Best Wines from Washington State
Top Twenty Minus Oneby Chris HornChris Horn is a guest columnist, offering precise insights regarding the best wines from Washington state. A few are in distribution nationally. Others are worth the trip to Washington state. Horn purchases wines for Purple Café and Wine Bar’s extensive wine list, which includes hundreds of bottles and over 75 wines-by-the-glass, staff education and service. In April 2007, the restaurants were voted “Best Place for Wine Tasting” in Seattle Magazine’s “Reader’s Choice” poll. Purple Seattle is a recent winner of Evening Magazine’s ‘Best of Western Washington’ contest in the category of “Best Wine Bar,” and Wine Spectator’s “Award of Excellence.” Purple is located at 14459 Woodinville-Redmond Rd., Woodinville, Wash. (425-483-7129), 323 Park Place, Kirkland, Wash. (425-828-3772) and 1225 Fourth Ave., Seattle (206-829-2280). Abeja—John Abbot was responsible for one of those wines—you know, the kind of bottle that made you re-think what you thought you knew about a varietal and a place. (For the sake of record, it was a [of all things] 1997 Canoe Ridge Reserve Merlot. I can still recall that wine...) He continues to make stunning, stylish, understated, complex wines at Abeja. And while some might accuse me of over-statement, I consider Abeja to be one of the best wineries in America. I have tasted the ’05 Merlot, and it’s precious…I am eagerly anticipating the ’05 Cabernet. Andrew Will—To choose one of Chris Camarda’s wines would be hard. What I have always appreciated about the wines of Andrew Will is the absolute expression of place. And while he could have continued making varietal wines from some of the best vineyards in the state, he chose to take what he had learned from these vineyards and created blends expressing exactly what the land and vintage had offered by producing blends labeled simply by their origin. I have often used the phrase “berries floating in cream” to describe the Andrew Will style—but it’s admittedly a bit lazy. His wines are the best examples of respect for terroir in the hands of confident and expert winemaking. I would line up a bottle of his ’05 Sheridan (Yakima Valley), ’05 Ciel du Cheval (Red Mountain) and ’05 Champoux (Columbia Valley in order to understand not only his skill, but the variety of excellence that can come out of Washington State. Betz Family Winery—I just drank my last ’02 Betz Pere de Famille, and I’m a bit ashamed. Sure, it was a delight, but I wish I had just one more bottle in the cellar. I think Bob Betz is a class act, and I wish there were more of his stuff to go around. I am putting his ’05 La Serrene (Columbia Valley) at the top of my best-of list for the vintage, and I don’t think I’m alone in this opinion. Boudreaux Cellars—Rob Newsom’s ’05 Chardonnay is one of the top five Chardonnays in the state. But I really appreciate digging into his ’04 Cabernet Sauvignon—it’s a blend of vineyards from around the various valleys, and is touted as a “Washington State” wine. It’s as complex a Cabernet as I have had lately—an amalgam of personalities that manages to deliver a layered experience without seeming schizophrenic. Buty—Caleb Foster (and Nina Buty Foster) has been quietly making excellent wines for the last five vintages. Their whites are solid, but it’s their Rediviva bottling that has provided me with the most pleasure. Caleb cut his teeth working with Rick Small at Woodward Canyon, and there is a technical purity to his wines along with a strong dose of vineyard personality. The ’05 Rediviva (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah) is pretty wound-up right now, but it’s still head and shoulders above other similarly styled blends. Cayuse Vineyards—Ok, so it’s hard to get your hands on Christophe Baron’s grog. But there is no denying that the hype is justified. His Syrahs are a benchmark, and I’ll take a bottle of the Cailloux vineyard any day…The ’03 is one part Washington, one part northern Rhone. Cougar Crest—David Hansen manages the vineyard, and wife Debbie makes the wines. It’s a story of grape growers turned wine producers, and their intimate knowledge of their fruit comes through in the bottle. Their ’02 Reserve Syrah was one of my favorites, but I’d have to tip my hat to their ’03 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Sadly, I just ran out of this stellar Cabernet last month, but I will still include it in my best-of list for the year. The ’05 Cabernet is a winner, too, especially considering their asking price. There is a little less oak on the ’05, which translates into a fruit-driven experience. They have recently ceased selling any of their grapes to other wineries, so I am interested to see how they evolve over the next few years. Dunham Cellars—I have historically celebrated my birthday with Eric Dunham’s Columbia Valley Syrah. He’s generous with the oak, which draws some criticism, but for me, that lavish wood treatment creates Syrahs with an intriguing mix of spice notes in the nose that makes me want to inhale as much as drink. The big winner, of course, is the ’04 Lewis Vineyard Syrah—a stunning, opulent, wicked glass of wild spice-soaked berries. Isenhower Cellars—Brett and Denise Isenhower should be commended for producing sound wines at reasonable prices. While other Walla Walla wineries have spiked their prices over the last few years, you can still get a bottle of Isenhower and not feel the sting of the sticker. If I were to grab one bottle, it would probably be the ’06 Snapdragon (Viognier and Roussanne, Horse Heaven Hills)—tropical and friendly, pineapple/cinnamon upside-down cake meets mango daiquiri. Januik Winery—Mike Januik made some memorable wines at Chateau Ste. Michelle (I recall his Artist Series wines of the late 90’s fondly). But now he’s making wine on his own terms and putting his name on the label. I don’t know if there is another winemaker with as many Washington vintages under his belt, and he’s contracted fruit from some of the best vineyards around. If I were to pull one bottle out, it would probably be his ’04 Petit Verdot from Ciel du Cheval in Red