Walla Walla Valley Report 2011 Part I

Below is Part I of a report from the Walla Walla Valley including wines from Rasa Vineyards, Mackey Vineyards, Fjellene Cellars, Sleight of Hand Cellars, and àMaurice Cellars. Read a .pdf version of this report here.

Rasa Vineyards

Rasa Vineyards continues to cut a path as one of the most impressive new wineries to emerge in Washington in the last several years. There is no let up with the wineries latest wines. In fact, the current releases are as good or better than any that the winery has produced.

Brothers Billo and Pinto Naravane have made several additions to the lineup in the last year. The first is adding a label called PB (for their first initials). These are not declassified Rasa wines but rather high quality juice that didn’t fit into the Rasa program. These wines offer extraordinary value for their price point.

For the 2010 vintage, which featured cooler temperatures and higher acidity, the Naravanes made a Riesling in more of an Auslese style than their thrilling 2009 The Composer Riesling. The resulting wine, named The Lyricist, has considerably more sugar but is beautifully balanced with acidity. The result is, once again, as good of a Riesling as is being produced in Washington State.

The Naravanes have also added a stunning new Bordeaux-style blend from DuBrul Vineyard (see barrel sample notes on this wine here). Billo Naravane first met Cote Bonneville winemaker Kerry Shiels at UC Davis. Naravane later met with Kerry’s father, DuBrul Vineyard owner Hugh Shiels. “An hour meeting turned into a seven hour thing,” Naravane says. At the time, Naravane did not yet know just how coveted DuBrul fruit was. “Hugh just laughed when I asked him about fruit,” Naravane says. He later received a call offering a small parcel and accepted without even asking the price.

The resulting wine, Creative Impulse, is named after the brothers’ creative urges, urges that were always contained by their parents growing up. The Naravane’s creative skills are on full display on this wine, which rivals the best Bordeaux-style blends coming out of Washington.

Note that Rasa Vineyards is now located in the southern section of the Walla Walla Valley in the facility formerly occupied by Hence Cellars.

PB Syrah Yakima Valley 2008 $29
Rating: * (Excellent) Extremely dark in color. Aromas of earth, black pepper, game, dark berries, and licorice. Deep, rich, tart, flavorful fruit with a hyper-extended finish. An extremely high QPR wine. 100% Syrah. Aged 21 months in French oak (25% new). 14.8% alcohol. 224 cases produced.

PB Syrah/Cabernet Kiona Vineyards Red Mountain 2008 $29
Rating: */** (Excellent/Exceptional) Abundant aromas of licorice, soil, light herbal notes, and dark fruit. Big and bold on the palate with a firm backbone of tannins and rich fruit flavors. 67% Syrah, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged 21 months in French oak (33% new). 14.8% alcohol. 187 cases produced.

Rasa Vineyards Vox Populi Mourvedre Columbia Valley 2009 $45
Rating: */** (Excellent/Exceptional) Dark and brilliant in color with a purple tinge at the rim. Aromas of chalk, white pepper, light game, and earth. A rich, textured palate with winding fruit flavors and a persistent intensity on the finish. 100% Mourvedre. 52% Minick, 48% 48% Alder Ridge. Aged in French oak (22% new). 14.4% alcohol. 89 cases produced.

Rasa Vineyards QED Red Wine Columbia Valley 2008 $50
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Almost completely opaque. Intoxicating aromas of black olive juice, penetrating dark berries, game, floral notes, and whiffs of dark chocolate. The palate is textured and seamlessly put together with pure berry flavors and silky tannins. Capped off by a seemingly endless finish. 83% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 5% Mourvedre, and 2% Viognier. Les Collines, Double River, and Minick vineyards. Aged in French oak (22% new). 14.4% alcohol. 675 cases produced.

Rasa Vineyards Principia Reserve Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2008 $85
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Dark in color. Quite closed up at present but shows aromas of earth, game, and berries. The palate is lithe, seamless and elegant, filled with textured fruit flavors. An incredibly impressive wine with a long life ahead of it. Give 3-plus years. 100% Syrah. Les Collines, Seven Hills, Lewis, and Portteus vineyards. Aged 30 months in French oak (25% new). 14.2% alcohol. 115 cases produced.

Rasa Vineyards Creative Impulse Red Wine Yakima Valley 2008 $95
Rating: ** (Exceptional) A compelling wine with earth, dark, dark cherry, chocolate, and herbal notes. On the palate a beautiful display of richness and power, structure and delicacy. An extremely long finish. Only continues to pick up steam after days of being open. 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot. Aged 30 months in French oak (60% new). 15.1% alcohol. 140 cases produced.

Rasa Vineyards The Lyricist Riesling Columbia Valley 2010 $32
Rating: ** (Exceptional) An extremely aromatic wine with a fresh twist of lemon with honey, lime, green apple, and floral notes. On the sweet side of off-dry but with laser-like focus and beautifully balanced acidity. An extremely long, crisp, lingering finish. An exclamation point on Washington Riesling. 100% Riesling. Bacchus, Kilian, and Dionysus vineyards. 13.3% full botrytis, 16.9% partial botrytis. 4.89% Residual Sugar. 12.3% alcohol. 217 cases produced.

Mackey Vineyards

Mackey Vineyards is a new Walla Walla winery founded by brothers Roger and Phillip Mackey. Like many who have been captivated by the Washington wine scene, the Mackey brothers, “traded their dress suits for a tractor and a plow.”

Roger Mackey writes, “I think there is nothing more special than saying here, try my wine. It’s produced from my land.” Mackey Vineyard is located in a canyon in the southeast section of the Walla Walla Valley by a fork in the Walla Walla River. The winery also owns Frenchtown Vineyard in Lowden, Washington. In addition to these two sites, Mackey also sources fruit from Les Collines, Yellowbird, Sagemoor, and DuBrul vineyards.

Mackey Vineyards has a tasting room located in downtown Walla Walla. The wines are made by Billo Naravane of Rasa Vineyards.

Mackey Vineyards Syrah Estate Walla Walla Valley 2008 $32
Rating: * (Excellent) Dark in color. An appealing wine with char, blackberry, light game notes, mineral, and black tea leaves. The palate is soft and lighter bodied in style with black olive and umami notes and chalky tannins. 100% Syrah. Mackey Vineyard. Aged 18 months in French oak (40% new). 13.9% alcohol. 125 cases produced.

Mackey Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2008 $32
Rating: * (Excellent) Aromas of cherry, herbal notes, pencil shavings, and dry chocolate. Dry and light bodied on the palate with elegant cherry flavors, soft tannins, and a chalky feel. Aged in French oak (70% new). 80.4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.7% Merlot, 4.9% Petit Verdot. Mackey Vineyard, Heather Hill, and Gamache vineyards. Aged 21 months in French oak (70% new). 14.5% alcohol. 148 cases produced.

Mackey Vineyards Concordia Red Wine Columbia Valley 2009 $38
Rating: * (Excellent) Like running through a field of wild flowers and berries eating a bar of dark chocolate. A perfumed palate that is deft on its feet with a silky structure, full of berry flavors, game, and mineral notes. Lingers on the finish. 77.4% Syrah, 12.9% Grenache, and 9.7% Mourvedre. Les Collines, Bacchus, and Minick vineyards. Aged 18 months in French oak (35% new). 14.9% alcohol. 370 cases produced.

Mackey Vineyards Off-Dry Riesling Columbia Valley 2010 $15
Rating: * (Excellent) An aromatic wine with red apples, tropical fruit, honey, and floral notes. Off-dry in style with a fair amount of sugar but well balanced by mouthwatering acidity. A very well-priced bottle of wine for this level of quality. 100% Riesling. Bacchus and Kilian Vineyards. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. 12.1% alcohol. 167 cases produced.

Fjellene Cellars

Fjellene Cellars, pronounced fyel-LAY-nuh, is a new Walla Walla winery. The winery is named after a word for mountains in Norwegian. Owner and winemaker Matthew Erlandson says that the winery is, “Dedicated to those who find solace in a place which most will never experience.”

Erlandson was an outdoor educator and guide for thirteen years at NOLS and Outward Bound in the western United States, British Columbia, and Central and South America before deciding to turn his attention to winemaking. He was working a job at Northern Arizona University when he took a three-month absence to make wine in Washington. Hooked, he gave his notice, sold his house, and moved to Walla Walla. Erlandson made his first wines in 2007 and had his first release this spring. The 2007 through 2009 wines were made while he was an assistant at Balboa and Beresan, and Erlandson credits winemaker Tom Glase with mentoring him. Erlandson moved into the space previously occupied by Trust Cellars, which moved to the airport region, at the beginning of the year.

Erlandson puts a particular emphasis on vineyard sources, saying, “I want my Cabernet Franc to taste like Cabernet Franc from Waliser Vineyard.” Erlandson uses a variety of excellent sources, including Les Collines, Yellow Jacket, Waliser, Two Blondes, and Candy Mountain. With the exception of two blends, the Fjellene Cellars wines are otherwise single vineyard and single varietal, including a rare Walla Walla Valley-designated Sauvignon Blanc.

