I can safely say that I don’t drink enough wine from Washington State. I don’t know why I don’t drink more, but I should, largely because everytime I open a bottle, I am pleasantly reminded of just how good these Pacific Northwest wines really are. Last year I conducted a class on North American wines and after the class, I wished we had tasted more of the wines from WA. Even after 19 wines…

I recently tasted a great Cabernet Sauvignon from the Columbia Valley that is just stunning – The 2007 Three Rivers Winery Cabernet Sauvignon – Wow! Like, move over California kind of wow… The wine is not cheap, with an average bottle price of $22.99, but the wine does represent a good value. With plenty of tannin and a nice core of intense, dark fruit, this wine has great aging potential and yet possesses enough elegance and grace to be drunk now with a nice thick cut New York strip.

After my tasting note below, I’ve included a little piece about the wines from Washington State, so be sure to read on…

My tasting note:

Jammy nose with plum, black cherry, menthol and saddle hints. Full-bodied with moderate acidity and firm, dry tannin – well balanced. Tight palate with an intense core of black fruit flavors – sour cherry, tobacco, anise and vanilla notes. Moderate length with a nicely layered and evolving finish. Drinking well now and should continue to improve with another 5 to 7 years in the bottle. Charming and elegant. A solid value!

History – Washington State Wines

Washington’s first wine grapes were planted at Fort Vancouver by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1825. By 1910, wine grapes were growing in many areas of the state, following the path of early French, German and Italian settlers. Hybrid varieties arrived in nurseries in the Puget Sound region as early as 1854, and by 1860 wine grapes were planted in theWalla Walla Valley.

Large-scale irrigation, fueled by runoff from the melting snowcaps of the Cascade Mountains, began in eastern Washingtonin 1903, unlocking the dormant potential of the rich volcanic soils and sunny, arid climate. Noble varietals were planted in the Yakima and Columbia Valleys and wine grape acreage expanded rapidly in the early part of the 20th century. The arrival of Prohibition in 1920 put a damper on wine grape production, but ironically may have helped spawn early interest in home winemaking. At the end of Prohibition the first bonded winery in the Northwest was founded on Puget Sound’s Stretch Island. By 1938 there were 42 wineries located throughout Washington State.

The first commercial-scale plantings in Washington State began in the 1960s. The efforts of the earliest producers, predecessors to today’s Columbia Winery and Chateau Ste. Michelle, attracted the attention of wine historian Leon Adams. Adams in turn introduced pioneering enologist Andre Tchelistcheff to Chateau Ste. Michelle. It was Tchelistcheff who helped guide Chateau Ste. Michelle’s early efforts and mentored modern winemaking in this state. The resulting rapid expansion of the industry in the mid 70s is now rivaled by today’s breakneck pace, where a new winery opens nearly every 15 days. This rapid growth ranks Washington State second nationally for premium wine production and more than 31,000 acres (12,545 hectares) are planted to vinifera grapes.

Significant developments in Washington State include the formation of the Washington Wine Commission, a unified marketing and trade association, in 1987. In 1999, the Commission established the Washington Wine Quality Alliance (WWQA) to spearhead development of industry standards in winemaking and labeling. Washington is the first state in the U.S. to define standards for “reserve” wines.

Important Statistics – Washington State Wine

National rank: 2nd largest premium wine producer in the United States

Number of wineries: 500+

Number of wine grape growers: 350

Appellations: Washington has nine major American Viticultural Areas (AVA)

Varietals produced: 20+ varietals

 Ratio of red to white: 57% red / 43% white

Wine Production: 18.0 million gallons or 68.3 million liters

Wine Grape Acreage: 30,000+ acres or 12,140+ hectares

Record Harvest: 2005 with 116,760 tons

Estimated retail value (2004 production): $684.9 million

Full-time equivalent wine-related jobs: 14,000

So, based on how much I enjoyed the 2009 non-cuvee bottling from Clos de la Roilette, I went back and actually bought some of the 2010 Cuvée Tardive. Wow, what a lovely wine and with quite a bit of aging potential to boot. The wine is definitely worth the $5.00 up-charge to $24.99 per bottle.

My tasting note:

Perfumed nose with floral, fresh cherry and mineral hints – Lovely. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and firm, dry tannin – good balance. Tight with a dark fruit core – chewy with black cherry, tar and rose attar notes – dense. Long finish – closed with some spice on the aftertaste. Needs time, perhaps another 5 to 7 years before it even begins to open up.

Cheers!

