Washington State Wine Tasting

Washington State Wine Tasting – Episode #307

September 4, 2007

Gary Vaynerchuk sure has been yapping a whole lot about Washington State and today he does a little tasting on 4 wines from the wonderful North West!

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Comments on this episode(235) Leave a comment ›

“As a lifelong Washington resident, Im glad to see the wines bringing s…” by Dessert Wine Nerd
“first comment. live in seattle love the washington wines. love the sh…” by David
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Wines tasted in this episode:

2005 Chatter Creek Cabernet Franc Alder RidgeWashington Cabernet Franc
2004 L’ecole 41 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia ValleyWashington Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Pepper Bridge MerlotWashington Merlot
2004 Delille Doyenne SyrahWashington Syrah

235 Responses

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September 5, 2007

Washington 101
Best Washington wine ever had is the:
2003 K Vintners Morrison Lane Syrah.
September 5, 2007

surlee
QOTD: Belle Pente Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
September 5, 2007

ColoradoRick
How funny. We were in Walla Walla this past weekend. L’ecole seemed highly over rated. We agree with the comment below about Cougar Crest. Wineries of the weekend were Spring Valley, Pepper Bridge and Rulo.

We found many wines really out of balance – subtle (read weak, for me) nose, nice mid-palate, followed by a somewhat awkward transition to a massive finish.

Our overall impression is that this is a really promising area in which winemakers are still trying to determine what grows best where. We are looking forward to a repeat visit – but not for a few years.

Interesting.
September 5, 2007

john maki
QOD:
Had a Leonetti Sangiovese 1999? about 6 mos ago.
It was one of the most extracted, intense wines I have ever had.
However, it was a discounted (New Orleans restaurant flood sale wine!) and was high to mid shoulder fill with a seepage around the cork and a syrup under the seal! I thought it wasn’t going to be good for those reasons, but was I surprised! Went to the internet to buy 2 more bottles and tried one -
turned out to be not that intense! Saving the other to either microwave or put away for a few years. Maybe the New Orleans heat cooked this wine just right. One of those one in a lifetime experiences!!! john
September 5, 2007

Mike H
QOTD- Walla Walla Equinox and Desert Wind Cab Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval, all quite yummy. It is hard to narrow it down to just one. Loved the show great to see you get totally jazzed on poop. Wow!!
September 5, 2007

Rootvik
So excited to see more Walla Walla wines on the show!

QOTD: One winery I’m super excited about right now is Ensemble Cellars. Cab Sauv dominated Bordeaux blends. Release One is fabulous (and sold out). Release Two is amazing! Seriously, Craig Nelsen knows what he’s doing.

But I still can’t pick a favorite. There are too many good ones out there!
September 5, 2007

Washington 101
Here’s some Washington State recommendations.
Any Betz or K Vintners wines
Best Merlot in the world – Reininger & Novelty Hill
Need to know about now – Gorman, Cadence, Mark Ryan
Value wines – Desert Wind Ruah, Ghost of 413 Red
September 5, 2007

Byzandula
I had a ‘99 Lâ€™ecole Syrah that is one of the few Washington state wines that I have tried. I enjoyed it quite a lot. I have had several other L’ecole wines that have been PAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I’m not sold on Washington bringing complete thunder yet…
September 4, 2007

Vinsant
WA- home sweet home!
QOTD: too many to pick just one:
94 Arbor Crest Cab Franc
99 Leonetti Merlot
00 Cayuse Bionic Frog, 02 Cayuse Viognier, 04 Cayuse Widowmaker, 03 Cayuse Armada Syrah
02 Buty Rediviva Of the Stones Walla Walla (Cayuse grapes)
02 K Vintners Ovide (Cayuse grapes)
any L’Ecole cab sauv, merlot, syrah
thirsty now, must go
September 4, 2007

Damon
Aside from the usual big name suspects from Washington, a small producer that we love is Sparkman Cellars, especially the Stella Mae Syrah. Talk about asparagus tips…Gary would be all over the 2004 for the vegetables.
September 4, 2007

Kopi Luwak
I work in the wine industry in Oregon so I get exposed to lots of WA juice. My experience is that it seems like everything produced from Ciel du Cheval vineyards is a safe bet to be great. Obviously the best grapes make the best wine. So it’s no coincidence that the best winemakers usually end up securing the best vineyards. It’s a chicken/egg thing. Also, be warned WA grapes can get ridiculously ripe, so the wines can be New Worldish and highly alcoholic. But they can be “profound” too. Woodward Canyon. Novelty Hill. Abeja. Whitman. Andrew Will. Dunham Cellars. All of these (in good years) have been awesome. And that’s the tip of the iceberg.
September 4, 2007

Will
Great Job! WOOOOO clemson!!!
September 4, 2007

Mag the Packers Fan
K Syrah for sure (several incarnations: all good). And best cheap stuff: House Wine.
This Cheesehead predicts the following score on Sunday: Jets 23, Pats 21.
September 4, 2007

the drew
QOTD – Looks like the GV is lofting up a nice little pitch for the drew to smack out of the park like Pujols baby, done. Born and raised in Washington and my list of top Washington wines is thick.