Stylistically Erlandson says, “I love low alcohol, high acid wines. I want to be simple with the wines and not over complicate things.” Indeed, Erlandson’s wines are unusual from most of what can be found in the valley, with less emphasis on oak and overly ripe fruit flavors. Rather these wines are more acid driven and best enjoyed with food. Fjellene Cellars, which Erlandson owns with his wife Sarah, puts a particular emphasis on sustainability. Pumice and stems are composted; lees are recycled; old barrels are turned into artwork. Erlandson writes, “Although we are not claiming to be sustainable at this time, we are making every effort to minimize our waste while renewing our resources to lessen our impact on the planet. We believe that sustainability is not something you achieve, but rather a mindset that requires time and long-term goals.”

In a nod to his love of the mountains, the Fjellene label is an image of a mountain in the Cordillera Blanca in Peru. With his new winery Matt Erlandson provides further evidence to my hypothesis that climbers make good winemakers – and provides one of the year’s more intriguing new wineries. This will be one to keep an eye on.

Fjellene Cellars produced 600 cases in 2008 and 2009 and 1,000 cases in 2010.

Fjellene Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Walla Walla Valley 2010 $22
Rating: + (Good) Aromas of pear, melon, and touches of tropical fruit. Fresh and fruit-filled on the palate with abundant grapefruit flavors. 100% Les Collines Vineyard Block 2. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. 13.0% alcohol. 125 cases produced.

Fjellene Cellars Rosé Columbia Valley 2010 $20
Rating: + (Good) Light cherry red color. Abundant strawberry, cherry, and light bubble gum notes. Crisp and tart with bright acidity with just the suggestion of sugar (0.89 g/L). 100% Syrah. 12.5% alcohol. 100 cases produced. NB: The only reason I don’t list this wine as ‘Recommended’ is the price point is a bit high compared to its peers. However, this remains one of my favorite rosés of the year.

Fjellene Cellars Cabernet Franc Columbia Valley 2008 $28
Rating: +/* (Good/Excellent) An aromatically appealing wine with baker’s chocolate, herbal notes, and whiffs of roasted nuts. The palate is restrained on the oak and alcohol with tart, winding fruit flavors. Aged 21 months in French oak (25% new). 100% Cabernet Franc. Waliser Vineyard. Aged 20 months in French oak (25% new). 14.1% alcohol. 48 cases produced.

Fjellene Cellars The North Col Blend Columbia Valley 2007 $32
Rating: * (Excellent) Aromas of dusty chocolate, herbal notes, and tea leaves. Tart on the palate with dried black cherries and crisp acidity. An enjoyable, stylistic wine meant to be consumed with food. Those looking for big fruit and lots of oak flavors should look elsewhere. 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc. Waliser Vineyard. Aged 20 months in French oak (50% new). 14.1% alcohol. 96 cases produced.

Fjellene Cellars The South Col Blend Columbia Valley 2008 $32
Rating: +/* (Good/Excellent) Aromas of dry chocolate, herbal notes, and a touch of the Rocks funk. Tart and light bodied on the palate with a big ball of fruit in the middle. 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 13% Cabernet Franc. Yellow Jacket, Waliser, and Candy Mountain vineyards. Aged 20 months in French oak (25% new). 14.1% alcohol. 192 cases produced.

Fjellene Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley 2008 $35
Rating: * (Excellent) Lightly aromatic with medicinal notes, baker’s chocolate, herbal notes, and cherry. The fruit is restrained and the oak far in the background with a real acid blast that stitches this wine together. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Pepper Bridge. Aged 20 months in French oak (30% new). 14.3% alcohol. 48 cases produced.

Sleight of Hand Cellars

Sleight of Hand Cellars is movin’ on up like George and Wheezy – both literally and figuratively. The winery recently moved into a new location in the southern part of Walla Walla next door to Saviah Cellars and Beresan. The facility, which has a LARGE Sleight of Hand Cellars sign on the outside, is 2,000 square feet with a barrel space big enough to accommodate 4,000 cases annually. The winery is also building a new facility next door where production will take place. There is even a guest house on the property for wine club members.

While the new facility is much larger than the winery’s downtown tasting room, which is now inhabited by Kerloo Cellars, the vibe is still the same. On the day I visited the winery the Beach Boys Pet Sounds was playing, on vinyl of course.

The juice from winemaker Trey Busch continues movin’ on up as well. Current releases include a dazzling Chardonnay from French Creek Vineyard (Maison Bleue also makes a vineyard designated Chardonnay from this vineyard which provides an interesting comparison and contrast) and a new release from the winery – the Funkadelic Syrah. This wine is from third leaf fruit from Richard Funk’s vineyard in the Rocks region of the Walla Walla Valley. This is a compelling example Walla Walla Valley Syrah, showing the stylistic consistency from this southern valley region.

Sleight of Hand Cellars The Magician White Wine Evergreen Vineyard Columbia Valley 2010 $17
Rating: * (Excellent) An aromatic wine with peaches, white flowers, honey, and mineral. A full bodied wine that is tart and crisp with rounded fruit flavors, especially lime. This is your perfect, delicious summer wine. 85% Gewurztraminer, 15% Riesling. 12.5% alcohol. 1.1% Residual Sugar.

Sleight of Hand Cellars The Enchantress Chardonnay Yakima Valley 2009 $28
Rating: * (Excellent) Aromas of spice, butter, and Granny Smith apple. A layered wine with a creamy mid-palate and etched acidity. 100% Chardonnay. French Creek Vineyard. Barrel fermented and aged 11 months in neutral French oak. 14.1% alcohol. 90 cases produced.

Sleight of Hand Cellars Magician’s Assistant Rose Columbia Valley $17
Rating: + (Good) A very pretty light salmon color. Aromas of strawberry, melon, and light spices. Bone dry on the palate with crisp, incredibly fresh fruit flavors. An extremely enjoyable wine with great acidity. 100% Cabernet Franc. Black Rock and Chelle den Millie vineyards. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. 13.2% alcohol. Recommended

Sleight of Hand Cellars The Spellbinder Red Wine Columbia Valley 2009 $19
Rating: * (Excellent) Abundant cherry aromas along with tobacco and herbal notes on a wine with a lot of aromatic complexity for its price point. A rich mouthfeel on an incredibly clean, focused palate with refined tannins. A lingering finish. A screaming deal at this price point. 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 10% Sangiovese, and 9% Syrah. Blue Mountain, Red Mountain, Phinny Hill, Seven Hills, Lewis, Les Collines, Blackrock, Chelle den Mille, and Double Canyon vineyards. Aged 11 months in neutral French oak. 14.4% alcohol.

Sleight of Hand Cellars The Illusionist Red Wine Columbia Valley 2008 $45
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Appealing aromas of black cherry, coffee bean, a jumble of blue fruit, and mineral notes. The palate has incredibly clean, fresh, plump fruit flavors with dense, refined, supple tannins. Beautiful intensity of fruit with a lot of pure cabernet flavors. 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah. Va Piano, Double River, Red Mountain, Frenchtown, Chelle den Mille vineyards. Aged 23 months in French oak (50% new). 14.5% alcohol.

Sleight of Hand Cellars Levitation Syrah Columbia Valley 2008 $40
Rating: * (Excellent) Dark in color with purple at the rim. Abundant notes of violets along with smoked meats and a toasty top note. The palate is lithe and loaded with raspberries and red fruit flavors. A cranberry lick on the finish. 100% Syrah. Les Collines and Lewis Vineyards. Aged 18 months in French oak (50% new). 298 cases produced.

Sleight of Hand Cellars Funkadelic Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2009 $60
Rating: */** (Excellent/Exceptional) Aromas jump from the glass of earth, funk, mineral, black olive juice, ash, game, and a whiff of orange peel. A thoroughly delicious, delectable wine that shows the Rocks district of the Walla Walla Valley perfectly. 100% Syrah. The Funk Vineyard. Aged 11 months in French oak (25% new). 13.9% alcohol. 95 cases produced.

àMaurice Cellars

Winemaker Anna Schafer of àMaurice Cellars continues to impress with another set of extraordinary releases. It’s clear talking with Schafer that she has a strong attachment to her wines. Schafer says, referring to her new releases – some of which are currently out and the rest of which will be released shortly – “I don’t know about the new people showing up. You have to live with them for a year to get used to them.”

While it may take Schafer time to adjust, the new àMaurice Cellars wines are among the best the winery has produced. The entire lineup is captivating without a weak link in the bunch. Among the standouts is an extremely high quality Chardonnay. While Schafer’s Malbec is always one of the winery’s strengths – and among the best examples of this varietal in Washington – the 2008 vintage offering is bigger and brawnier, or as Schafer says affectionately, “a little monster.”

Schafer calls the Red Blend in the “heart of the winery” and if so the heart beats strongly. The 2008 vintage is named after Northwest artist Mark Tobey, the first American painter to ever have an exhibit at the Louvre. The 2008 vintage contains a healthy dose – 30% – of Cabernet Franc. Schafer says of the blend, “At first Cabernet Franc fights with the other kids at first and then it subsides.” The 2008 ‘The Tobey’ Red Wine is a stunner that punches far above its price point.

àMaurice Cellars Viognier Columbia Valley 2009 $25
Rating: * (Excellent) An aromatic wine with white peaches and light floral notes. The palate is full bodied redolent with peach flavors with a honeyed feel. Capped off by a long finish. 100% Viognier. Gamache Vineyard & Elephant Mountain Vineyards. Barrel fermented and aged in 2-year old French oak. 354 cases produced.

àMaurice Cellars Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2008 $28
Rating: * (Excellent) A light green tinge to the color. Appealing aromas of spice and light toast along with yellow apple. Palate is crisp, tart, and textured with a weighted feel and a long finish. Add àMaurice Cellars to the list of great Washington Chardonnay producers. 100% Chardonnay. Conner Lee and Lewis vineyards. Fermented and aged in French oak (30% new). 314 cases produced.

