When large industrial wineries, such as Chateau Ste. Michelle, owners of the Columbia Crest brand, pause long enough in their quest for market share to make wines of genuine quality they should be praised. Neither blockbuster nor rebel, this reserve level wine is just variations on a familiar theme but it’s a well-made wine with some distinctive virtues.
Blackberry with a charming kiss of red fruit, vanilla, chocolate and baking spices for a sense of warmth, and dusty earth for the obligatory Bordeaux reference. The nose tells you right away it wants to be taken seriously.
On the palate, the dense, lush entre turns a bit woody as the mid-palate energy gathers, but there is no hint of sweetness to flatten the wine’s verve. In fact, the acidity is impressive driving a steady crescendo that peaks on high tones, the tannins a presence but lurking in the background. Very dark 80%chocolate emerges to set off a red berry note, giving the medium length finish some interest. It needs a bit more oak integration but the elegance comes through nevertheless.
Lush, sophisticated, warm, stylish and agreeable, it would make a very good date even if you had no intention of marrying someone quite this conventional.
It resonated nicely with Steely Dan’s Josie though the lyrical Josie, “a raw flame and a live wire” seems to have had a bit more game.
Technical Notes: A blend of Merlot (64%) Cabernet Sauvignon (34%) and a touch of Cabernet Franc and Malbec, aged for 26 months in mostly new French oak. The wine is an homage to Walter Clore a pioneering viticultural researcher in Washington State.
In the early 2000’s, Australian Shiraz was the hot new wine until they started exporting cheap, sugary plonk with cute animals on the label to keep up with demand. Soon they gained an international reputation for selling cheap, sugary plonk and the market for Australian Shiraz plummeted. If they want to get their market share back maybe they should stop selling wines like this.
Fruit forward with plum aromas, hints of chocolate and a bit of sweet oak on the simple nose. The palate has the same plum/chocolate thing going on but it’s cloying, just too sweet, with exposed wood notes midpalate and an odd sourness on the finish making the wine seem hard. An awkward wine even for the price, it has enough fruit power to wash down a pizza and the medium plus body will stand up to barbecue, but as a sipper it gives little pleasure.
Owned by the conglomerate Pernod Ricard.
A simple song, slow of pace, dark and moody will be a compatible companion, such as the Black Keys’ To Afraid to Love You.
This is a lovely wine from this Woodinville, Washington based winery. Sourced from the very warm vineyards on Red Mountain, there is lots of fruit power here but wrapped in a cloak of polished, graphite minerality and burnished acidity that give this wine remarkable elegance.
The expressive nose shows prominent roasted meat aromas upon opening but the smoke backs off a bit after aeration to reveal dark berries, black olive, sage and mocha with hints of violet.
Despite the dark demeanor, it’s playful and vibrant on the plate, luscious without being dense, focused, with sustained purity of fruit even as the tannins and acidity gather strength.
Medium bodied and deftly oaked, the wine moves across the palate at a generous pace undergoing several subtle gradations of smooth. The tannins enter the stage gradually, seamlessly merging with the acidity to execute a heady climax before finishing with insouciant elan, graceful to the very end with a very soft, gentle finish.
More cerebral than passionate, refined but charismatic, with a pace and rhythm well matched to Steely Dan’s Glamour Profession.
Technical Notes: Sourced from mostly estate vineyards, aged in French barrique and puncheons.
I have a lot of respect for Bogle. They are a large production winery that usually maintains consistent quality making varietally-correct, budget friendly wines. The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is a decent wine for the price. But it doesn’t quite meet the standards I’ve come to expect from Bogle.
The nose was closed at first but opened up with aeration—a dense, murky mélange of blackberry, plum, coffee, toasty oak and some background damp earth.
The palate opens round and weighty with unfocused blackberry and coffee hovering perilously close to the too sweet threshold. The soft, lush, fruity midpalate closes with exposed wood notes that introduce the medium-length finish which features a chiseled texture from medium grain tannins. Despite the lush midpalate, the wine feels awkward in the mouth. Neither polished nor explosive, it can’t quite figure out if it wants to be soft and smooth or powerful and mysterious.
Dark and anguished but too restrained to express anything truly provocative
Score: 86
Price: $12 (but often available for much less)
Alc: 13.5%
This wine calls for some power pop. Here is a good illustration of the effect music can have on wine. Cue up the power pop tune from the late 70’s My Sharona by the Knack and it makes the wine taste sweet and goofy. Better to get your pseudo-goth on with The Cure’s A Strange Day.
In the wine world we tend to think of the geography of wine as organized into canonical regions or sub-regions—Burgundy, Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Barolo—areas around the world well-suited for wine grapes with long traditions of making great wine. But the more I travel the more I think this is a bit misleading. Wine grapes require soils and weather conditions conducive to growing and ripening grapes, and talented winemakers and viticulturists willing to experiment. But those conditions exist in many pockets throughout the world despite being outside the canonical wine regions.
Case in point—Briceland Vineyards in Humboldt County. Few would think cold, wet Humboldt County in coastal Northern California near the Oregon border would be ideal for grapes. But this is a mountainous region full of microclimates with inland valleys that suck warm air from Central California. They not only make good wine here at Briceland; they make world class award winning wine, about 2000 cases per year, out of their rural, hillside property near Redway California.
