Yo Gary!!
Thanx for bringin’ DA THUNDER, as usual!!!
A vast quantity of treasures in Washington
to bo sought & enjoyed! Dat Poop/Fart Bomb
sounds like a “must-try”!!!!!
walla..walla..walla..walla..walla..walla.. 🙂

QOTD: i looooove da Semillon from L’Ecole 41!!

Great show. Crazy nose on that last wine.

Patriots 31, Jets 17

QOTD: Haven’t had too many higher end Washington State wines, but my favorite in recent memory that I had a restaurant was the L’Ecole 41 Syrah, 2004 I think.

Great Episode! I’m actually heading out to Walla Walla this weekend!!

QOTD: 2002 Basel Cellars Syrah – Trey Busch (winemaker) Rules!!! His new project Sleight of Hand should be great as well.

Gary,

Here’s a show suggestion – taste the three Long Shadows wines you have at WL. Shows the power and quality of Washington fruit when big time winemakers from around the world are willing to come and put their stamp on the region.

http://winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?item=33251
http://winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?item=33253
http://winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?item=33252

Keep up the great work!

I’m not sure I could get past a wine with baby poop smell to it so i doubt I would enjoy that wine in any which way.
My favorite WA wine is Quelcida Creek almost any vintage. Their list isn’t too tough to get on and the prices are still reasonable. I did have a blend that was a cooperative project with an Italian winery and Chateau St. Michelle that was Cab and Sangiovese that was absolutely delicious but they only sell it at the winery and I’m not sure they still produce it.

My favorite Washington State wine?

Probably a Columbia Winery Red Willow Vineyard Cab/Meritage from like 1978 or 79.

I haven’t kept up lately with the big stuff from WA. The Otis Vineyard sutff back then was damn good, too.

Now I have to go in the basement and find my tasting notes from the 80s Washington Winery trips!

Me thinks Gary has been smokin a little of the whacky tobaccy…..Kerry Rhodes best safety in the NFL?!?!?!? Get real Vaynerchuk. No way Rhodes is better than Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Bob Sanders, or Brian Dawkins.

QOTD: Chateau Ste. Michelle delivers, esp for the price.

You said the Cab-Franc is primed for vegetals, but N. Americans push it into fruits. If the “natural” state of a wine is one way, how do they make it into something totally different? Maybe you’ll be covering something along this line of questioning with the Vayniac wine process?

I’ve got to try the Delile and L’Ecole. Right down my “new world” alley! Still working my way through Oregon wines and just beginning to dabble in Washington. I’ve got my work cut out for me…

Great show Gary! I have a bottle of the 2004 Doyenne in the cellar. Not sure if I’m quite as excited about opening it after the diaper comments.

QOTD: I have about 10 other bottles of various WA wines in the cellar, any of which could become my favorite (Cayuse en Chamberlin, K Ovide, DeLille Chaleur & Harrison Hill). Of the ones I’ve actually tried, I like the 2004 DeLille D2 (which has become very hard to find) and some of the red blends from Cadence.

oops…must also mention the 2003 Reininger Syrah from Walla Walla. Excellent wine and only about $26.

Hey Gary, 2nd time posting, so I’m not a lurker anymore.

QOTD: I know a little about Washington wines as I did a wine tour there in June. Loved SO MANY WA wines! My favorite I guess is “boutique” b/c it’s a small winery but Maison de Padgett and Horizon’s Edge – two FUN wines.

I also enjoyed Hedges, Barnard Griffin, Powers, too many to remember right now.

QOTD: Portteus 2005 Malbec

QOTD: Feather from Long Shadows is my favorite wine from Washington. A Cabernet Sauvignon made by Randy Dunn that is a great wine.

Having just moved out of Washington St I’m thrilled to see this episode. Kentucky doesn’t quite carry the selection of value priced wines that I could find in WA. QOTD- 2000 Arbor Crest Dionysus. Very nice Bordeaux style wine. The 2001 was very good as well.

Finally, a long overdue Washington wine spotlight show. If I can recall almost all of the Washington wines you’ve reviewed on the show have been solid scoring wines…the lowest being(correct me if I’m wrong) an 85pt 2003 L’ecole Seven Hills Merlot. I think your absolutely correct in recognizing the purity of fruit in Washington wines. I’ve also experienced earthier style wines from Washington. One of my favorites is Winemaker Charlie Hoppes’s 2003 Fidelitas Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon…can you say “loam”. I was a big fan of 2002 Gordon Brothers Merlot with hints of coffee, leather, and roasted sage leaf. In fact, I’ve enjoyed almost all of their estate grown red wines of recent vintage. You’d do yourself a favor by sampling some Washington Rieslings as well. The 2005 Hogue Genesis Riesling, for example, is loaded with honey-lemon and petrol infused peaches all with a terrific acidic backbone that would give many wines from Alsace and Mosel a run for their money…especially @

Great show…again. Cant say I had any that you have tried, hopefully I can find it around Hawaii. QOTD= Eroica Reisling, Dr. Loosen and Chateau St. Michelle got it right. This is the only reisling that I have enjoyed coming out of USA

I Loved the Hedges 2004 cab. Very tasty…

QOTD: Anything from Basel Cellars… K Vintners, Walla Walla Vintners, Pepper Bridge, North Star, and Va Piano are also on the top of my list. Those are all Walla Walla wineries, but it’s all I can think about right now — We’re headed there for wine tasting this weekend! Can’t wait! 🙂

GV- I can’t see myself enjoying the poop- maybe I’m wrong- I’ll try it. QOTD: I think probably l’ecole’s semillon, but I’ve only had a couple.

Can’t lurk when you’re doing my home state.

QOTD: The ’03 Chateau St. Michelle Syrah Reserve that we had at our wedding reception last year.

QOTD- Matthews Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon- expensive but very good

I was invited to a comparative tasting of some of Washington’s NorthStar Merlots against some of the Prestige Cru wines from St Emilion and Pomerol. As such, I decided to hold off commenting until after the tasting.

I’m not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. I was invited by a friend who had taken a position at St Michelle Wine Estates, the parent company of Northstar, and was one of the only non-industry people there.

The three flights that we tasted were:

1st Flight
2003 NorthStar Columbia Valley Merlot
2003 Chateau Bellevue Mondotte
2003 Chateau Clos Fourtet
2003 Chateau L’Evangile
2003 Chateau Pavie

2nd Flight
2003 NorthStar Walla Walla Valley Merlot
2003 Chateau Cheval Blanc
2003 Chateau La Gomerie
2003 Chateau Magrez-Fombrauge
2003 Chateau Pavie Macquin

3rd Flight
2004 NorthStar Columbia Valley Merlot
2004 Chateau Bellevue Mondotte
2004 Chateau LaFleur Pomerol
2004 Chateau L’Evangile
2004 Chateau Pavie

The tasting was done double blind, and the 2003 and 2004 Columbia Valley Merlot was chosen by the group over the rest. It was definitely made in the old world style, and would have taken someone expecting a fruit bomb by surprise.

The other interesting thing was that in these wines, the aromas and flavors that neophyte oenophiles (including myself) sometimes struggle were amazingly obvious.

QOTD: 2003 NorthStar Columbia Valley Merlot

Thanks for doing my home state. My favorite is the Andrake X-Merlot made right here in O-town. Gary, have you heard of this?

GV, another great episode.
QOTD – K Vintners “The Creator”, first time I had it I was speaking in tongues.
Nick – it is a 60/40 Syrah/Cab