àMaurice Cellars Grenache/Syrah Columbia Valley 2008 $34
Rating: * (Excellent) An aromatic wine with a jumble of red and blue fruit along with light game, raspberries, floral notes, and a distinctive mineral note. Deliciously ripe, fleshy red fruit flavors on the palate lead to a lingering finish. Has a grainy, chewy feel. 88% Syrah, 12% Grenache. Boushey, Lewis, Minick, and aMaurice vineyards. Aged in 2-year-old French oak. 231 cases produced.

àMaurice Cellars Malbec Columbia Valley 2008 $35
Rating: */** (Excellent/Exceptional) Dark and inky with a purple rim. Abundant pepper and plum aromas along with spice. Rich and flavorful on the palate with great depth on a deliciously varietal wine. A big, brawny beast with a long finish. 100% Malbec. Gamache Vineyard. Aged in French oak (40% new). 14.5% alcohol. 320 cases produced.

àMaurice Cellars ‘The Tobey’ Red Wine Blend Columbia Valley 2008 $35
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Cabernet Franc pops at present with herbal notes, rich cherries, and high toned floral notes. A rich, layered wine with graceful, structured tannins. Huge and rich with focused fruit flavors. 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 26% Merlot. Sagemoor, Bacchus, Dionysus, Gamache, Weinbau, and Tokar vineyards. Aged in French oak. 14.6% alcohol. 492 cases produced.

Fresh Sheet July 14th 2011

Today’s Fresh Sheet – new and recent Washington wine releases – includes wines from Vinyl Wines, Mannina Cellars, Long Shadows, and Woodhouse Wine Estates.

Vinyl Wines

Vinyl Wines is a unique project from winemaker Chip McLaughlin and Spencer Richards. The winery aims to bridge the gap between McLaughlin’s two passions – wine and music.

McLaughlin was introduced to the world of wine by his brother Erik. Erik has a long history in the wine industry, from a corporate wine buyer for Cost Plus, to restaurant owner, and most recently as Director of Wineries for Corliss Estates. “There were always a lot of bottles to open and try,” McLaughlin says.

McLaughlin also grew up around music, with his father a program director and on-air personality in Boise, Idaho, McLaughlin’s home town. In fact, McLaughlin’s birth announcement was a picture from the hospital on a vinyl record. True to these roots, McLaughlin plays guitar and piano.

It wasn’t until he moved to Walla Walla in 2009 that McLaughlin became serious about making wine. “I fell in love with Walla Walla the first time I went up there,” he says. McLaughlin started out making wine almost straight off, learning through “osmosis” from working with a number of the area’s winemakers.

These are Vinyl Wines’ inaugural releases. The first is the R³ , standing for Rick Ross Rosé – a hip hop artist who frequently raps about this much maligned wine. The EQ Grenache has a double meaning, both standing for equalization and the initials of one of McLaughlin’s best friend’s daughters. This is a seldom seen Walla Walla Valley designated bottle.

Each of the Vinyl wines has a code on the side of the cork. Using the code people can go to the winery’s website and download a playlist of songs from unsigned bands McLaughlin is interested in. Each bottle also has a short piece of music notation along the side, with the Grenache sporting the guitar lead to “Artist and the Ambulance” by Thrice.

Vinyl Wines made 110 cases in 2010.

Vinyl Wines R³ Rosé Columbia Valley 2010 $15
Rating: + (Good) Bright pink colored. An aromatic wine with cherries, strawberry, and other red fruit along with bubble gum notes. Palate brings more fruit flavors than are often seen in rose along with well balanced by acidity with just a suggestion of Residual Sugar (0.4) that carries the wine across the palate to the finish. Alcohol shows through at times. 13.3% alcohol. 91 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Vinyl ‘EQ’ Grenache Walla Walla Valley $25
Rating: +/* (Good/Excellent) Light in color. Delicate aromas of tea leaves, cranberries, red berries, and orange peel. The palate is delicate and light-bodied but with a full, fleshy feel with abundant cranberry flavors. 100% Grenache. Cockburn Ranch. Aged in second fill French oak. 13.6% alcohol. 25 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Mannina Cellars

Mannina Cellars’ winemaker Don Redman was working as a police officer in Los Angeles when he decided it was time for a change. “I decided whatever I could put in the back of my truck, that was what I was moving to Washington,” Redman says.

Redman started out working at a pulp mill in Bellingham before an opportunity at Boise Cascade brought him to Walla Walla in 2001. Chris Figgins of Leonetti Cellar came over for dinner one night and brought a bottle of his wine. For Redman, it was a revelation. “I was like, wow! That’s different,” he says.

Redman started out as a home winemaker in 2002 before renting space from Richard Funk at Saviah Cellars to make his first commercial wine. He named the winery Mannina Cellars after his mother, Roseanne Mannina, who emigrated from Sicily in 1942.

Mannina Cellars is located in the airport region of Walla Walla. Redman did his own work on the building including plumbing and painting to help keep prices down. “My wife and I just want to make a living,” he says. Redman also keeps the Mannina Cellars wines at very affordable prices, saying, “Right out of the shoot to price my wines high? Who the hell am I?”

While Redman initially sourced grapes from throughout Washington, he now uses fruit exclusively from Walla Walla. “I want to be a Walla Walla winery,” Redman says.

Redman planted a 29-acre vineyard out by Birch Creek two years ago. “I work it. I farm it. I do everything,” he says. While many have visions of what it would be like to work in a vineyard, Redman says with a laugh, “If it was one acre it would be romantic…”

All of the Mannina Cellars wines are well made, low oak and low alcohol wines with abundant tart fruit flavors. Far from cocktails, these wines need food to show their best.

Mannina Cellars produces 2,700 cases annually.

Mannina Sangiovese Seven Hills Vineyard Walla Walla Valley 2008 $22
Rating: + (Good) Dark in color. A lightly aromatic wine with high toned herbal notes, raspberries, and strawberries. Light bodied, tart and acidic on the palate. Drops off toward the finish. 92% Sangiovese, 8% Merlot. Aged 13 months in neutral French and Hungarian oak. 14.1% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Mannina Cellars RoseAnne’s Red Walla Walla Valley 2008 $20
Rating: . (Decent) A pretty, lightly aromatic wine with herbal notes, red cherries, and light wood spices. Very tart on the palate with sour cherry flavors. 55% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. Golden Ridge and Birch Creek vineyards. 13.8% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Mannina Cellars Merlot Birch Creek Vineyards Walla Walla Valley 2008 $24
Rating: ./+ (Decent/Good) A lightly aromatic wine with sweet spices, vanilla, herbal notes, and high toned cherries. Tart on the palate with zippy acidity and grainy tannins. 91% Merlot. 9% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13.7% alcohol. 135 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Mannina Cellars Cali Red Wine Walla Walla Valley 2008 $17
Rating: + (Good) A lightly aromatic wine with red cherries, herbal notes, green notes, and kisses of black licorice. Tart and puckering on the palate with mocha flavors and an acidic kick. 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, and 4% Sangiovese. Birch Creek, Pepper Bridge, Les Collines, and Seven Hills vineyards. 13.8% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Mannina Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Birch Creek Vineyards Walla Walla Valley 2008 $30
Rating: . (Decent) A lightly aromatic wine with herbal notes, green notes, and cherries. A fresh, clean wine with abundant, puckering cherry flavors on the palate. 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot. 13.9% alcohol. 92 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Onesies

At Long Shadows former Stimson Lane CEO Allen Shoup pairs top winemakers from around the world with fruit from some of Washington’s best vineyards. Here acclaimed Napa Valley winemaker Randy Dunn gives his interpretation of Washington Cabernet Sauvignon. As with the 2007 vintage listed below, this is always an intriguing bottle, showing more of the grape’s elegance and sophistication than its sheer power that is often on display.

Feather Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2007 $55
Rating: * (Excellent) An aromatically appealing wine with dried cranberries, raspberries, very light herbal notes, scorched earth, and peppery spices. The palate is full of concentrated fruit flavors, lush but far from over the top, with grainy tannins. A very pretty expression of Cabernet Sauvignon that will only improve with time in the cellar. Give one to two years. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged 22 months in French oak (90% new). 14.2% alcohol. 1,991 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Kennedy Shah is a label for Woodhouse Wine Estates, which also includes Dussek, Darighe, Hudson Shah, and Maghee. Jean Claude Beck, whose familial winemaking roots date back to 1579, serves as winemaker here. The Kennedy Shah Reserve from DuBrul Vineyard is a rare bottle of vineyard-designated Riesling from this esteemed vineyard.

Kennedy Shah Reserve Riesling DuBrul Vineyard Yakima Valley 2009 $25
Rating: . (Decent) A lightly aromatic wine with pear and lemon notes. Tart on the palate with a somewhat fat feel with abundant pear, lemon, and lime notes. Alcohol bleeds through at times. 100% Riesling. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. 14.3% alcohol. 124 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Recent print articles and thoughts on Washington Chardonnay

The July/August edition of edibleSeattle contains an article I wrote titled ‘Liquid assets: Why Chenin Blanc is a grape worth saving.’ The article, which contains a list of recommendations, can be found at the following locations.

