Washington State Wine – Episode #177

February 6, 2007

Wines tasted in this episode:

Today Gary sits down and really gets into Washington State wine. This part of the country is bringing the thunder and many people don’t know how good it really is! Sit back and enjoy this run through Walla Walla and more.

132 Responses

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October 30, 2009

smiledoc
Gotta try Andrew Will Sorella!
October 23, 2009

John J.
qotd got to try a blackwood reserve chard after hearing good things about it

Gary a vin jaune episode would be something really different
June 1, 2009

Phredd
Great show. QOTD: Only Columbia Crest and Chateau St. Michele, but always willing to try more.
August 24, 2008

Scott
QOTD – Cougar Crest 2005 Viognier, Snoqualmie 2005 Winemaker’s select Riesling, Sapolil 2004 Syrah, Canoe Ridge 2003 Late-harvest GewÃ¼rztraminer, Silver Lake 2005 Late Harvest Riesling, NV Eaton Hill Sweet Bisbee
February 9, 2008

Ryan
I just had 2005 Columbia Crest Merlot!
I liked it.
January 7, 2008

fritz fontaine
Yo. Chow down on some Andrew Will or some Buty. You’ll dig it the most.
January 2, 2008

Syrahhhhhhhhh
Gary, awesome episode for my home team boys in WA!

Ok here is a list of some smaller Washington gems besides the great ones you mentioned here..Reininger, Betz, L’Ecole, Matthews, Boudreaux, Dunham, these always deliver…but how about:

Fielding Hills…you have mentioned in the past..get anything you can and it will rock your world

K Vintners comment below is spot on…he is a rock star…2004 Cougar Hills Syrah

Januik winery…Mike Januik makes syrah that will make you pee your pants with joy

:Nota Bene…2005 Una Bene or the 2004 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard

Walla Walla Vintners…big punch you in the mouth merlots

OS Winery…the BSH (Brick S— House) is always a winner, but also get your hands on the syrahs and petit verdot..the Ulysses and Cab Franc are stellar efforts

Spring Valley Vineyard…some of the best wine in Walla Walla without question in the past…the winemaker dies recently and they have a new guy so we’ll see, but 2004 and older wines…Derby, Uriah, Frederick all will produce a strong desire for love making within minutes of drinking…do it, drink it.

shall I keep going? ok I will then…

Fall Line…tiny producer, but getting bigger, of four superb Bordeaux style blends from some of the superior grapes of Washington…try the 2005 Red Mountain or any 2004s if you can get them

Cadence…2005 Bel Canto…just a unbelievably stupid Bordeaux blend that will make you crazy for Washington even if it is 50 U S dollars

Patit Creek is a factory for merlots that rival anything in California

Saviah…try the Une Valle or the always great bargain in The Jack

and for two really little but F’ing great wines try…

SYZYGY…2005 Syrah is almost as good as the 2003 was and they go fast so buy it and then hold it for a bit if you have the will power…I obviously do not.

Stephenson…this infinitesimally small syrah producer is worth hunting down because he makes the S! Deep black fruit ans silky smooth thunder

I will do more in another post, but if you want a great source pick up Paul Gregutt’s book on Washington wine that was published in 2007.

syrahhhhhhhh
December 25, 2007

VinOrecul
If you wanna roll with WALLA WALLA you gotta have their onions…everyone native to WA knows what super tongue tastiness the dubble dub sweet onions bring.

QUOTD: I drink WA wine all the time, problem is I hate how we are compared to california. I would rather see comparisons to France, even if WA wines get beat everytime….will the real rocky balboa come out and go the distance!
October 13, 2007

Monica Ricci
Gary, my husband has been laughing at me for years for using “Twizzlers” as a wine descriptor! Bravo!

~Monica
September 13, 2007

Jt
QOTD: Chateau Ste.Michelle, Canoe Ridge, Wind River, Columbia Crest Reserve, Hogue. I’m sure I’ve had others, just can’t remember them right now. Glad I’m finally getting some time to watch what I’ve missed. Gary as always keep up the excellent work & Cheers ~~~
March 24, 2007

Justin
2003 Hogue Genesis Cabernet, thought it was a great wine for the money.
March 14, 2007

scott
TDude, thanks for trying some wines from the great state of Washington.

So stoked you featured Delille D2, which is a stellar wine year after year.

Your mention of Betz was also welcomed. Don’t forget about the other Woodinville wines, including Baer and Matthews, both garagistas that are setting extremely high standards out here.

You briefly mentioned Quilceda Creek, which by any measure, is one of the greatest cabernets in the world. The release date for 2004 Cab is April 1, and I’ve got a case with my name on it waiting at the winery. It is in indescribably great wine, an immortal elixir, and I hope you feature it sometime on your show.

Thanks.

Scott in Seattle.
February 15, 2007

Jessi
Hi Gary – I’m finally coming out of the lurker shadows because I owe you a BIG thanks for this episode! I watched it last week, then was at a fancy-schmancy restaurant for dinner w/ some colleauges over the weekend, and they handed me the wine list (I am the wine geek of the group, but that’s not saying a whole lot…). A pick from a wine list usually feels like a stab in the dark to me, but lo and behold, there was the D2 at the top of the New World meritage list. A little bell went off in my head, I ordered with confidence, and it was a hit! Damn, was it good. I had trouble paying attention to the conversation – I kept going back to my glass for a sniff! I will definitely be seeking this one out for myself.

I am a lurker no more – thanks again!
February 12, 2007

elron
Enjoyed the episode as usual and also enjoy Washington state wines. They have a uniqueness to them. I liked Sagelands Cabernet for it’s ruggedness. Columbia Crest is almost always on hand in the house. Like Rich S., I recently enjoyed Snoqualmie’s 2000 Reserve Merlot.
February 12, 2007

David M
Hey Gary!