Mountain… Dark…Dark…Dark…Like a delicious Darth Vader in a bottle. K Vintners—Charles Smith is a special kind of genius—a marketing genius, for certain. And though the “House Wine” will perhaps be the thing he is most remembered for, his single vineyard Syrahs still deliver a level of excellence that shouldn’t be eclipsed by his business savvy. And while his ’05 Milbrandt Syrah does not have the perceived pedigree (or price tag) of his other bottlings, I dare say that it delivers what no other Washington Syrah under 25 bucks manages—dirt, earth, and a wildness that pummels the palate like a blackberry-soaked Tasmanian devil. (My apologies for the metaphor…I’m guessing that tasting note was recorded toward the end of a particularly thorough evening…) L'Ecole No. 41—The Fergusons founded L’Ecole back in the early eighties. Their winemaker since 1990 is Marty Clubb, who married their daughter Megan, and as it stands now, the winery is in their care. You can’t understate the importance of working with many of the same vineyards for so many vintages—there is a familiarity and understanding of the raw material along with a certain level of wisdom that is undeniable. So year in and year out, I tend to appreciate their work. But I will say that their ’05 Merlot is one of the best in the state—a bunch of chocolate-covered black berries/cherries rolled around in pepper and baking spices. Long Shadows Vintners – Ok, so the scoop on Allen Shoup’s “retirement” project is only half of the story. Sure, a bunch of superstar winemakers using superstar grapes is one side—a rather intriguing side for certain. But I’ve got to say that the ’04 Feather (made by Randy Dunn) is a great Washington Cabernet. It’s big, but light on its feet, with a classic cabernet flavor spectrum that includes a distinctively Washington plumminess (though I don’t know if “plumminess” is actually in the dictionary). Again—a great Washington Cabernet. McCrea Cellars—You could go on and on about how Doug McCrea was ahead of his time. He is one of the first in the state to focus on Rhone Valley varietals, both red and white. (He has twenty vintages under his belt, actually.) But the bottle that brings together one of the best Syrah winemakers with one of the best Syrah vineyards is the ’04 Boushey from McCrea. It’s such a pleasure – it seems to have all the personality Syrah can possibly have: dark fruits, red fruits, black pepper, white pepper, smoke, earth, meat, wood, dried spices. It only gets better after sitting around for half a day and I can’t wait to see how the ’05 comes out. O•S Winery – It took me a long time to become a fan of Owen-Sullivan’s wines. I think it was the ’02 Ulysses that turned me around. But my favorite O•S wine isn’t even out of the barrel yet—I had a sample of his 2005 Sheridan Vineyard Cabernet Franc this last Father’s Day, and I’ve got to say that I’ve never anticipated a bottle as much. It was not only the best Washington Cabernet Franc I’ve had to date, but it was out of a crappy glass in a 55 degree cellar…Awesome. Quilceda Creek—I was lucky enough to have spent a good number of years in a restaurant that had deep deep reserves of Quilceda Cabernet, and thanks to the wine buyer Bruce Sturgeon, we didn’t pull any Q-Creek out of storage until a good five or six years after release. And I believe that, while all those ridiculous scores were justified, the vast majority of Quilceda Creek wines are consumed way before they are showing their best. (Which brings up another fact--I can only think of four or five other Washington wines that deserve and benefit from patient cellaring.) The last bottle I had was a ’96 on my wife’s birthday last April, and it was hard to concentrate on the fact that we were celebrating her day of birth and not the uncorking of that bottle I bought when I was in my twenties after a particularly good shift on the floor. Sure, calling Quilceda Creek a “favorite” is kinda like being a Patriot’s fan, but I’ll risk the comparison. Sheridan Vineyard—It was the ’01 L’Orage that made me a fan. It’s hard to think that that bottle was put together on the fifth leaf of this vineyard, or that winemaker Scott Greer didn’t spend a day in a classroom learning how, exactly, one is supposed to make wine. But the blend was something that was before its time—40% Cabernet Franc, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon—and it was a seamless mix of dark and red fruits with just enough oak spice. And it was so lively, all that great Yakima Valley acidity; I’m also a huge fan of his ’04 Syrah. Tamarack Cellars—Ron Coleman is a mad blender. He sources his grapes from different micro-climates around the state, and I think the only AVA he leaves out of the mix is the Puget Sound. I picture him in a white lab coat surrounded by beakers, wax candles and lightning with a maniacal look on his face and a hump-backed assistant with a limp. And while I will maintain that his Merlot is the best in the state in its price category, I have to sing the praises of his Firehouse Red. Not only is it built from an array of vineyard sources, but a kitchen sink’s worth of grape varietals. It is a complex shape shifter of a wine, constantly changing but always pleasing. And I don’t know how he does it, but the ’05 Firehouse is downright inexpensive. (If Mary Shelley was to write about a winemaker, it would be Ron Coleman.) Woodward Canyon—I don’t know how it started, but I began celebrating New Year’s Eve with a bottle of Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet many years ago—perhaps before I really understood how good the wine was. This year, I’ll be cracking a bottle of the ’03, but I’ll probably get it in the decanter first thing in the morning. At first, the wine is super-shy, like it’s hiding under the covers, but after you allow this wine some time to wake up, have a proper breakfast and a third cup of coffee, the personality starts to show. And come evening, this little monster starts to let its hair down—and once it’s down, it’s party time Number twenty. Wine to be named later—I’m an optimist. |
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