Also, the July edition of Seattle Metropolitan contains a short piece I penned on Chardonnay. As discussed in the article, many consumers have a love/hate relationship with Chardonnay. Part of the reason for this is that there is a lot of mediocre Chardonnay out there – and bad Chardonnay can be positively dreadful.

Washington sees its fair share of middling Chard. More recently, however, a number of wineries in the state have started to make excellent bottles. Read some recommendations as well as additional thoughts on the grape here.

In addition to the wines in the article, there are a few Chardonnays that I have had recently that deserve mention. The first is the new vintage of the Au Contraire Chardonnay from Maison Bleue (the article refers to the superb 2009 vintage, the first Chardonnay I ever purchased in abundance). As with previous vintages, this wine hails from French Creek Vineyard, which boasts 30-year old vines. The wine was fermented half in stainless steel and half in neutral barrels with partial malolactic fermentation (about 50%). The result is a textured wine that still retains its crispness and has bright acidity.

The next is Sleight of Hand Cellars’ 2009 The Enchantress Chardonnay – which I must say is quite aptly named. This wine also hails from French Creek Vineyard. In contrast to the Maison wine, the Sleight of Hand Chardonnay was fermented all in oak, using three to four year old barrels. The result is both an interesting contrast and an absolutely delicious wine in its own right.

An about face from these wines using stainless steel and neutral oak comes from Gorman Winery. The 2009 Big Sissy Chardonnay was barrel fermented using native yeast in 100% new French oak with partial malolactic fermentation. The fruit comes from Conner Lee Vineyard. True to the house style, this is a rich, big wine with a creamy palate, the likes of which is more frequently seen in California than Washington – at four times the price.

Feel free to leave comments on other Washington Chardonnays that have rocked your world.

Maison Bleue Au Contraire Chardonnay Yakima Valley 2010 $20
Rating: * (Excellent) Lightly aromatic with mineral, spice, crème fraiche, and yellow apple. Palate is full on the entry and then pulls back and continues with a leaner style with mineral notes accented by a lemony acidity. A long finish on another impressive wine from this emerging star. 100% Chardonnay. Aged in neutral French oak (50%) and stainless steel with partial malolactic fermentation (50%). 13.2% alcohol. 408 cases produced.

Sleight of Hand Cellars The Enchantress Chardonnay Yakima Valley 2009 $28
Rating: * (Excellent) Aromas of spice, butter, and Granny Smith apple. A layered wine with a creamy mid-palate and etched acidity. Barrel fermented and aged 11 months in neutral French oak. 14.1% alcohol. 90 cases produced.

Gorman Winery The Big Sissy Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2009 $35
Rating: * (Excellent) Beautiful, compelling aromas of spice, butter, ripe apples, and tropical fruit. A rich, full wine with a creamy, textured mouthfeel and a long finish. 100% Chardonnay. Conner Lee Vineyard. Barrel fermented in 100% new French oak with partial malolactic fermentation. 225 cases produced.

2010 Rosé Round-up – Part II

Time once again to focus our attention on rosé with another look at wines from the 2010 vintage (read part I here).

The next two months mark the brief period when people in the Pacific Northwest are able to drink rosé as one should – sitting outdoors with the sun shining down rather than sitting under the sun lamp, taking vitamin D, and visualizing warmer days with a glass of pink wine in hand.

Here we take a look at three Southern Rhone-style blends along with one Sangiovese. Let’s get down to it.

The first wine is from Ott & Murphy Wines. Ott & Murphy is located in Langley, Washington on Whidbey Island. The winery is named after head winemaker Eric Murphy and his business partner David Ott. The 2010 Chanson Rosé is one of the more enjoyable rosés I have come across in this vintage – crisp and refreshing just as a rosé should be. Of note, Ott & Murphy recently opened an off-site tasting room in Langley. Look for a full post on this winery in the coming weeks.

The next wine comes from the Doyenne side of DeLille Cellars. Doyenne is dedicated to Rhone-style wines. With its 2010 Rosé, DeLille offers a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, and Mourvedre from two top notch vineyard sites – Ciel du Cheval and Boushey.

Dusted Valley Vintners’ 2010 Ramblin’ Rosé is a blend of Mourvedre, Cinsault, Grenache, and Syrah. The grapes come from the first crop at the winery’s Stoney Vine Vineyard in The Rocks district of the Walla Walla Valley. The accompanying package from the winery even included a piece of rock from the vineyard – “I bet this is the first time you’ve ever received a rock in the mail!,” Dusted Valley’s Chelsea Tennyson says. Indeed!

The last wine comes from Waterbrook – a 100% Sangiovese.

Feel free to leave comments about rosés you’ve enjoyed this season.

Ott & Murphy Chanson Rosé Columbia Valley 2010 $15
Rating: + (Good) Pale copper colored. Lightly aromatic with melon, strawberry, and citrus. A crisp, clean wine that tingles the palate and finishes with mouthwatering acidity. Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Roussanne. Coyote Canyon, Sugarloaf, Spice Cabinet, and Elephant Mountain vineyards. Fermented in 50% stainless steel and 50% neutral French oak. 13.2% alcohol. 70 cases produced. Recommended

Doyenne Rosé Yakima Valley 2010 $23
Rating: + (Good) Pale salmon colored with a tinge of copper. Aromas of spice, wild strawberry, and red fruit. Palate is dry , tart, and filled with spice flavors along with mouthwatering acidity. 55% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 15% Mourvedre. Ciel du Cheval and Boushey vineyards. 14.1% alcohol. 300 cases produced.

Dusted Valley Vintners Ramblin’ Rosé Stoney Vine Vineyard Walla Walla Valley 2010 $20
Rating: ./+ (Decent/Good) Pale strawberry colored. Shows abundant strawberry and cherry candy aromas. Tingles the palate, trailing off on the second half. 34% Mourvedre, 28% Cinsault, 26% Grenache, and 12% Syrah. Stoney Vine Vineyard. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. 14.2% alcohol. 273 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Waterbrook Sangiovese Rosé Columbia Valley 2010 $11
Rating: . (Decent) Light cherry colored. Aromas of watermelon, bubble gum, and spice. Palate comes off as a bit flat, lacking in fruit concentration. 100% Sangiovese. Canyon Ranch, Les Collines, and Oasis vineyards. 12.2% alcohol. 1.1% Residual Sugar. 1,657 cases produced.

Fresh Sheet July 6th 2011

Today’s Fresh Sheet – new and recent Washington wine releases – includes wines from J Bookwalter Winery, Cadaretta, Dowsett Family, and Idilico.

J Bookwalter Winery

J Bookwalter Winery is located in Richland, Washington. The winery was founded in 1983 by Jerry and Jean Bookwalter.

For many years Bookwalter focused its efforts largely on Riesling and other white wines. Their son John, who now owns the winery and serves as winemaker, recalls that when he came to work there in 1997, it was making a staggering ten different white wines. Gary Figgins of Leonetti Cellar said to him, “You guys need to reinvent yourself!”

This is exactly what John Bookwalter has done during his time at the winery. Bookwalter made his first wines “vine to wine” in 2000. Since that time his focus has been on making “finesse driven” wines, with a particular focus on blending.

One of John Bookwalter’s early wines from the 2002 vintage was called ‘Chapter 1.’ The book motif subsequently became a theme for the winery with names such as Foreshadow, Subplot (though not reviewed here this is a consistently high QPR wine), Conflict, and Antithesis.

From the 2000 through 2008 vintages Bookwalter worked with consultant Zelma Long. Starting with the 2009 vintage he has worked with top French winemaker Claude Gros. The results have been dazzling, with the winery’s current lineup competing with the state’s best. The Bookwalter wines are all rich and hedonistic, stylistic and age-worthy.

The winery has also been extremely successful in hosting music at the winery Wednesday through Saturday. The result is a destination winery with a lineup that can’t be beat. The winery also has a tasting room in Woodinville in the schoolhouse area.

Despite the winery’s success, Bookwalter remains humble. “I’m still in the rookie class of winemaking,” he says. Bookwalter promises to continue with his book-based wines with the occasional Chapter Series offering, saying with a laugh, “When I hit Chapter 7 I’m closing the doors and locking them up!”

J Bookwalter Winery makes approximately 12,000 cases annually.

J Bookwalter Winery Couplet Chardonnay-Viognier Conner Lee Vineyard Columbia Valley 2010 $20
Rating: + (Good) The combination of few words fill me as much fear as these two – Chardonnay and Viognier. These two grapes are incredibly easy to foul up on their own let alone trying to blend them. However, there is nothing to fear with this wine from Bookwalter, one that beautifully combines the best that these grapes have to offer. An aromatic wine with floral notes, peaches, pear, and spice. The palate has abundant peach, melon, and apple flavors with crisp, mouthwatering acidity. 74% Chardonnay, 26% Viognier. Co-fermented and aged in stainless steel. 13.5% alcohol. 1,184 cases produced. Recommended.

J Bookwalter Winery Foreshadow Merlot Columbia Valley 2008 $40
Rating: * (Excellent) Pleasing, initially oak-dominated aromatics of toast and spice which give way to abundant cherry notes. On the palate a silky, hedonistic wine with rich fruit flavors and a lingering finish. Merlot 81%, Syrah 11%, Petit Verdot 3%, Malbec 3% and Cabernet Franc 2%. Ciel du Cheval, Klipsun, Conner-Lee, Elephant Mountain, and McKinley Springs vineyards. Aged 18 months in new and used French oak. 15.2% alcohol. 1,468 cases produced.