Domaine Fenouillet, a moderately-sized estate in the town of Beaume de Venise, France has a long-standing tradition of wine production. Patrick and Vincent Soard, the current stewards of the winery speak lovingly of their great grandfather Casimir and his pioneering work in the vineyard, work that apparently earned him a silver medal in 1902. His son Louis continued the tradition with award-winning Muscat de Beaume de Venise, of which a 1953 bottling maintains pride of place in the current cellar. Patrick’s and Vincent’s father Yvon maintained the tradition until falling ill in 1978 and becoming too sick to work in the winery. Fortunately Yvon taught his sons well and the quality of their wines is a testament to their love for the family tradition.

The estate produces a full range of wines including white AOC Vaucluse, white AOC Ventoux, rosé AOC Ventoux and red wines from AOC Beaume de Venise, AOC Ventoux and AOC Côtes du Rhône, in addition to fortified AOC Muscat de Beaume de Venise.

Interestingly, I could not find the 2009 Ventoux listed on their web site, but that doesn’t stop me from really enjoying the easy-drinking nature of the wine. Judging by the taste and the composition listed for their 2010 AOC Ventoux Cuvée Oversant, I’m guessing that the wine is largely Grenache (75%), with Syrah (20%) and Carignan (5%) to round out the party. At an average per bottle price of $10.99 the wine represents an excellent value and a perfect choice for an everyday drinking wine.

My tasting note:

Fresh, lively nose with cherry, dried herb and black pepper hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and moderate, dry tannin – good balance. Black cherry, lilac and earthy tones on the palate. Quite quaffable. Moderate length with a smooth finish and cedar and spice on the aftertaste. Drinking well now and should hold for another 2 to 3 years in bottle. Great value!

Cheers!

Sardinia, like Sicily is a spectacularly beautiful island off the coast of Italy with a long tradition of wine making. The various wine routes throughout the island lead to breathtaking landscapes where viticulture has been in existence since pre-Roman times, a tradition that began with the people of the nuraghi and continues today into the modern age. From the Romans to the late Sardinina-Piedmontese kingdom, through the Tuscan and Genovese fiefdoms, the Benedictine or Camaldolean monks and the Spaniards, each culture contributed to the wine making traditions in Sardinia.

Soil composition and climate play an important role in grape growing and wine production. With such a favorable combination of such elements, Sardinia is home to one of only four white DOCG wines: Vermentino di Gallura. Vermentino, with its delicate aromas of fruit and hint of almonds in the finish, is a wine to be enjoyed young. Vermentino di Gallura is typical of Sardinian wines – beauty, delicacy with exotic character and seductive flavors.

This piece is not about Vermentino, but instead I am writing about a stunning little red wine made by the Argiolas family. The winery was founded in 1937, and consists of approximately 575 acres in the breathtaking land just north of the town of Cagliari in southern Sardinia. The winery produces 2.3 million bottles annually across eleven different wines. The Perdera is a blend of 90% Monica, 5% Carignano and 5% Bovale Sardo grown in the eponymously named vineyard. The Perdera vineyard is 74 acres of primarily clay and limestone, situated at an elevation of 650 feet above sea level. The average age of the vines is 32 years with a fairly stingy yield of 3.2 tons/acre. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and then aged for about six months in French oak casks, which gives the wine a smooth, silky finish. The intense ruby color is a hallmark of the Monica grape, a Spanish transplant that oddly is no longer found in Spain. While not a candidate for long aging, the Monica grape produces fresh, lively wines with exotic spiciness that are eminently quaffable. At an average per bottle price of $11.99, the Perdera makes for an ideal daily-drinker!

My tasting note:

Earthy, barnyard nose with fresh cherry, floral and allspice hints. Medium-to-full-bodied with firm acidity and dry tannins – good balance. Dark fruit core with tarry, plumy notes. Moderate length with a spicy, dried fruit aftertaste with hints of cedar and vanilla. Drinking well now and should hold for another 3 to 5 years in bottle. Great value!

Cheers!

Catherine and Jean-Luc Hubert are the owners of a number of properties in Bordeaux, one of which is Château la Grolet, a fully-biodynamic winery that strives to achieve purity and complexity in its wines without compromising the surrounding environment. The vineyard is composed of 38 hectares (92 acres) of primarily clay-laden soil in the Côtes de Bourg. Varietal composition consists of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec, which contributes to the wine’s somewhat tannic character.

At an average per bottle price of $14.99 the wine represents a very good value in a superb vintage for Bordeaux.

My tasting note:

Earthy nose with mineral, menthol and black cherry hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and firm, dry tannin – good balance. Black cherry palate with dark chocolate, anise and stewed black currant notes. Moderate length with a tight, compact finish and a hint of cedar and spice on the aftertaste. Needs a bit of time, perhaps another 2 to 3 years will improve the wine. Good value.

