Mark Ryan
Gramercy (x 100)
McCrea
Chateau St Michelle Eroica
Anything from Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
Explore Wahluke Slope, Red Mountain, Eastern Columbia Developments…
Just curious…I’m on water restrictions in SoCal with crazy taxes…Washington is cooler, has water, and has no income tax.
Really? You mean on the western side of the Rockies or in the eastern part of the state where most of the wineries are? Which is in more or less desert country.
I would suggest looking for Quilceda Creek Cab. Clocks in somewhere around 16% alcohol, give or take.
Fidelitas in Red Mountain does great Bordeaux varietals that cross section classic structure with more modern flair. I love the Rhone stuff coming out of Walla Walla Valley- Gramercy, Maison Blue, K. Big fan of Bordeaux varietals in Walla Walla from Pepper Bridge and A’Maurice.
Something of an aside, but I had a 2012 Memaloose Cab Franc last week from the Gorge. Actually from an OR vineyard right on the border with WA, although the winery is in WA. Exceptional domestic CF for $22 or so. Both ripe and perfectly lean and unmistakably CF. One to seek out.
+1 that Washington state wines are quite hot-climate, despite their high latitude. Definitely look to the Willammette in Oregon if you’re after freshness/acidity/red fruit/lower alcohol.
That said, I can certainly vouch for the aging potential of the terroir. I just had a 1979 Quilceda Creek Cab (the first vintage made) that was firing on all cylinders and is a WOTY candidate for me. I can’t think of a better introduction to the region if you can track down a bottle, though production was quite small.
I used to drink a fair amount of Fidelitas but got tired of what I felt to be too much oak/vanilla. I tend to find that in nearly all of Charlie Hoppes wines; he’s a consulting winemaker for a bunch of labels and I find his signature style to be quite modern. But a lot of people love his wines and that guy knows more about WA vineyards than just about anyone.
I’m mostly a “value” wine drinker (< $30/btl) and my very limited experience (around 20 different wines/15 producers) with Washington red wines that fall into this category has been abysmal. Virtually all of them exhibited an annoying candied fruit quality and were heavily oaked.
The entire Memaloose lineup is stellar. and iirc, they are moving to 100% estate fruit soon.
+2 on Memaloose. We stopped in their tasting room a year or so ago and ended up filling a case.
I think that, like other places, the style in Washington is pulling back from super high alcohol and oak. Sure you will find lots of examples, but you will find plenty of wineries trying to pull the opposite direction and many that are trying hard to dial in a balance.
I also particularly recommend the previously mentioned Savage Grace and W.T. Vintners. I don’t think it is an accident that both of those wineries are sourcing some of their grapes from the cooler Columbia Gorge AVA.
That’s not exactly true. Not sure what you’re drinking, but if it’s mostly Cab/Merlot, try something else. I think it’s been mentioned, but try something like a Syrah from Grammercy Cellars.
Most Gramercy syrahs are at least $50. Their base Columbia Valley Syrah is pushing $40.
I will be looking for these when I resume buying WA reds. CF is one of the few WA reds I want to drink now along with a couple GSM blends. Most of the reds I used to like I find are just too jammy for my enjoyment now.
Dennis,
Memaloose makes a GSM with estate fruit called Mistral Ranch. the current release is the 2011. I highly recommend it: really nice notes of bacon which resolve into olive and garrique with food. I’ll be pairing it with duck breast and deep fried eggplant on this month’s menu.
^
| This.
There was a somewhat similar thread to this one back in 2013. I went back and looked at my comments in that thread, and was surprised to see that (with only minor edits), that they still reflect some of my key opinions based on my experiences with the WA wine environment –
A few random comments related to Washington wines from my experiences here on their “home field”…
- In the $25 and under price range, the overall QPR for WA wines is pretty poor. (Yes, as some have noted, it’s a big tent, and there are exceptions – but, in my experience, that’s exactly what they are – exceptions. YMMV.) Granted, most of them are “technically correct” wines, but there’s just not anything interesting about them. Certainly true of the industrial grade producers like Columbia Crest, CStM, etc – but have also found it true of most of the smaller producers.
My conclusion is that these wines just aren’t where the passion is for most smaller producers (I was going to say that such wines are an “afterthought” for them, but that seems a little too harsh). In this range, I see a lot of the “leftovers blends” (i.e., a mash-up of varieties for the barrels that were rejected from their more expensive lines) and varietal wines that seem to be made in a style that’s appears to be intended not to offend anyone. For a lot of wineries, it seems they are releasing wines in this price range are only because “they have to have something in this price range”, but that they focus their interest on their more expensive wines. Lopez de Heredia can produce distinctive entry level wines (both the red Cubillo and the white Gravonia), ship them across the pond and thru the tiers, and stil get them on the shelf for around $25. I have yet to find anything from WA that even approaches such an interesting wine in that price range (I know RLdH style isn’t everyone’s “cup of tea” – just using that as one example of an “interesting” wine.)
