Walla Walla as a serious wine destination.

Want to continue exploring Walla Walla’s early wine story? Watch our video about the wineries that helped establish Washington Cabernet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oy13bPBztg, which touches on Eric Dunham learning winemaking at L’Ecole under Marty Clubb.

L’Ecole’s Current Winemaking Leadership

This story began with our conversations with Marcus Rafanelli and Melissa Clubb in 2025. The passages above preserve what we learned during that encounter and the changes we tasted in the wines at that time.

In November 2025, L’Ecole appointed David Rosenthal as Director of Winemaking. The winery’s current leadership page states that David now leads its vineyard and winemaking activities, working closely with Marty Clubb, Co-owner and Managing Winemaker, and Ryan Pennington, Chief Operating Officer.

The change reinforces the central idea of this story. L’Ecole’s legacy has never depended on keeping the winery fixed in one moment. Each generation has been trusted to build upon what the previous one established.

Read L’Ecole’s official announcement about David Rosenthal’s appointment.

L’Ecole’s story is moving forward with purpose and precision.

“When I walked into L’Ecole as an intern, it felt like stepping into history. Now, I feel a responsibility to honor what came before, and to help shape what’s next.”

L’Ecole No. 41 is a useful place to begin if you want to understand why Walla Walla wines matter. Start with one of the estate wines, taste it with dinner, and then explore the people and vineyards behind the label. Visit the winery directly: https://www.lecole.com/.

The region’s combination of history, place, and careful winemaking also comes through in the wider Walla Walla wine story: read about how a nearby hillside estate built its own sense of place.

Continue exploring through our United States wine page, or subscribe to the Spoken Wines newsletter for more firsthand stories from the vineyards and cellars we visit.