Cheers!

With all the hype surrounding the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux I have taken to looking for smaller, less expensive properties. Thus far the strategy has paid off, producing a spate of low-to-mid-priced wines that have the unmistakable flavor profile of classic Bordeaux from a great vintage.

The Sainte Gemme is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot coming from vines that are on average 20 years old. The vineyard is approximately 10 hectares (24.3 acres) and is on soil composed of a mix of gravel, clay and limestone, which likely accounts for the minerality on the nose. The estate is what I would call mid-sized, producing approximately 80,000 bottles per year.

At an average per bottle price of $19.99 the wine represents a very good value in a superb vintage for Bordeaux.

My tasting note:

Minerally nose with menthol, eucalyptus and black cherry hints. Medium-to-full-bodied with moderate acidity and firm, dry tannin – good balance. Dark fruit core with gamey, dried cocoa notes – herbaceous. Moderate length with a classic Bordeaux finish. Drinking well and should improve for another 3 to 5 years.

Cheers!

With the current focus on Argentine Malbec, I feel genuinely bad for the wines of Cahors, the region in southwestern France that Malbec calls home. Cahors is a full-bodied red wine made from grapes grown in or around the town of Cahors in France. The region was granted AOC status in 1971. As I mentioned previously, the principal grape variety used in Cahors wines is Malbec, which must make up a minimum of 70% of the wine, and which is known locally as Côt, Côt Noir or Auxerrois. It can be supplemented by up to 30% Merlot and Tannat. Because of the high percentage of Malbec in the wine, Cahors wines can be rather tannic when young, and benefit from long aging. Approximately 4,200 hectares (10,000 acres) are under vine in Cahors. Officially, the Cahors AOC may only be used for red wines. There is a small amount of white and rosé wine produced in the region, and it is sold under the designation Vin de Pays du Lot, not Cahors.

Winemaking in Cahors goes back to the time of the Romans, with evidence of grape cultivation extending back as far as 50 B.C. Wine production has been continuous since then, which underscores the importance of the region in France. During the Middle Ages, the wine of Cahors was called “the black wine of Lot” (named for the river that flows throught the region) and it was a wine of significant importance in France. It was on the wedding tables at the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine with Henry II of England. Pope John XXII, born at Cahors, made it his table and sacramental wine. Francis I of France appreciated it to the point of delegating to the Cahorsin vintners the task of creating the vineyard of Fontainebleau. The Russian Emperor Peter I of Russia drank Cahors and the Russian Orthodox Church adopted it as its sacramental wine. Since the wine’s introduction to the court of England, Cahors wine even became a formidable competitor to Bordeaux wine. The Bordelais vintners attempted to prevent the sale of Cahors wine before All Saints Day to stop its production, but Louis XVI resolved the conflict by providing mediation between the “warring” vintners.

Like many other winemaking regions in France, Cahors was devastated by the Great French Wine Blight in the late 19th century, when grape vines across France were attacked by the phylloxera root-louse epidemic. Cahors fell victim to the disease between 1883-1885 and it was at this point the vine found its way to South America. Cahors had another brush with disaster In February of 1956, when frosts wiped out nearly all the vineyards in the region. A massive replanting effort was undertaken and as a result, the composition of grape varieties changed substantially, giving Malbec its dominant status.

The Cuvée Maurin is classic Cahors – full throttle, with massive quantities of firm, dry tannin and a dense, dark core of fruit – spectacular with prodigious aging potential. Knowing the above history, the wine “feels Medieval” and seems like it would be quite at home on the tables of Popes and Kings alike. The best part – at an average per bottle price of $17.99, this wine is a tremendous value.

My tasting note:

Powerful nose – dense and earthy with dried herb, currant and anise hints. Full-bodied with moderate acidity and firm, dry tannin – good balance. Massive – tight with plumy fruit and cedar, tar and rosemary notes. Wow! Long finish with a jam-packed aftertaste – very  tight – needs time, perhaps 10 to 15 years before the wine will really shine. Outstanding!

Cheers!

I was visiting my chums at the Wine & Cheese Cask in Somerville, MA last week to pick up a number of wines from their most recent newsletter. One of the wines, the 2010 Clos de la Roilette Cuvée Tardive piqued my interest, largely because in the brief description, reference was made to the “2009 regular bottling” being both outstanding and, more importantly – still available. Sure, enough the 2009 regular bottling was in the store, so I picked some up to try. Needless to say, the wine is fantastic and at $19.99 per bottle, a respectable value. Yet another 2009 Beaujolais that is just stunning.