-
Once you move into the $30 to $75 price range, the overall QPR improves significantly. Yes, there are still quite a few producers making “gobs of …” wines here (see Mark Ryan, Gorman, Long Shadows, et al), but it’s way easier to find interesting wines in this range – whether it’s the elegant and ageable Bdx blend wines from Cadence, the well-balanced Bdx and Syrahs from Betz, the funky Boushey Syrah from Ross Andrew, the various Syrahs from the Walla Walla Rocks, Grammercy’s Tempranillo, Seven Hills Bdxs, etc. In my experience, this price range is the sweet spot for WA vs the old world (and especially vs Cali).
-
Once you get above that price range, feh, QPR plummets. Look, QC, Leonetti, and the others make really nice wines – but I just don’t see the quality justifying prices beyond those in the group above. Not meant as a complaint – more power to them if they can move all their stock at those prices.
-
Across the price ranges, way more options for interesting and distinctive red wines than white wines. Recently, I’m starting to see that change, so I look forward to what the future will bring for WA whites.
-
Not sure why there aren’t more WA wines that are from Spanish varieties and that are Mourvedre-dominant. While I haven’t found that many, most that I’ve had left good impressions.
-
There are certainly a number of WA producers doing more restrained and elegant wines, but it’s all relative here. Trying to remember the last time I tasted a WA wine that struck me as a true AFWE wine. Can’t say as I remember…
Overall, my impressions from tastings and touring the WA wines regions is that the region continues to improve as the industry grows and matures. Hope to see the trend continue, as I would love to shift more of my wine budget to the home team.
Michael
Very well stated & pretty much spot on. Erica Orr’s Chenin Blanc, Syncline’s Whites, a lot the Savage Grace stuff & Nefarious Riesling are the game changers.
This is a good post. Agree with much of this, especially the 2nd point- one of the things that bothers me about Washington (especially woodinville) wine is that there is way to much Red Cougar Juice. Jammy, oaky, wines that have everything in common with every other wine down the block. Wines that sell well to drunk people in limos going from door to door. Talking to a few wine makers in the area, some admit to haveing made the trade-off between wines they want to make and wines they know will sell. For my money I am pretty gun-shy about anything coming from woodinville (aptly named for wine apparently) that is a bdx type blend.
Also agree with Mourvedre being an under utilized grape here- Have had really nice wines from Rasa, Gramercy, and Tranche that are either Mourvedre driven or at least heavy in the blend. I’d also like to see more Cab Franc as I have had a few here and there that are lovely and differentiated from the mass vats of purple goo.
That said, some of the Rhone style wines coming from Walla Walla and the surroundings really punch my buttons. They are not the Blueberry syrup syrahs of Washington past. Some of the same producers (many mentioned above) are also showing a deft hand at some more restrained Cab/merlot style blends, and in a vibrant style that is its own thing, not trying to repro napa or Bdx.
In reference to the comment about Woodinville wineries being a haven for “Red Cougar Juice”, I would have to point out that wineries like Avennia, Delille, Betz, Kevin White, II Vintners, Erica Orr, WT Vintners and yes, ourselves (Force Majeure, as well as others) all have production facilities in the Woodinville area and are all producing high quality wines in various styles and from different vineyards/AVAs. There may be other wineries in that area that aren’t crafting wines at the same level of proficiency, or even style(s), but it’s not accurate to say that all Woodinville wines are one way or another. There’s definitely a set of wineries that cater to the “limo crowd” but there are also a good number that don’t (we don’t even have a tasting room). Personally, I moved here from Napa last year because I see a lot of promise in the region overall for a diverse set of styles/interpretations as well as quality, and things are just getting off the ground - it’s a good time to be here. There is already a very good foundation laid and the industry is poised for growth in output and quality. I see growing pains but I also see real progress being made, and vineyard development is happening all over. The AVAs here are quite diverse too, which is great.
We are almost 1/2 thru a mixed case of Syncline we bought 2 weeks ago!
James and Poppy at Syncline and Jeff at W-T Vintners are great people making great, cool feeling wine that belies the heat of the state. Ditto Greg Harrington and Chris Camarda.
PM me for more opinionated opinions 