J Bookwalter Winery Foreshadow Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2008 $40
Rating: * (Excellent) Pretty French oak spices along with herbal notes, black cherry, and licorice. The palate is full of rich fruit flavors with abundant oak accents and silky tannins. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 12% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Dionysus, Conner-Lee, Klipsun, Ciel du Cheval, McKinley Springs, and Elephant Mountain. Aged 20 months in French oak. 15.2% alcohol. 1,850 cases produced.

J Bookwalter Winery Antithesis Red Wine Columbia Valley 2008 $45
Rating: ** (Exceptional) A compellingly aromatic wine with a cornucopia of dark cherries, berries, and spice along with herbal notes. On the palate, a hedonistic, rich wine with incredible inner mouth perfume, density, and exceptional length. 45% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Conner Lee, Ciel du Cheval, and Dionysus vineyards. Aged 16 months in new and used French oak. 15.2% alcohol. 205 cases produced.

J Bookwalter Winery Conflict Red Wine Conner Lee Vineyard Columbia Valley 2007 $50
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Abundant notes of spice, earth, dark fruit, and licorice. A spectacularly rich wine that explodes across the palate, buffeted by soft tannins. A show-stopper of hedonistic delight. 66% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc & 1% Petit Verdot. 91% Conner Lee, 7% McKinley Springs, 2% Ciel du Cheval. Aged 20 months in French oak. 15.2% alcohol. 572 cases produced.

J Bookwalter Winery Conflict Red Wine Conner Lee Vineyard Columbia Valley 2008 $50
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Intoxicating aromatics of spice, potpourri, blueberries, raspberries, and black fruit along with French oak accents. A delicious, fruit laden palate with silky tannins. 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, and 10% Malbec. Aged 20 months in new and used French oak. 15.2% alcohol. 208 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

J Bookwalter Winery Protagonist Red Wine Red Mountain 2007 $50
Rating: */** (Excellent/Exceptional) An aromatic wine with black fruit, dust, licorice, and scorched earth. Deliciously rich fruit on a perfectly put together palate with slightly assertive but still well integrated tannins. 69% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, 3% Syrah, and 2% Petit Verdot. Ciel du Cheval (65%), Klipsun Vineyard (25%), Conner Lee, and Elephant Mountain vineyards. Aged 20 months in French oak. 14.9% alcohol. 938 cases produced.

J Bookwalter Winery Protagonist Red Wine Columbia Valley 2008 $55
Rating: ** (Exceptional) French oak aromas leap from the glass with toast and spice followed by waves of cherry, smoke, and licorice on a wine that immediately demands attention. Rich and intense on the palate with winding fruit flavors. Capped off by a long finish. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Syrah. Conner Lee and Elephant Mountain vineyards. Aged 20 months in French oak. 15.2% alcohol. 146 cases produced.

J Bookwalter Winery Chapter Three Red Wine Columbia Valley 2007 $78
Rating: ** (Exceptional) An arresting wine with spice, licorice, earth, char, and black fruit. Stunningly rich and powerful yet with refined elegance. A wine that almost overwhelms the senses. 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Syrah, 7% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec, and 7% Petit Verdot. Conner-Lee, Ciel du Cheval, Elephant Mountain, and McKinley Springs vineyards. Aged 20 months in French oak. 14.9% alcohol. 207 cases produced.

Cadaretta

Cadaretta is owned by the Middleton family. The family’s roots date back to 1898 when they started a lumber business in Aberdeen, Washington. The family also owns California-based Clayhouse Wines as well as Buried Cane, all under the umbrella of Middleton Family Wines.

Cadaretta is named after one of the family’s schooners, used to ship timber down to California in the 1920s. The winery, which was established in 2005, is located in Walla Walla. An estate vineyard, Southwind, was planted in the Walla Walla Valley in 2008.

Acclaimed Australian winemaker Larry Cherubino recently joined the winery as Director of Winemaking. Brian Rudin serves as resident winemaker, with the Cadaretta wines made at Walla Walla’s Artifex. The winery does not currently have a tasting facility but is open at Artifex for events and by appointment.

Since the beginning, Cadaretta’s SBS – a Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon Blend – has been a consistent standout. This trend continues with the 2010 vintage. Indeed this wine is one of my favorite whites to date from the 2010 vintage with racy, mouthwatering acidity. The Windthrow is a Southern Rhone-style blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Counoise, and Grenache.

Cadaretta SBS Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon Columbia Valley 2010 $23
Rating: * (Excellent) A delicious, aromatic wine with gooseberry, mineral, and citrus notes. Palate has a full, rounded feel, full of white grapefruit favors with tart, mouthwatering, racy acidity. A very clean, extremely enjoyable wine. Oysters anyone? 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon. Spring Creek, Frenchman Hills, and Rosebud vineyards. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. 14.1% alcohol. 820 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Cadaretta Windthrow Red Wine Columbia Valley 2008 $50
Rating: * (Excellent) Aromatically appealing with blueberries, red fruit, and spice. The palate is tart and full of plump fruit flavors. A lingering cranberry-filled finish. 36% Syrah, 29% Mourvedre, 18% Counoise, and 17% Grenache. Pepper Bridge, Stone Tree, Alder Ridge, and Alice vineyards. Aged in French oak (36% new). 14.6% alcohol. 110 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Onesies

Chris Dowsett at Dowsett Family Wines is serious about Gewurztraminer (see a previous write-up on the winery here and a recent post by Through the Walla Walla Grapevine on the winery here). Perhaps it is because Gewurztraminer was the first wine Dowsett ever made back in 1983? Perhaps it is because this grape can be so versatile with food pairings? Whatever the reason, Dowsett shows a dedication to the grape that borders on fanaticism – and he consistently crafts the state’s best. The 2010 Dowsett Family Wines Gewurztraminer is a thoroughly delicious wine with all of the grape’s floral notes and spice along with the bright acidity of the 2010 vintage.

Dowsett Family Wines Gewurztraminer Celilo Vineyard Columbia Gorge 2010 $22
Rating: * (Excellent) An aromatic wine that is like walking through a field of white flowers while holding a freshly cut grapefruit. Tart with racy acidity with loads of spice and grapefruit flavors. Some might find it almost a bit too tart for their taste – others might find it almost a bit too delicious. 173 cases produced.

I wrote about Idilico in a recent Five Under $15 piece. The winery is a sister brand to Pomum Cellars. With Idilico, Spanish native Javier Alfonso looks to bring Iberian peninsula wines to the masses. The 2009 Garnacha – if you want to see Alfonso bristle, refer to the grape as Grenache – hails from Upland Vineyard on Snipes Mountain.

Idilico Garnacha Washington State 2009 $20
Rating: + (Good) Leaps up with red fruit, crushed peanuts, and wood spice. The palate is tart, soft and fruit filled. Aged 12 months in neutral French oak. 14.0% alcohol. 74 cases produced.

An encore performance from Drew Bledsoe’s Doubleback

Doubleback was unquestionably one of 2010’s most exciting new wineries. On the cusp of its second release, the winery shows every sign of establishing itself as one of Washington’s best.

Doubleback was founded by former NFL quarterback and Walla Walla native Drew Bledsoe and his wife Maura. Critical to the winery’s success, Chris Figgins from Figgins Family Wine Estates was hired as consulting winemaker (read a Focus Report on the winery here).

The response to Doubleback’s inaugural release, a 2007 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, was overwhelming. It included dueling 95-point scores from Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator and a spot on the latter’s annual Top 100 list.

Bledsoe says that, even with top vineyard sources and one of the state’s best winemakers in place, he never expected such a positive response to the first release. Apparently many of his friends didn’t either.

“One of the most gratifying things is having friends and former players that bought the wine just to be supportive and then get the wine and crack a bottle. I would get text messages and phone calls saying, ‘Dude this wine is actually really, really good!’” Bledsoe says with a laugh. “They were looking at it, rightfully so, like, ‘This old football player, what does he know about wine?’”

Far from a vanity project, Drew Bledsoe is serious about wine and about making the best Walla Walla Valley Cabernet possible at Doubleback. The 2008 vintage release continues to set the bar high. In fact, when the 2007 wine was being released both Bledsoe and Chris Figgins were already quietly talking about how excited they were about the 2008 vintage.

Bledsoe says that while the 2008 wine is a clear sibling to the 2007 vintage, he believes it’s a bit more complete. “We’ve still got the nice soft tannin structure on the attack and nice long finish; nice acidity that gives us some more flexibility in terms of food pairing; but I think we rounded out the middle,” Bledsoe says. “It’s a bigger, rounder, and I would say even softer wine than the 2007.”

Much like the 2007 release, the 2008 Cabernet uses top sources Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge, and Figgins Estate. However the winery added Cabernet Sauvignon from LeFore Vineyard in The Rocks district of the Walla Walla Valley, which Bledsoe says has given the wine some minerality.

To support the inaugural release Bledsoe traveled to the areas he played football – New England, Buffalo, and Dallas. What he found was that despite the amount of exceptional wine being produced in Washington, the region remains somewhat unknown in many areas of the country.

“There is still some relative ignorance about the quality that is coming out of Walla Walla and out of Washington when you get out to the rest of the country,” Bledsoe says. “It’s still very Napa centric.” Both a wine lover and a strong advocate for the Washington wine industry, Bledsoe used the opportunity to give a message he firmly believes.

“I believe Washington is not just another wine region,” Bledsoe says. “This is a wine region that is producing some of the very best wines in the world.” Comparing Washington and California he says, “I think are we’re delivering better quality and better value at every price point.”