A lot of people talking about the home runs, Leonetti Cellar and Cayuse and Woodward Canon and Ste Michelleâ€™s Eroica and Lâ€™ecole (not my personal fav) etc etc.

But letâ€™s get into some other wineries that I think are under the radar.

Cougar Crest, not seeing a lot of love for Cougar Crest here but the Cab and Reserve Cab are solid. Absolutely frigginâ€™ Solid.

Canoe Ridge, for the price, seriously one of the top values hands down. Late Harvest GewÃ¼rztraminer is one of the best dessert wines Iâ€™ve ever had, only topped by Sauternes.

aMaurice, thatâ€™s right. Keep this one up your sleeve GV, Ned and Co will be bringing serious thunder in the years to come. Not even at estate grown fruit yet and already some pretty phenomenal old school style wines.

Amavi, especially their syrahs. Never heard of Amavi? How about Pepperbridge? Yeah, same winemaker with cheaper price point. Amavi makes exceptional syrah. Second to Cayuse in my opinion and for what I like in a syrah.

Patrick M Cellars makes some pretty lame wines, BUT, if you are into Cab Franc, seriously seek this guy out. Ridiculous Cab Francs.

And another little place that isnâ€™t getting much press yet but can hold itâ€™s own with some solid wines is Di Stefano. Not my favorite WA wine but solid solid stuff coming out of there.

And my all time favorite bottle from WA, sorry Gary, weâ€™re not revealing that little secret in a public forum. The drew has a few spades left up his sleeve and Iâ€™m 9 months away from the announcement.
September 4, 2007

Grapedigger
Washington was not on my wine radar..well, it’s now!
September 4, 2007

matthews
great to finally see that washington st. show.

QOTD-ive only had one, 2003 columbia valley l’ecole it was quite awesome if i remember correctly.
September 4, 2007

*/^_^\*
qotd: never had one… the wine sections of liquor stores in Oklahoma consist of Yellowtail shiraz and cheap Cali reds…
September 4, 2007

Harley Stan
Gary, great episode.
QOTD- 1999 Latah Creek Reisling, I had one a few weeks ago and it was great!
September 4, 2007

Grape Expectations
I live in Washington and have a local store that specializes in Washington wines and they’ve always got new stuff open to taste. Some of it’s from tiny producers like Va Piano. The Va Piano 2005 Syrah is real barnyard stuff (fresh meat, smoke, pepper, wet wool)–not a blueberry or Dr. Pepper in the neighborhood.

QOTD: Stevens 424 2004 Yakima Valley Red Wine (45% cab, 35% cab franc, 20 merlot). Andrake Cellars ded.reckoning #4 2004 Horse Heaven Hills Syrah. Owen Sullivan BSH (Brick S*** House) Meritage.
September 4, 2007

Hugh
QOD: No brainer, Cayuse “En Cerise” Syrah 2002…..too bad it’s impossible to get Cayuse nowadays…..
2nd choice, McCrea 2002 Boushey Vineyard Syrah….if any vayniacs come across Syrah from Dick Boushey’s vineyard….buy buy buy…..
September 4, 2007

Dash
QOTD: Well it has been a while, but I remember when I first started drinking wine, I used to get Columbia Crest… I have come a long way since that time so I should go back to Washington and try something more unique!
~ Thanks for doing the quadruple header! ~
September 4, 2007

Bob
Greetings from Washington State. Good to see you dedicate a show to our wines because we are inundated with great fruit and great winemakers out here.

QOTD ‘04 Abeja Chardonnay. And that’s coming from a guy who drinks much more red wine than white wine.
September 4, 2007

burton
owen sullivan wines have been by far the best!!
September 4, 2007

K MAN
GAR!

I’ll be there this sunday! Where are your seats? Wanna come tialgate with out huge group for a little bit?

Let me know man, we’d love to have you, bring whoever, we will have food galore and tons of beer!

Kyle THE K MAN

Let me know if you want my cell number or whatever.
September 4, 2007

Robin C.
QOTD: sounds like a great opportunity for a wine tasting vacation: 3 rivers.

Three of us just went to a Spanish mini-white-wine tasting at Slate Street. The Albarino was the winner. Followed at home by an Ombra red with tortilla soup and cheeses. We’ve been enjoying the Spanish wines we ordered from Wine Library. Each of the Spsnish wines we try is singular and distinct. And the last one poured is always the most memorable.