WTN: Washington State

Blind tasting of Washington State wines.

2006 Hestia Sémillon (Columbia Valley ) – smoky apple nose with a hint of lanolin, clean and crisp on palate

2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen Riesling Eroica (Columbia Valley) – slightly warm clearly Riesling nose, smooth on palate, with just enough acidity for balance. Also won the contest for longest wine name.

2005 Long Shadows Wineries Pedestal (Columbia Valley) – cocoa and plumy fruit nose with some cherry later on. lots of tannin, but ripe, medium to full body and tailing of a little short in the finish.

1995 DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate (Red Mountain) – initially white pepper and a hint of dill, but with 5 minutes in the glass it transformed into a Bordeaux nose good enough to pass in a blind tasting. Nice spice on palate, good fruit and overall a classy wine.


2004 Long Shadows Wineries Syrah Sequel – dark wine with a deep nose of dark fruit, cocoa and a hint of black olives. Nice wine.


2004 Woodward Canyon Syrah (Columbia Valley) – dark wine with an apple pie and spice nose slightly warm, sweet fruit in the mouth, and good length. There was enough VA in the nose to put a VA hater off, but I thought that it enhanced the overall impression.


2005 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon (Walla Walla) - dark wine with another sweet nose that I saw a hint of raspberry in and lots of stuffing. Stirred with an oak stave, but not excessively so, and good acidity. Needs time.


2001 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese (Walla Walla) – funky nose, smooth in the mouth, faded quickly at the end. A tired Chianti wannabe that never shouldabeen.


1992 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley) – an amazing amount ofdill in this nose, and some coconut, with some nice spice and white pepper. Nice mature cab and fun to drink side by side with a more current version.

1999 St. Innocent Brut (Willamette Valley) – strictly speaking out of the theme area, but by then none of us cared! Decent nose that made one expect a Pinot predominance, and the same on palate, but I found it a bit hollow and it faded fast. Also not much mousse. Still, a nice way to end an interesting tasting!

[Jenise]

My notes:

With warm hazelnut crusted goat cheese and fresh pink grapefruit segments:

2006 Hestia Sémillon (Columbia Valley ) – pine needle and wool with sweet orange blossoms on the nose but dry on the palate. Lot of difficulty here guessing the grape as most are so unfamiliar with new world semillon, but it wasn't really hiding.

2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen Riesling Eroica (Columbia Valley) – bizarre (to me) lemon-lime nose, something I only remember finding twice in white wine and those were a Redbank Sauv Blanc and (regrettably) a Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio, both Australian. That gave me absolutely no foundation for seeing the riesling-ness in this wine that was so apparent to you.

2005 Long Shadows Wineries Pedestal (Columbia Valley) – cherry and mocoa fruit with loads of minerality. Very nicely balanced and fresh, much much different (and for my tastes, better) than what I'd have expected based on the massive 2003 Pedestal. Michel Rolland is the rock star consultant on this wine from Long Shadows, whose series of wines each features a superstar visiting winemaker.

1995 DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate (Red Mountain) – I'll go with your description and add Lisa's declaration of "garam masala!" Indeed the Chaleur is always uncommonly spicey, which is why I love it so. I'll add that the '95 is showing right now with more heft and youthful qualities than either the 94 or 96.

2004 Long Shadows Wineries Syrah Sequel – You note VA on teh Woodward Canyon, but my first note on the Sequel is "VA!--blows off." Anyway, a very black fruity style syrah (more typical of WA syrah than not) with restrained fruit, good acidity (more typical of the 2004 vintage than not) and an overall polished presentation. Terrific, I thought.

2004 Woodward Canyon Syrah (Columbia Valley) – Huge fruit here, seemingly denser than the Sequel with a more viscuous mouth-feel. Sweeter, too, but also spicier in all the ways that make Woodward Canyon cabs so attractive to me. This was my first enounter with their syrah.

A bonus bottle was served next, a one-ton-per-acre BC merlot that Rasoul's company is producing, and which was corked. The TCA was mild enough that one could tell there was a wine there of considerable grandeur, so what a rough break.

2005 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon (Walla Walla) - what you said.

2001 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese (Walla Walla) – Chocolate and iron vitamins, tamales (spicey dried red chiles and something savoury), and cantaloupe. Funky and interesting, but at the end of it's life.

1992 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley) – Vanilla custard and cherries, sweet and perfumey in the way that makes older Leonettis so distinctive. Very good.

1999 St. Innocent Brut (Willamette Valley) – In lieu of any Washington bubbly (I only know of one, and I wouldn't serve that), I drug along my last bottle of what has been a great Oregon brut. It's getting a little tired but I actually thought it showed quite well for a ten year old domestic bubbly, with baked apple and even a little brioche.

Interesting different reading on the Riesling. Wonder why the varietal character was coming out in mine but not yours.

Loved the De Lille. How is the 96 right now? I think I have one bottle left.

[Jenise]

Interesting different reading on the Riesling. Wonder why the varietal character was coming out in mine but not yours.

Can't understand that at all. I got nada, zippo, varietal character there with absolutely no depth or strengths--it literally tasted like soda pop to me. I can't even imagine what would cause you and I to have what seemed like two entirely different wines.

Loved the De Lille. How is the 96 right now? I think I have one bottle left.

It was gorgeous about a year ago, I took it to a Grand Crew tasting and it was on everybody's list of Favorites.