Bledsoe says that Doubleback’s mission will continue to be focusing on the production of a single wine. He plans to increase production as the winery’s vineyard sources mature over time. “The goal,” he says, “is to get into a range where we actually turn it into a viable business instead of just an expensive hobby.”

As the winery continues to progress, Bledsoe has made a number of changes. He sold his Flying B Vineyard in the Columbia Valley and purchased another vineyard in the southern section of the Walla Walla Valley. This vineyard was subsequently named after Bledsoe’s late father-in-law, Bob Healy.

Bledsoe says that there is some irony in giving the site his father-in-law’s name. “He and I had this on-going debate forever and ever about wine,” Bledsoe says. “He was one of these guys that thinks its just pure marketing, and there’s no difference between a $10 bottle and a $100 bottle. Now I’m getting the last word. We’ll make some kick-ass wine from the vineyard named after him.”

Despite having a well-known name and signing on one of the state’s best winemakers, Bledsoe says that succeeding in the industry is still not easy. “You literally have to do everything right,” he says. “The quality has got to be there. The marketing has got to be there. You’ve got to get face-to-face with people and tell the story. If you touch all of the bases, then you’ve got a shot. If you miss on any one of them then you’re behind the eight ball a little bit.”

While four years removed from the NFL, Bledsoe continues to have an interest in the sport – and fans continue to have interest in him. Bledsoe was recently voted by New England Patriots fans into the teams’ Hall of Fame. The Bledsoe family will travel back to New England for the induction in September – assuming there is an NFL season.

Bledsoe, for one, believes the current labor dispute will ultimately be resolved. “I think they all recognize that they’d be killing the Golden Goose,” he says. “It’s all fun and games until you start missing actual football games. That’s when you’re going alienate your fan base. Fans don’t want to see the billionaires arguing with the millionaires over money. It doesn’t really resonate with people.” Amen.

Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley 2008 $85
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Dark in color. Aromas of cherries, raspberries, earth, espresso, licorice, woodspice, and a touch of herbal notes on an aromatically complex, compelling wine. Rich, ripe, and wound up tightly at present with a dense core of fruit, earth flavors, and soft, beautifully refined tannins. A thirty plus second finish. Give one to two years but will be worth the wait. 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and 7% Petite Verdot. Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge, Figgins Estate, and LeFore vineyards. Aged 22 months in French oak (60% new). 14.4% alcohol. 900 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Recession Busters! High QPR mid-priced reds

In a tough economy there is nothing like finding a wine that drinks like a more expensive bottle. Here are a few that have stood out recently. While you won’t find any of these wines in the value bin – see next week’s monthly Five Under $15 for that – each of these wines drinks like a wine of a considerably higher price point, allowing one to simultaneously drink up by drinking down.

The first is from Tranche Cellars. I have sung the praises of this winery before. Tranche consistently produces wines that punch above their weight class (see a previous post on the winery here). This Cabernet Franc is the first released red wine from the winery’s estate vineyard, Blue Mountain. This stunningly beautiful vineyard was formerly part of the Nicolas Cole Cellars site that Tranche now inhabits. The 2007 Cabernet Franc from Tranche Cellars is an outrageously good wine at this price point.

SYZYGY Winery is the work of Walla Walla’s Zach Brettler. The winery is named after a term for the alignment of three celestial bodies. While SYZYGY has made a name for itself with its Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Red Wine is not too far off these wines in terms of quality. The 2007 vintage is half Syrah with the balance Cabernet, Merlot, and Malbec.

This is Va Piano Vineyards’ seventh offering of its entry level Bruno’s Blend. The wine is named after Father Bruno Segatta. Segatta inspired winemaker Justin Wylie during his time at Gonzaga University, and his paintings adorn the Bruno’s Blend label. This blend is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc with a splash of Syrah thrown in. It is by a good stretch the most impressive Bruno’s Blend yet.

Obelisco Estate first came on the radar with their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. Fruit for the 2008 Red Wine – a Cabernet predominant Bordeaux-style blend – comes from the winery’s estate vineyard which is in its third year. This thirty acre site on Red Mountain, located next to Hedges Family Estate, is planted to Cabernet, Merlot, and Malbec. Pete Hedges and Sara Goedhart serve as the winery’s winemakers. The 2008 Red Wine is not shy on the oak, which is a mixture of American, French, and Hungarian. The result is a potpourri of spices, char, and dark fruit.

Two other previously reviewed wines that I would also put in this category are the Pamplin Family Winery JRG Red Wine (see review here) and the Maison Bleue Jaja Red Wine (see review here). The Jaja in particular, at $20, is thus far my QPR standout of 2011.

Again, these wines are by no means inexpensive, but nothing like drinking a $35+ tasting wine for a considerably lower price point. Now if we could only find bottles like this in the $15 and under range, but we’ll leave that to another day.

Tranche Cellars Cabernet Franc Columbia Valley 2007 $25
Rating: * (Excellent) Pleasing aromatics of black cherry, herbal note, oak spices, and kisses of chocolate. Palate starts off with opulent cherry flavors and then pulls back and sails with velvety tannins. Another top notch effort from this winery. 15.1% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

SYZYGY Red Wine Columbia Valley 2007 $24
Rating: * (Excellent) This excellent Red Wine from SYZYGY is full of brambly berries, spice, and chocolate. On the palate it is lusciously rich and full of ripe tannins. 50% Syrah, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 11% Malbec. 14.8% alcohol. 948 cases produced.

Va Piano Bruno’s Blend VII Columbia Valley NV $23
Rating: * (Excellent) Earth, herbal notes, raspberries, olives, floral notes. Beautifully expressive wine with graceful fruit flavors and assertive – but still in check – tannins. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Syrah. Aged in 50% new French oak. 14.3% alcohol. 1,000 cases produced.

Obelisco Estate Red Wine Red Mountain 2008 $30
Rating: * (Excellent) Roasted coffee bean, dark cherries, toasty oak spices, and light herbal notes. Full of soft, sinewy fruit flavors and sappy oak flavors. 70.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 4.5% Malbec. 13.7% alcohol.

Skylite Cellars – One family learns the true meaning of ‘investment’

Reminder: This month’s Virtual Tasting takes place Wednesday the 25th at 7-8pm Pacific Time. Read more about it here.

Skylite Cellars is located a short distance from downtown Walla Walla, just off Highway 12. The winery is one of a number to suddenly find itself off the beaten path when the highway moved in 2010.

Cheryl Hodgins and her family first became interested in wine in 1990 when they fell in love with the wines of Walla Walla Vintners. In 1999 the family decided to go in with a group of investors in Ash Hollow Vineyard. A year later, Hodgins’ father planted a small “hobby” vineyard.

The winery itself started almost organically. Hodgins says, “My father and husband, Tom, wanted to bottle ‘family use’ wines from the new little vineyard. But we were bitten by the bug.” For Tom starting the winery was “an investment,” Hodgins says. “Did we ever learn the hard way,” she adds wryly.

The family soon learned that winemaking wasn’t easy. “Cecil Zerba, a childhood friend, and Robert Smasne, young genius, led Tom and I by the hand as we worked our way out of a very bad start!” she says. Robert Smasne has continued to make the wines since the 2004 vintage.

Skylite Cellars gets its name from the family’s art and object gallery in downtown Walla Walla. The family purchased the historic building and subsequently discovered 100-year-old skylights during renovation. Skylite Gallery was born. As the vineyard and winery came on-line, both were given the Skylite name. “There are no sky lights in the cellar, but that did not influence Tom and Dad one little bit,” Hodgins says.

Skylite gets its fruit from Riverrock, Skylite, Upland, Minnick, BellaTerra, and Pepper Bridge vineyards. In terms of style Hodgins says, “(It’s) the style of wine we prefer to put on our table.” She adds with an ever-present sense of humor, “It made sense to craft wines that our friends and family could enjoy for years to come. After all, they may have been our only customers!”

From the beginning, the family has looked to keep the winery small. In addition to maintaining quality, there were practical reasons as well. “We both already had two full-time jobs!” Hodgins says of her and her husband (who works in radio). The winery produces approximately 2,000 cases annually.

Why add another ball to juggle? “Nothing compares to seeing a smile of approval when wine lovers try our nectar,” Hodgins says.

Skylite Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley 2007 $28
Rating: + (Good) Extremely dark in color. Abundant cocoa powder, jalapeno pepper, herbal notes, coconut shavings, vanilla, and dark cherries. The palate is rich, thick, and tart with abundant vanilla and coconut notes on the finish. Aged in 100% new American oak. 14.0% alcohol. 13.9% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Skylite Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Walla Walla Valley 2007 $47
Rating: +/* (Good/Excellent) Extremely dark in color. Cocoa, licorice, ground cherries, shaved coconut, and black tea on a moderately aromatic wine that also shows light pickling spice. The palate is rich and tart with a lingering finish full of coconut and medicine cabinet notes. 13.5% alcohol. 13.9% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Skylite Cellars Reserve Red Wine Columbia Valley 2007 $47
Rating: + (Good) Stains the glass. A toasty top note along with abundant peppercorns, green notes, coconut, and cocoa. Palate is tart and dry with lingering coconut flavors. 51% Malbec, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Carmenere. 13.9% alcohol. 13.9% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Skylite Cellars Syrah Columbia Valley 2006 $28
Rating: ./+ (Decent/Good) Abundant char, roasted nuts, and chocolate notes along with cherries, pink peppercorn, and light toasted marshmallow. Palate shows abundant pink peppercorn and spice. 100% Syrah (58% Minnick Hills, 42% Ash Hollow). 13.9% alcohol. Sample provided by winery.