I enjoyed the wine so much, I will likely go back to give the 2010 bottle a try…

My tasting note:

Ripe nose with fresh cherry, lilac and wildflower hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and smooth, supple tannin – good balance. Fruity palate with black cherry, plum and tar notes – lush. Moderate length – quaffable. Drinking well now and should hold for another 2 to 3 years in bottle.

Cheers!

Corbières is a French wine region located below the southern Rhone valley in an area called Languedoc Roussillon. The sun-splashed vineyards produce ripe grapes that create wines that are lush and quaffable, which in really good vintages have structure and balance to rival their cousins in the Rhone. Domaine Sainte-Eugénie is located in the heart of the region in an area called Fontfroide and has a wine making tradition going back over 800 years. The soils in the vineyards are primarily clay and chalk, largely due to their proximity to the Pyrénées Mountains. The dry, sunny and warm Mediterranean climate provides near-perfect growing conditions for the blend of Carignan (50%), Grenache (25%) and Syrah (25%) that make up this wine. I only just started following this producer in 2005, but the two successive vintages I have tasted, 2007 and 2009 have been tremendous. At an average price of $9.99 per bottle, clearly this is another southern French producer I will be adding to my list.

My tasting note:

Spicy, earthy nose with fresh herb, black cherry and violet hints. Medium-to-full-bodied with moderate acidity and supple, well-integrated tannin – good balance. Dark cherry palate with cocoa, rosemary and tarry notes. Moderate length, smooth and seductive with echoing spice and violets off the nose. Drinking well now and should hold for another 2 to 3 years in bottle. Great Value!

Cheers!

Piedmont is arguably the greatest wine region in Italy. Yes, I know the other 19 or so regions will feel a tad slighted by this comment, but it’s true. I say this because: Piedmont has the most DOCG and DOC wines in Italy; Piedmont has the highest percentage of wine production as DOC wines (25%); and Piedmont is the second most productive region in Italy. Those attributes combined with my personal experience with the age-worthy wines from Piedmont locks in first place. I’ll await the email to the contrary…

Over the years I have followed many producers in Piedmont and as the succession of great vintages has rolled along in Italy, so has the gradual increases in price that place many of these producers beyond my ordinary wine budget. Fortunately, some producers have remained a relative value and among them, Brovia stands apart.

Brovia is an old (originally founded in 1863), family owned winery with several stunning wines. The family owns approximately 46 acres in Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d’Alba in the heart of Barolo. Their primary vineyards are: Rocche (Castiglione Falletto), Villero (Castiglione Falletto), Garblèt Sue’ (Castiglione Falletto) and Ca’Mia (Serralunga d’Alba). The breakdown of grapes cultivated is: Nebbiolo da Barolo 55%; Dolcetto d’Alba 25%; Barbera d’Alba 10% and others (Nebbiolo da Barbaresco, Nebbiolo d’Alba, Freisa, etc.) 10%.

Like most Piedmont producers, Brovia makes a range of wines from all the varietals native to the area and produces approximately 60,000 bottles annually. The wines produced are:

• Barolo DOCG from 4 vineyards: Ca’Mia, Garblèt Sue’, Villero and Rocche and a Barolo blend
• Barbaresco DOCG Riosordo
• Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC Valmaggione
• Barbera d’Alba DOC from 2 vineyards Brea and  Sori’ del Drago
• Dolcetto d’Alba DOC from 2 vineyards Solatio / Ciabot del Re and Vignavillej
• Roero Arneis DOC Sanche di Vezza
• Langhe Freisa DOC Villerina

To paraphrase from the Brovia web site:

“After four generations of devotion to wine making, today the Brovia winery is in a solid position, characterized by:

• Its great and important vineyards in Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d’Alba
• Production of top quality and prestigious “terroir wines”
• Guaranteed continuity in quality wine making thanks to the academic background and experience of the new generation.

Nevertheless, there are challenges:

• Consolidate its position in current markets and enter new markets
• Build a larger winery to increase capacity to harness Brovia’s full wine making potential (after the last acquisitions in Serralunga)
• Continual improvement always!!! Because quality is our leading goal.”

I recently picked up a six-pack of the 2009 Barbera d’Alba Sori’ del Drago – wow, what a wine! At an average retail of $28.99 per bottle it is not cheap Barbera, but the wine is heavenly and well worth the investment.

My tasting note:

Tight nose with black cherry, cedar and nutmeg hints – lovely. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and firm tannin – well balanced. Dark fruit core with rich cocoa, tobacco, violet and allspice notes – incredibly complex. Long finish – layered and smooth. Drinking well now and should improve with another 5 to 7 years in bottle. Magnificent wine.

Cheers!