TN: Three WashState Wines...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
#1

Tried three WashState wines on NewYrsEve:

  1. Eisenhower Syrah WildAlfalfa ColumbiaVlly (14.5%) 2002: Very dark color w/ light bricking; strong pungent/licorice/blackberry/Syrah/spicy some toasty/smokey/oak bit cedary/pencilly/oldRed fairly complex nose; lightly tart pungent/smokey/cedary/pencilly some blackberry/blueberry/spicy/licorice bit tired/faded flavor w/ light drying tannins; med.long bit tart/drying/bit tired pungent/smokey/oak some blackberry/blueberry/Syrah bit complex finish w/ light drying/astringent tannins; a quite attractive mature Syrah nose but starting to dry out some on the palate; drink up. $28.95
  1. Darby ColumbiaVlly RW (50% PetiteSirah/Syrah; 15%) 2011: Very dark color; strong toasty/oak/smokey strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry bit peppery slightly rustic nose; soft rich/lush/mouthfilling strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/peppery strong toasty/oak light earthy/rustic flavor w/ some ripe/hard tannins; very long bit soft rich/ripe/lush strong toasty/smokey/oak light earthy/rustic finish w/ ample ripe/hard tannins; still needs some 4-8 yrs; speaks mostly of Syrah w/ the PS giving it a rustic/rough/coarse character; very good red.
  1. PattersonCllrs Roussanne LateHrvst WillardFarms/Prosser/ColumbiaVlly (76% Roussanne/14% Viog/10% CheninBlanc; SaH: 44.5 Brix; RS: 20.5 gm/100 ml; Brl frmtd in new Fr.oak; 12.5%; ) 2012: Deep golden/burnished bronze color; very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty bit rotted apples/stewed fruits/orangey/orange marmalade slight earthy/dusty quite complex bit Sauternes-like nose; quite sweet some tart intense peachy/apricotty/botrytis/peach compote orange marmalade light earthy/dusty slight caramel/butterscotch flavor; very long/lingering intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy/stewed peaches/orange marmalade light earthy/dusty quite sweet lightly tart finish; some like a Sauternes but w/o the high-toned/figgy notes; a stunning dessert wine that should go out 10-20 yrs at a stupid/silly price. $21.00/hlf (vSC)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. A friend was in town staying near Susan’s in his Mom’s home over the holidays & we got a NYE invite for dinner. Chas is an Anthropology Prof at WhitmanCollege in WallaWalla, so thought I’d take a few of my WashState wines. I was expecting more of the Eisenhower Syrah. Still a good drink but starting to show a bit tired on the palate.
    I’ve been buying the Patterson LateHrvst Roussanne for a number of yrs thru a friend on their wine club. One of the best examples of WashState botrytis dessert wines yr in & yr out.
    Tom
#2

Nice to hear your report on the Petite Sirah/Syrah. That one is definitely taking a while to come around. We bottled a 100% Petite Sirah (our PS comes from Stonetree Vineyard in Wahluke Slope) from the 2010 vintage that is even more of a monster. I typically open it a day or two before serving and it shows pretty nicely, but the Syrah in the 2011 really helped to balance things out. Those were both pretty cool vintages for Washington, but Stonetree is consistently the warmest site we work with.

#3

Nice to see some WA State notes. Thanks for posting.