Washington Bordeaux Blends and Riesling

I’ve been meaning to jump into Washington for a while now, but it’s a tough shell to crack. I can’t seem to find any direction on what producers to start with. Do any of you have experience with the small wineries in WA and any advice on where/how to get started?

Thanks!

For Bordeaux blends, Betz is a great place to start. Also Sleight of Hand and of course Quilceda Creek (which is polarizing around these parts).

Seven Hills is a great value as well.

There are many, many more.

Thanks man, looking forward to the “many, many more” part of that response

Check out the current thread on Davenport Cellars.

Fidelitas, Abeja, pepper bridge, va piano, Dunham would all be great starts and are varying price points.

Andrew good call

All of the wines are $15 or less if you buy a case and join the discovery club (free to join).
I assume they ship to Colorado.

Powers makes very elegant wines from Bordeaux varietals out of the Champoux vineyard [and they’ve got a 30%/50% special right now]:

https://shop.badgermtnvineyard.com/xe/xe.asp?page=viewcat&cat=powers-wines

Covington makes inky black wines from Bordeaux varietals [and from a Parkerized point of view, their Cabernet Franc is especially impressive - it’s the polar opposite of an AFWE Loire CF]:

https://covingtoncellars.com/collections/wines
.

My favorite Washington cab might be Gramercy Cellars right now.

I love Cadence. Only Bordeaux blends from Red Mountain. Ben has a very restrained style that I love. And they age beautifully. I opened an 03 Tapteil a couple years back that was so fresh - easily had another 2-4 years ahead, probably longer. Very classy juice.

My favorite Washington cab might be Gramercy Cellars right now.

Agree.
Max I would try a few of the Syrah wines also as I think you would enjoy them.

There are so many. Current favorite is Corliss. The bottle age all their wines 5 years before release. They make a Cab, Syrah and a left bank bordeaux blend. They used to bottle a Cab Franc that was delicious, now it all goes into to their red blend. They have a sister project Tranche. Other notables, Sleight of Hand (already mentioned), Force Majeure, Long Shadows, Mark Ryan, Gorman Winery, Leonetti, Betz (already mentioned).

I’ve been meaning to jump into Washington for a while now, but it’s a tough shell to crack.

[scratch.gif]

More than say, Italy or Greece?

Go to the store. Find a wine from Washington. Buy it. If you like it, buy another from that producer/appellation/grape blend. If you don’t like it, try another.

That’s as useful as getting a collection of completely random names thrown at you on this board.

Washington makes wine from Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Syrah, Chardonnay, Grenache, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Tempranillo, Aligoté, Zinfandel and many more. Some of them are hard to get. Without knowing what you like, any recommendations are going to be completely random.

Gramercy
Betz
Quilceda Red
J. Bookwalter
Mullan Road
Andrew Will
Cadence
Delille
K Vintners/Substance
Seven Hills
L’Ecole


Riesling - Eroica is probably still the best example in WA

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I have found the Quilceda Creek Palengat to be a very good left bank style wine. Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc and in some years Petit Verdot in varying percentages based on the weather.

This response is…weirdly aggro?

I think the established names of Italy & Greece - much less Bordeaux - are probably better known and have more of a track record than a relatively new region like Washington State where many, myself included, don’t have access or experience to a lot of the wine coming out of there and may not know who the topflight labels are. I, for one, thank the people who are more knowledgeable than I am who have listed good producers here to check out.

I don’t think recommendations are going to be random if they’re given by experienced drinkers. Moreover, he specifically asked about BORDEAUX BLENDS AND RIESLING so I’m not really sure why you listed all the other grapes that happen to grow there which, if we’re talking about utility and randomness, is of questionable value.

I know we’re all on edge at the moment but a little more kindness and a little less patronizing is what’s called for at the moment.

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I don’t think recommendations are going to be random if they’re given by experienced drinkers.

Of course they will. You can look at any list of wineries in WA and come up with all of the names that have been and that will be mentioned on this thread. You already have Grammercy, Quilceda Creek, Seven Hills, Betz.

What’s the difference between them?

Well, Grammercy is known mostly for Syrah and Rhone grapes, although they do indeed put out Cab and Sangiovese as well. But if you’re looking at them, why not go with what they’re really passionate about? Quilceda Creek is oaky, uber-ripe, sweet, and to my palate, similar to something like Caymus. It just costs more. Seven Hills may be the value pick of this little group, as even their higher-end wines aren’t ridiculously expensive. They’re also pretty straight down the middle, not super oaky or super ripe. Betz is probably the most reminiscent of a well-done CA Cab, balanced, clean, ripe without being overdone, and priced somewhat less than you’d pay for the equivalent in CA.

And nobody yet mentioned Cadence or Andrew Will, which surely are among some of the most Bordeaux-like wines out of WA. Eventually someone will mention Leonetti, Dunham, Woodward Canyon, Long Shadows, Januik, Novelty Hill, DeLille, L’Ecole No 41, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Charles Smith, Buty, Hedges, Cayuse, Bookwalter, Robert Karl, Barrister, Arbor Crest, Claar or a dozen others. And Foxy Roxy - their Vixen Red is a Bordeaux blend.

So you end up with a random list of names that people name as their favorites. All at different price points and styles. I could give my impression of each of those as well as some others, but without any idea of what the OP likes, wants, or knows, what is the point, other than to create a list of wineries? And what would that list be other than something random?

Thus, my advice is to simply try some. And to branch out in case he doesn’t like what he finds.

Thanks for all the responses - they are much appreciated! I’m going to start working my way through this list as soon as I can and hopefully narrow it down some.

I guess I just like getting recommendations from random people on the internet that I don’t feel has an ulterior motive for telling me to check out a certain producer other than that he likes them. The pro reviews don’t feel that way, and the decent retail shops in my area don’t have a lot of WA wine for some reason. And of course I’ll sample and branch out as I move down the line.

Greg, you are correct that Gramercy mostly makes Rhône style, but their cab work is not to be overlooked, and stylistically my cup o tea.

Also not to be pedantic (or actually quite the opposite :wink: ) Kris did mention both Andrew Will and Cadence, as well as Jason R. Both are good call outs as they are both stylistically not the jam and oak bombs that a lot of WA wines tend to be.

If you like more old style Bordeaux blends, then my newish good discovery is JB Neufeld. I would UN that same vein “third” the recommendation of cadence and Andrew will. A lot of the others mentioned above are great.

Riesling is a tough one. I am not an expert but except for eroica the only other I think worth mentioning gun is Poets Leap. I tend to prefer Oregon and German Riesling. And okanagan fro lm Canada (in fact they have produced some of the best Riesling I have had in a while).

An outlier, so to speak, is the Savage Grace Underwood Mountain Riesling, from the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge.

I’d say “stretch the boundaries” and include Willamette Valley Riesling- Brooks, Ovum, Paetra (they have an outstanding offer posted here), and Trisaetum are ones to seek out.