In addition to the suggestions above, I would suggest BDX varietals made by Avennia and Force Majeure. For Riesling, poets leap by long shadows is good, and possibly the best white wine I’ve ever tasted out of Washington was a barrel sample of Devium Riesling From Lewis Peak that I think was picked under pH of 3 and had insane aromatics and energy. can’t wait to try the bottled version.
Haven’t had Poet’s Leap in a few years, but early on it was a bit one note as the acid and RS were off, so it had what I always refer to as the WA graham cracker flavor profile in Riesling I am not a fan of.
I would say if you’re looking for Riesling, Evergreen Vineyard sourcing is a good start.
Agreed. Those wines are always great and good values too.
I agree. I tasted a recent release blind a few months ago and our whole group had exactly the same impression.
First time I had a QC I was given a glass blind and asked what I thought of it. I said it seemed like a too-expensive, overly woody, overly sweet Napa Cab. Not good. I have a few. Every time I’ve opened one I’ve felt pretty much the same. Never felt that they were particularly structured or tannic when compared with some of the other WA wines or CA wines that I’d buy. And if I recall, they pretty much all come in at over 15%, which is pretty ripe for Cab/Merlots. They were Parker faves and that’s not a knock in my book, but they did fit the sterotype of wines he likes. Not saying that side by side it would be hard to distinguish between Caymus and QC, but they’re both in the large category of sweeter wine that I’d pass on with softer tannins, uber ripe fruit, and lavish oak.
Agree. When I first got into wine I enjoyed them but once I started drinking Bordeaux did not enjoy them. For the price of one QC I can get 3 nice Andrew Will wines or almost a case of the Davenport Wines!
Touting (and then trashing) Quilceda Creek as the benchmark Cab in Washington is so 2008. There is so much more interesting and quality Cab (and other Bordeaux varieties) coming out of Washington (most of which are mentioned above) that I would hope we could all move on from that broken record.
Touting (and then trashing) Quilceda Creek as the benchmark Cab in Washington is so 2008. There is so much more interesting and quality Cab (and other Bordeaux varieties) coming out of Washington (most of which are mentioned above) that I would hope we could all move on from that broken record.
The original post was asking about Washington State Wines. How is saying I don’t like the style trashing them? It is good for the original poster to know that QC are going to be bigger style wines. I hear people all the time say I love the Prisoner. I simply ask them to smell the wine and move it around in their mouth. After they do that most don’t like the wine.
That’s fair, John. My post wasn’t so much a reaction to your post as it was to Greg’s. I just wish that WA State Cabs could somehow be disassociated from QC. Their style and price point are more and more an outlier in the state and I believe the true representation of WA is to be found in other wines/wineries.
Hey there, We are offering a six pack of Washington wines including a Bordeaux blend in the Quarantine Forum: Chris James Cellars - Willamette Valley & Columbia Valley wines up to 40% off - Berserker Quarantine Relief - WineBerserkers (Offer #3)
The Claret is a field blend/cofermentation of Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec (~equal parts).
Chris
A friend has done several blind tastings of WA cabs at 10 years post-vintage, different vintages, with about 10 wines each time, including the top wines by reputation, including Quilceda Creek and Leonetti. The winner each time, per my notes and average group ratings, was the Longshadows Pirouette, which was really singing. Tells me if you drink your cab with about that much age, you can’t go wrong with the Pirouette.
I’d wish I enjoyed WA riesling more than I do since they make so much of it. Not much to get excited about including the Eroica. Most WA riesling seems to lack enough acidity. The two best that I’ve had are Sleight of Hand and Trust and both are a bargain.
Steve…on Riesling, don’t disagree, for a long time most were picked too ripe and had that graham cracker taste to them that I despise…the lower end rieslings with less intervention tended to show more Riesling character.
Moving forward with vineyards, the Yakima Valley, Evergreen Vineyard and other cool sites have shown that world class Riesling can come from WA, not just low intervention, entry level wines.
For the record, Ste Michelle Dry can be one of the best wine values in the world for Riesling and I dont sell it, do give one a shot for $8 if you like Riesling…the wine was born from lots that didn’t fit Eroica over a decade ago.
Thanks. I’ll make a point of trying the Ste Michelle again. I’m actually quite upbeat on Sleight of Hand riesling and I recommend it which didn’t come through in my post.
DeLille Chaleur Blanc is a great white Bordeaux blend. Their reds are good, too, but I love their white.
JD
?
And where exactly did I tout it as any kind of benchmark, or is simply naming it sufficient? Seems like a personal thing. Are you sure you’re not reading what you want to see rather than what is there?
I was just pointing out that there were different styles of “Bordeaux blends” and one would have very different experiences depending on which bottle they had. QC is neither a benchmark nor an outlier - there are plenty of ripe and/or oaky styles in WA as well as plenty of others. Damsel seems to like their wines on the riper, softer side. Reninger less so. Naming them doesn’t make them benchmarks of any kind.
+1 on DeLille Chaleur Blanc, consistently
a fantastic wine. Another WA white worth checking out is Two Vintners Grenache Blanc. And Robert Ramsay makes a Rhone style white blend called Woodsman White that is solid for around $17. Robert Ramsay is a good choice in general for lighter bodied everyday wines. His 2015 Mourvèdre was very light on its feet, almost a glou glou style.
Last few nights, I’ve been sipping on the 2007 Novelty Hill Cabernet Sauvignon [Columbia Valley] which according to Paul Gregutt’s book is blended from a variety of well regarded vineyard’s that Mike Januik has long familiarity with. It’s still dark, berry inflected, and a touch flabby. 14.4% abv. Lots of sediment in the final glass. Tannins have faded away. I tried this in a range of stems, and at subtly different temperatures but I can’t get jazzed up for this. It’s well made and fruity, but doesn’t feel as a complete as a teenage Bordeaux might.
Oldish thread, so not sure if OP has found some WA wines to suit them or moved on. But I thought I would add a plug for Full Pull (I am not associated, just a fan and buyer). Full Pull Wines is a e-mailing list that offers lots of small winery WA wines that often are not available at retail, particularly outside the state. They started on this premise ~13 years ago and have grown to include lots of other Oregon and International wines, but they still offer several WA wines each month and some are annual stalwarts (Cadence Coda comes to mind). I looked to give a sample, and in June 2022 FP has offered Gorman, aMaurice, Long Shadows, Upchurch, Reynvaan, Block (FP own lablel), Quiceda Creek, L’ecole 41. Lots of names mentioned in this thread, and some not. One good part about FP is you can buy onsies and twosies and ship (only when weather appropriate) once you accumulate a full mixed case.
Here’s a link. https://fullpullwines.com/
I kinda agree with the comments that a list of names isn’t too helpful because there are literally 100’s of producers making good Bordeaux varietal wines in Washington, some great, some less so, some bad wines for sure, but it’s a lot of subjectivity. My CT says I have purchased from 254 WA producers, at least 200 of which make (or made, some are now defunct) these wines. Others are some Rhone specialists mostly. That said, my current “short list” for Bordeaux varieties is JB Neufeld, Cultura, and Rasa.
Anyway lots out there, thought I’d add the Full Pull plug.
Not sure why Minneapolis gets such a good deal on this wine but bought a few cases of the 19 for $23 a bottle.