I’m surprised that there is not a post on this already. Although the event turns in to a ‘Sh*t show’ it actually can be fun. I guess I’m lucky, I work it so I get to go through in the 1st 2 hrs. Lot’s of time to taste through stuff and not be rushed. Found a new favorite and had a couple of the middle guys. Less of the big names showed up and now it seems the next level with Mark Ryan, Gorman, Betz, Gramercy, lead the way.
Gorman Winery- From top to bottom a killer line up, there Card for the past couple of yrs has become a serious bottle of wine. His Bdx blend wines are pretty stellar and his Syrah, while not showing what I look for in Syrah is a very fine wine.
Mark Ryan- I have known this guy for a long time, I have tasted many of his first couple of releases but I have not had a chance to taste them since. His wines are big, tannic young wines, that show a great amount of structure, nice acidic backbone with nice stay.
JB Neufeld- Great young winery, really nice wines, my favorite of everything that I tasted. These wines are great young, really showy pop and pour. They make 2 different Cabs, one from Dubrul and the other from Artz on Red Mountain. Very distinctive, each Cab shows great fruit, nice glycerin on the palate, nice acid to carry them through. Artz is all about Cherry fruit and leather, Dubrul shows more jalapeno range fruit, which I think is very distinctive of Yakima. Justin and family are really nice folk. Very reasonable price as well. They, to me are in the style of Chateau Rollat, if you have not tried it, is delicious.
One last note. Justin stopped by today and popped 2 new bottles, same result, fantastic balance and no where near hot,the wines are very well crafted ABV %14.9.
Smasne- Really nice folk and very tasty wines from the four that I tried. He gave me a bottle of his Carmenere to take home. Pepper and spice, great fruit and structure. Old vine cab showed Yakima fruit and bell pepper/Jalapeno notes. Again, nice folks with very distinctive wines.
Gramercy- Syrah, Cab, Single Vn Syrah- Great wines with balance, ripeness and acidity. His last Syrah, to me was his best. Pepper, spice, dark fruit, acidity, game and good lift.
Maison Bleue- Rhone style wines Rousanne, GSM and a Syrah that I got to taste. Good balance and restraint. Really nice folks that make a really nice range of wine.
There were several others, but these are the ones that stood out.
Jb