Merlot strikes back!

In 2004 the movie Sideways seemingly dealt a deathblow to Merlot for a generation of wine drinkers. In the movie, the character Myles famously states, “If anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any f#!ing Merlot!” Merlot sales subsequently dropped and Pinot Noir, the character’s preferred wine, correspondingly rose.

Why did Myles malign merlot? With good reason. Merlot, especially when made cheaply and at high volume, can be light, fruity and inoffensive – but also entirely uninteresting. There are millions of gallons Merlot made in a style that is essentially a red wine for white wine drinkers.

Washington State was not immune from the so-called ‘Sideways effect.’ For many years Merlot was the grape that Washington was looking to hang its hat on. Washington Merlot is a different beast than that found to the south in California. Here the grape can be as tannic if not more tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon while retaining the fresh red fruit flavors the grape is known for.

As Washington looked to establish an identity for itself around a particular varietal, Merlot seemed an obvious choice. Once things went Sideways, the search for a signature varietal continued.

Although most say the Sideways effect was temporary in terms of sales, Merlot still has a big hill to climb to get back to respectability. Consumers now think they aren’t supposed to like Merlot, otherwise they are unsophisticated. To wit, I have repeatedly blind tasted out-of-town friends on Washington State Merlot. They have in almost all cases thought that the wine was Cabernet Sauvignon (a cool grape) and liked it – until I told them that it was Merlot (a not so cool grape). Then their enjoyment suddenly waned.

With a lot of mediocre wine out there on the shelves, the only way for Merlot to make a comeback in Washington and elsewhere is for the wines themselves to change people’s minds one bottle at a time. The 2007 Merlot releases from Northstar Winery seem destined to do just that.

Northstar is part of Ste Michelle Wine Estates’ ‘string of pearls.’ The winery was founded in 1994 with the goal of creating the world’s best Merlot. While the winery has had numerous successful and critically acclaimed vintages, the 2007 vintage wines perhaps reach the closest to these aspirations.

2007 was a spectacular vintage in Washington State where all of the elements lined up to produce top quality Merlot. The weather was hot and even and the growing season was long. In addition to exceptional growing conditions, several changes were made at Northstar that also seem to have improved the resulting wines.

This was the first vintage Northstar used a sorting table, which winemaker David Merfeld said both cleaned up the fruit and allowed him to do whole berry fermentation on 40-60% of the grapes. Merfeld also dialed back the oak and kept the fermentation temperatures a bit lower with the goal of softening up the tannins.

Northstar makes two Merlot bottlings each year – one from the Columbia Valley and one from the Walla Walla Valley. Merfeld describes these wines as, “two different animals.” The Columbia Valley offering is designed to be more crisp and dense, the Walla Walla Valley wine more sleek and seductive.

For each wine, Northstar gets the pick of the litter from Chateau Ste. Michelle’s extensive vineyard sources. The Columbia Valley Merlot comes from 14 separate vineyards and 18 different blocks within these vineyards. The 2007 Walla Walla Valley offering includes Merlot from Anna Marie Vineyard, near Seven Hills, and Loess, one of Leonetti’s estate vineyards.

Northstar always tries to walk a balance beam between the here-and-now crowd and those looking for long-term cellar potential. Merfeld says, “I think we nailed it in 2007.”

Nail it the winery did. These are not your mother’s Merlots. The 2007 Northstar Merlots are both muscular, opulent, hedonistic wines, showing extremely well now but promising to thrive for many years in the cellar. The Walla Walla Valley offering in particular is a stunner that is bound to change a lot of minds about Merlot. The integration of tannins in these wines is exceptional. Both are about as good as it gets from Washington – or anywhere else for that matter. Taken together with other top offerings from around the state, they are proof positive that Washington Merlot at its best is simply too good to ignore.

Northstar Merlot Columbia Valley 2007 $40
Rating: * (Excellent) An aromatically appealing wine with incense, cherry, red currant, black fruit, whiffs of coconut, and mocha. Broad, tart, and lush on the palate with a muscular fruit profile and ripe, well-integrated, fine grained tannins. A deliciously long finish. 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. Aged 18 months in French oak (60% new). 14.7% alcohol. 11,500 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Northstar Merlot Walla Walla Valley 2007 $50
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Leaps from the glass with complex aromas of earth, black tea, black fruit, cranberry, raspberry, licorice, chocolate, spice, incense, and mocha. A thick, dense, muscular wine with rich fruit flavors and exceptionally well-integrated, silky tannins. Capped off by a hyper-extended finish. An exclamation point for the varietal that is bound to change a lot of minds about Merlot. 78% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6% Petit Verdot. Aged 18 months in French oak (56% new). 14.7% alcohol. 400 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Fresh Sheet May 11th 2011

Today’s Fresh Sheet – new and recent Washington wine releases – includes wines from Matthews Estate, Long Shadows, Covington Cellars, Pondera Winery, and Buried Cane.

Matthew Estate

Matthews Estate, owned by Cliff and Diane Otis and Jim Rubstello, had its first commercial vintage in 1994. The winery is located just north of the Schoolhouse District in Woodinville.

Aryn Morell serves as winemaker. Morell grew up in Bremerton before going on to study chemistry at UNLV. While he originally planned to become a chemical engineer, his brother – a chef in Napa Valley – soon lured him to the world of wine.

Morell started out doing laboratory analysis, ultimately working at Golden State Vintners, Edgewood Estates, and Silver Oak. From there he went on to work for a consulting company that focused on, “solving the world’s wine problems.”

Looking for a change from the constant travel and wanting to return to the Pacific Northwest, Morell was hired on at Matthews in 2007 and assumed the role of winemaker in 2008. Morell also spends a great deal of his time focusing on viticulture at the numerous vineyard blocks the winery works with.

Morell says his focus has been on making wines that are “less forward, more elegant.” Part of this has involved making adjustments in the vineyard to improve tannin management.

Matthews currently makes approximately 4,000 cases annually. The winery recently announced that it was moving its production from Woodinville to eastern Washington with Morell moving into the role of consulting winemaker. Morell’s goal is to be both closer to the vineyards and start a consulting company in the Walla Walla Valley.

Of note, this is the winery’s first vintage of Chardonnay and the second vintage of the Blackboard Red.

Matthews Estate Sauvignon Blanc Columbia Valley 2009 $20
Rating: * (Excellent) Very pretty varietal aromatics of citrus, gooseberry, and touches of tropical fruit. Tart and refreshing on the palate crisp acidity and abundant citrus flavors. 93% Sauvignon Blanc, 7% Semillon. Sagemoor, Stillwater Creek, Frenchman Hills, and Rosebud vineyards. Aged 7 months in 70% stainless, 25% concrete, and 5% barrel. 874 cases produced. Sampled at 58 degrees.

Matthews Estate Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2009 $30
Rating: + (Good) Pale lemon yellow. Delicate aromas of toast, spice, and hay. A nicely etched palate with a textured feel accented by tropical fruit on the finish. 100% Chardonnay. Stillwater Creek Vineyard. Concrete fermented and then 14 months in new French oak. 80% through malolactic fermentation. 61 cases produced. Sampled at 58 degrees.

Matthews Estate Blackboard Red Wine Columbia Valley 2008 $22
Rating: + (Good) Abundant pepper notes along with high-toned herbal notes, black fruit, licorice, black tea, and spice. Tart with a healthy amount of tannic grip. 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 8% Syrah, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1.5% Malbec, and 1.5% Petit Verdot. 52% Horse Heaven Hills, 48% Columbia Valley. Aged 20 months in neutral French oak. 851 cases produced. Recommended

Matthews Estate Claret Columbia Valley 2007 $35
Rating: +/* (Good/Excellent) Dark in color with tinges of red at the rim. Aromas of black fruit, barrel spice, light herbal notes, and licorice. Palate is big and opulent with a firm grip of tannins. 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 3% Syrah, and 2% Malbec. Hedges, Klipsun, Stillwater Creek vineyards. Aged 22 months in French oak (40% new). 14.6% alcohol. 1,330 cases produced.

Matthews Estate Syrah Columbia Valley 2008 $39
Rating: * (Excellent) Dark in color with a purple tinge at the rim. Aromatically elusive and brooding with mineral notes, blackberries, currant, and touches of char. A silky, textured feel to the palate with soft tannins and abundant black fruit flavors. 100% Syrah. Stilllwater Creek, Lawrence, and Va Piano vineyards. Aged 16 months in once used French oak. 14.9% alcohol. 160 cases produced.

Matthews Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2008 $70
Rating: * (Excellent) Abundant licorice notes along with black fruit, pencil shavings, and light butterscotch. On the palate, a big, bold grippy example of Cabernet Sauvignon. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Hedges and Stillwater Creek vineyards. Aged 22 months in new French 500L barrel. 49 cases produced.

Long Shadows

Long Shadows is among the more ambitious projects in Washington. The winery, founded by former Stimson Lane CEO Allen Shoup, pairs eight of the world’s top winemakers with Washington State fruit. Each winemaker makes one wine with resident winemaker Gilles Nicault serving as the guiding hand.