Have made three trips to Walla Walla, start inthe Wilamette Valley and drive through the gorge up to Walla Walla. I was fortunate to hang with Christophe and Trevor for futures weekend. I agree wholeheartly on the area and the winesas I have the 2004 you tasted along with the Cayuse Bionic Frog, Tempranillo and Campselo. I must tell you that Charles over @ K vintners uses Christophe’s fruit and blows away the Cause wines…Charles is a win rock star and is producgin the most intersting wines in the region and perhaps the country.

So let’s meet up there!
February 11, 2007

cumpari
Washington and Walla Walla are very young wine regions. The growth of winemakers has and is continuing to outpace the supply of fruit coming out of the area. Vintners preceded the Vingnerons in Walla Walla. Gary Figgins of Leonetti and Rick Small of Woodward Canyon are case in point (though they’ve developed their estates, respectively). However, much of the productive acreage is maturing and high quality AVA fruit is being harvested. As the productive acreage increases, which it is, and those vines mature — say 10 years or so — the quality of wines coming out Walla Walla will increase and go head-to-head with the best of France. Watch. 10 years…Napa? Yes in terms of quality. No, in terms of theme park-ness. Cayuse is a case in point — the best of the old and new world. If you’ve ever seen a cross-section photo of the geology of the Walla Walla AVA, Cayuse wine captures the interaction of the soil and rock minerals: it’s like tasting geologic time! Amazing!! Yea, yea, technique in the winery is important, too. But, wine is only as good as the fruit. It’s all about the farming. Sure, technology is such that you can “fix” not-so-stellar batches. Anyway, I would encourage everyone investigate Walla Walla wines, and to check out Zerba. Their small and unknown (like the majority of their Walla Walla counterparts). Anyway, Zerba’s quality derives from their farming, and they’re following Christophe Barone’s lead (investigate this). Notwithstanding 2004, any other year from Zerba is a rockin’ value and will age. I highly recommend their Syrah. The “red table wine” is also an awesome value (~$17). They totally killed-it on the 2003 Syrah (it won a blind-taste gold medal of all 90+ point syrahs from the Northwest. Get it if you can. Salute.
February 9, 2007

Patt
Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling is one of my wife’s favorites, although after your vlog on Riesling’s, I think that will be a thing of the past
February 8, 2007

Miguelo DiMarco
Stupid = very good

Killing it = fantastic

I’m just not keeping in touch with the kids these days.

Wine Enthusiast scored 2002 Columia Crest Grand Estates Shiraz 90 points and the #1 Best Buy of 2006. That will be my first Washington State wine (that I can recall) when I open it. Maybe it’s better than the Reserve that you just reviewed??
February 8, 2007

BruceP
Arrgh. Tried to order the Cayuse En Chamberlin, but you teased me by letting me order it and then telling me today that you were out. Only the crap Skittles and Unicorns one is still available. I’m bummed. Heavy sigh.
February 8, 2007

Catie
Thanks Gary for your honest and umm — “unique” descriptions. I am a Walla Walla wine-geek from Walla Walla. I love-love-love the descriptions of “ride the Skittles rainbow…cabbage & Slim Jims” to one of my most coveted and favored wines – Cayuse. I totally get it. Cheers!
February 8, 2007

Kirkland M
QOTD: Leonetti is amazing.
February 8, 2007

Doug T
Nice job G-Man,

Where do you come up with these new but totally understandable descriptions … ride the skittles rainbow …. red cabbage & slim Jims ?? … what’s scary is that I can relate !!

I’ve been a washington wine fan for at least ten years. I’ve always loved l’ecole cab, woodward canyon cab, seven hills cab, and Quilceda Creek cab …. can you tell I’m a cab man ?? I’ve only tried a couple washington syrahs but I’ll definitely give the D2 and the reininger a shot.
Thanks again !
February 7, 2007

Joel in Kyoto
checking out the washington wine one right now gary…..YAY, just my kind of intro…no last name pronunciation “paintball in the mouth” this time…..so it’s very easy to slip right into your stream (and, on the other hand, you didn’t have to put on a professorial tweed coat either….)

also….love your handling of the delille white price point……my complaints about wash. wines are that they too often jump right into serious wine prices without having earned them….but since you are calling walla walla the new napa…and i know some good producers there have been around awhile, maybe there is some wine out there deserving of the price (too/so) many seem to ask for….

also i am glad to hear someone in the industry mention auz wines (esp shiraz) in the same conversation as west coast wines….i think the comparison is very important. australia offers a LOT of competition in what i would call the unabashed high octane fruit bomb syrah/shiraz’s….and i have had quite a few wash. syrahs twice the price but offering the same generic (you used the term fake) modern fruit bomb flavor profile as the auz shiraz’s….(now the cayuse en chamberlin, that sounds like my kind of wine….but the price points…..:-((((

……and HEY don’t forget to try those new world syrahs and shiraz’s out of the reidel burgundy glass man…you won’t go back to the bordeaux glass (or the syrah) glass!!!….finally a real use for those big balloons

my kind of show gary….all your creative juices go into the juice..good work!
February 7, 2007

Tim Tamblin
Man o’ man- Just had an 02 Columbia Crest Grand Estate Shiraz on Superbowl Sunday which just so happened to be rated by The Wine Enthusiast as #1 out of it’s 100 Best Buys for 2006 and what a disappointment. It was a prune bomb with what tasted like nasty old oak barrel on the finish. I was shocked that it even made the top 100 let alone #1.

Gary- I’d love to see you try this one on the show because it’s that astounding. I’m still in shock. Who are these Judges?
February 7, 2007

Marc Mc
Quilceda Creek, FANtastic