In addition to using top vineyard sources Boushey, Alder Ridge, Sagemoor, Stone Tree, and Taptiel, the winery recently purchased Wallula Vineyard. This breathtaking vineyard was subsequently renamed ‘The Benches’ for the twenty-seven benches ranging from 1,400 feet to the base of the Columbia River.

The Chester Kidder is Nicault’s own wine. Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, the wine sees a remarkable 40 days of skin contact during fermentation and is aged for 30 months in oak. The result is a thick, lush, hedonistic wine that – while already five years old – has a long life ahead of it.

The Pedestal is the work of flying winemaker Michel Rolland. The wine is whole berry fermented in massive 1,500-gallon upright wood tanks that were brought over from Bordeaux. The grapes receive extended maceration before being aged for 20 months in mostly new French oak. The result is a wine that displays Rolland’s full throttle style.

Long Shadows Chester-Kidder Red Wine Columbia Valley 2006 $50
Rating: * (Excellent) An intriguing, somewhat subdued aroma profile with brambly berries, black cherry, tobacco and a dusting of chocolate. In contrast, the palate is rich, thick, and lush with tart, tangy fruit flavors and a lingering finish. 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Syrah, 10% Petit Verdot, and 9% Cabernet Franc. Red Mountain, Candy Mountain, Stillwater Creek, 27 Benches, and Weinbau vineyards. Aged 30 months in tight-grained French oak and a limited amount of Hungarian. 14.9% alcohol. 1,689 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Long Shadows Pedestal Merlot Columbia Valley 2007 $55
Rating: */** (Excellent/Exceptional) Very dark in color. Abundant stewed raspberries, dark chocolate, and cigar box along with whiffs of anise. Rich and lush with silky fruit flavors, a creamy texture, and a firm grip on tannins. A lingering, fruit filled finish with a lick of cranberry. This is far from a shy wine and leans to the right side of hedonism. Needs some additional time to show its best. 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Taptiel, Conner Lee, Dionysus, The Benches, and Weinbau vineyards. 14.7% alcohol. 2,005 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Covington Cellars

Covington Cellars was founded in 2002 by David and Cindy Lawson as the 19^th winery in Woodinville (the area now has over 80 wineries and tasting rooms). The winery was named after the couple’s hometown of Covington, Washington.

Morgan Lee serves as winemaker. Lee grew up in Michigan and studied hospitality management at Purdue. At Purdue he found himself spending increasing amounts of time at the enology lab. Lee ultimately took a semester off to work at Michigan’s Tabor Hill Winery.

He subsequently interviewed at Columbia Crest for an internship position, bonding with now head winemaker Juan Muñoz Oca about the Argentinean soccer team. Lee packed up and moved to an apartment in Kennewick, Washington site unseen in August of that year.

Lee stayed on at Columbia Crest through the 2006 harvest when he took a position at Covington in 2007. He assumed winemaking responsibilities in 2009.

Reflective of the Lawson’s personal tastes, Covington has always had a strong focus on Sangiovese and Sangiovese blends. However, the standout from the current releases is the 2007 Klipsun Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – as good a wine as Covington has made.

Covington Cellars Sangiovese Columbia Valley 2008 $25
Rating: + (Good) An intriguing aroma profile with burnt embers, dust, leather, sweet spices, and cranberry. Quite tart, juicy, acidic, and light bodied on the palate. Lingers on the finish. An intriguing bottle of a seldom seen varietal and a perfect wine to pair with pizza or pasta. Seven Hills Vineyard. 14% alcohol. 350 cases produced.

Covington Cellars Prima Miscela Red Wine Columbia Valley 2007 $35
Rating: + (Good) A moderately aromatic wine with earth, cherry, licorice, herbal notes, and spice. Tart and acidic on the palate with a big lick of cranberry flavors on the finish. 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc. Seven Hills, Kiona, and Klipsun vineyards. 13.9%. 215 cases produced.

Covington Cellars Roughhouse Red Red Wine 2007 $20
Rating: + (Good) Aromas of cherry, raspberry, licorice and spice with an underlayer of chocolate. Bright, tart, and acidic on the palate with chewy tannins. Flattens out a bit toward the finish. 75% Merlot, 10% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc. 14.5% alcohol. 300 cases produced. Recommended

Covington Cellars Starr Red Wine Seven Hills Vineyard Walla Walla Valley 2007 $29
Rating: * (Excellent) Dark in color. Smoky aromatics on a wine full of blueberry pie, chocolate, and cooking spices. A rich wine that remains light on its feet with sinewy fruit flavors. 78% Syrah, 22% Sangiovese. 182 cases produced. 14.5% alcohol.

Covington Cellars Cabernet Franc Columbia Valley 2008 $35
Rating: * (Excellent) A moderately aromatic wine marked by milk chocolate, herbal notes, and cherry. Medium-bodied and silky on the palate with plush tannins and spritely acidity. A lingering finish. 100% Cabernet Franc. 75% Olsen, 25% Kiona. 334 cases produced.

Covington Cellars Syrah Columbia Valley 2007 $45
Rating: +/* (Good/Excellent) Dark in color. An aromatic wine with blueberry syrup, chocolate, and light game notes. Deft on its feet with a lingering, chocolate laden finish. 100% Syrah. Smasne, Kestrel, Kiona, Seven Hills, and Klipsun vineyards. 14.4% alcohol. 93 cases produced.

Covington Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Klipsun Vineyard Red Mountain 2007 $60
Rating: */** (Exceptional) Dark and seductive with aromas of earth, dark fruit, and floral notes with a light herbal accent. Brooding on the palate with dark fruit, dry chocolate, chalky tannins and a lingering, mineral laden finish. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged 30 months in French oak.

Pondera Winery

Pondera Winery, named after a Latin word meaning ‘balance,’ is located in Woodinville’s Warehouse District. The winery was founded by Shane Howard.

Howard attributes a Barolo he drank in Paris as his first inspiration, saying “it was the perfect wine at the perfect time with great food.” After reading through books and volunteering at area wineries, Howard started the winery in 2005 with the goal of focusing on Bordeaux varietals.

Pondera sources fruit from Dineen, Conner Lee, Stillwater Creek, and Wallula. Of note, the wines all have an intriguingly tactile label.

Pondera produces 1,200 cases annually.

Pondera Reserve Malbec Columbia Valley 2008 $34
Rating: + (Good) Dark in color with purple at the rim. At first comes off as reductive and then the march of the Malbec aromas come on with peppered plum, whiffs of orange peel, and, interestingly, sliced black olive. Palate has a full feel with a lot of plum flavors, chalky tannins, and a lingering finish. 88% Malbec, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Stillwater Creek Vineyard. 14.5% alcohol. 120 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Pondera Cabernet Franc Columbia Valley 2008 $28
Rating: + (Good) Starts off with black olive juice followed by herbal notes, green olive, black cherry, and wood spice. A thick, viscous feel to the palate. 80% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Dineen Family Vineyards. 14.6% alcohol. 120 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Pondera Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2007 $33
Rating: +/* (Good/Excellent) A moderately aromatic wine with black cherry, licorice, sliced black olive, and cough syrup. Thick and weighted on the palate with abundant cherry flavors and a lingering finish full of medicine cabinet notes. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Stillwater Creek and Wallula vineyards. 55 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Buried Cane

Buried Cane is part of Middleton Family Wines. Middleton is owner of Washington’s Cadaretta as well as California’s Clayhouse and Adobe. The winery is named after the vineyard practice of burying canes to protect them from the cold.

The Middleton family’s roots in Washington date back to 1898 when they started a lumber business in Aberdeen, Washington. In a callout to the family history, the Buried Cane wines have woodcut art on the labels and the wines are named after terms in woodcut printing.

All of the Buried Cane wines are bottled under screw cap at prices both consumer friendly and aimed at restaurant glass pours.

Buried Cane Single Leaf Riesling Columbia Valley 2009 $12
Rating: + (Good) A moderately aromatic wine marked by white peaches, lime, and touches of tropical fruit. Palate is just a tad off dry with a full feel redolent with lime flavors. 100% Riesling. Aged in stainless steel. 12.7% alcohol. 0.70% Residual Sugar. 1,927 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Buried Cane White Line No Oak Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2009 $14
Rating: + (Good) Pale in color with a slight green tinge. A lightly aromatic wine marked by hay and lemon notes. Palate is crisp and clean with green apple flavors, a full mouthfeel, and touches of banana on the finish. An enjoyable, well priced wine. 100% Chardonnay. 95% Arete Vineyard, 5% Champoux vineyard. Aged in stainless steel. 13.3% alcohol. 3,460 cases produced. Sample provided by winery. Recommended

Buried Cane Heartwood Red Wine Columbia Valley 2008 $25
Rating: . (Decent) Toasty aromas of roasted nuts, vanilla, and light red fruit. Palate is tart and soft with an elegant structure and light red fruit flavors. 78% Syrah (Stone Tree, Pepper Bridge, and Wallula vineyards), 10% Grenache (Alder Ridge), 7% Mourvedre (Alder Ridge), 5% Counoise (Alice). 14.1% alcohol. 514 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.

Buried Cane Roughout Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2008 $14
Rating: . (Decent) An aromatic wine marked by bell pepper, black pepper, tea leaves, and light black cherries. Palate is light bodied with chalky tannins and a slightly sweet feel. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon (Alice, Arete), 23% Merlot (Florence and Virginia, Preston), 2% Syrah (Gamache). 13.4% alcohol. 5,628 cases produced. Sample provided by winery.