Briceland was started by Joe Collins and his partner Maggie Carey in 1985, the second winery in Humboldt County. Joe Collins had a hand in planting most of the early vineyards in Humboldt County starting in the mid-1970’s and is a legend in this area. Joe and Maggie retired several years ago and turned the winery over to Maggie’s son Andrew Morris and his wife Rosie after a long apprenticeship. They are now riding the wave of increased interest in local wines here. They were kind enough to invite us over to taste through their lineup (and share a killer Peruvian appetizer of grilled beef heart called Anticuchos de Corazon as prelude to grilled lamb.)
When I asked Andrew the most important thing he had learned from Joe Collins he said “what a great wine should taste like.”
Lesson learned. These wines are delicious and distinctive.
Below are my notes for some of the wines we tasted. My favorite was the 2014 Syrah from Ishi Pishi Vineyard. Since I reviewed that wine last year, I’ll focus on the Pinot Noir, the varietal for which they are best known, after brief notes on the others. (See this additional review for still more wines in their line up.
Arneis Spirit Canyon Vineyard 2017
The white grape of Piemonte, Italy, Arneis is found only occasionally in the U.S. These grapes are grown along the Russian River south of Ukiah. Aromas of ripe pear, orange zest, and white flowers leap from the glass. The palate is crisp but with a slightly oily texture and piercing acidity showing bitter herbs on the finish. Distinctive and a bit fleshier than the versions from Piemonte I’ve tasted. 88 pts.
Zinfandel Dark Horse 2016
Made from Mendocino fruit, this is light and juicy on palate, the red plum nose decked out in leather and tea with even a floral note. If you think you don’t like Zinfandel try this one. It’s utterly original, a far cry from the sweet and spicy versions from further south. Lean but soft on the palate, smooth reticent tannins with crisp acidity, and with a lovely fresh halo framing the experience, a wine so friendly you’ll want to put it on a leash and take it home. 90 Pts.
Syrah Ishi Pishi Vineyard 2014
These grapes are from a relatively warm vineyard despite its northern Humboldt location, in an inland valley that pulls heat from central California. Smoked meat, dark berry, black pepper, dense, dark, sinewy and structured on the palate with great acidity. A nice bit of grain on the tannins with a jolt of electricity at terminus, a multi dimensional wine showing many sides. See my full review here. 92 pts.
Syrah Dark Horse Vineyard 2015
A cool climate Syrah from this biodynamic vineyard in Mendocino. Dark berries, smoke, black olive and underbrush on the nose. Juicy tart red fruit and lots of hi-toned acidity on the palate, with a bit of citrus on the finish. Very soft tannins but they linger. 89 Pts.
Pinot Noir Rhonda’s Vineyard 2014
From an organic vineyard not far from the winery with about 1000 feet of elevation. Bright red cherries with clove, herbal notes, and dried autumn leaves, a dense aromatic background giving the wine an exotic aura. On the palate it’s really structured and long with firm tannins for Pinot Noir. It opens taut and sinewy but with plenty of fruit power to sustain an easy, elegant grace, even as the vibrant layers of crushed rock minerality and energetic acidity emerge to meld with the drying, spreading tannins. It maintains a wonderful halo of fresh, tart fruit around a savory core throughout the finish.
A calm implacable center bound tightly in a skin of nerve and pulse. The wine marries nicely with this quietly exotic album from Take’ Dake’ and John Neptune, but especially track 2, “In the Hollow” at 6:05. 92 pts.
This wine exudes personality, one of the better budget wines I’ve come across, not because of its technical virtues but because you can explore it. The aromas have a slight funk, the midpalate flattens out too much but people are like that too—it’s why they’re interesting.
Aromas hold your attention, with red raspberry, white pepper, dried thyme and a background layer of wet earth sheathed in a slight chemical note that doesn’t distract.
Bright and quite juicy on a medium frame buoyed by the barest hint of sandy texture through the midpalate, the fruit then begins to fade as the slightly bitter tannins swell to medium length, accented by tart top notes insinuating rustic charm.
This is a cerebral wine with a friendly face, but a dark side to its soul that isn’t always evident. Dave Alvin’s Everett Ruess has the same quiet urgency and softly rugged pathos. Highly recommended at this price.
Technical Notes: From an iconic estate now owned by the Frey family, sourced from 40 year old vines, a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, aged in 20% large older barrel and 80% in stainless tanks
Although still popular among casual wine drinkers, Chardonnay has taken a few hits to its reputation in recent years. The more committed wine drinking public today tends to pass on the fleshy, oaky, buttery style that California made popular in the 1980’s leaving wineries with a choice—please the masses with oak, butter, and sugar or please the wine intelligentsia with a more restrained, elegant style. I’m always interested to see how wineries negotiate this divide.
Like the biblical Solomon, this E.J. Gallo brand cuts the baby in half—put the butter and flesh up front and let the finish dance the ballet.
The wine greets you with a flashy nose of very ripe pear, honey, wet stone, and lemon zest against a vanilla background. Impressive intensity for the price. In the mouth it’s round, weighty and too sweet upfront, showing papaya and vanilla cream, but that bombast gracefully fades to a quieter register with lime and a satisfying, stony undercurrent on the finish. This transition is seamless but it’s nevertheless striking—a split personality effortlessly passing from voluptuous to lean and agile. A damaged personality but personality nevertheless, more than you can say for many wines in this price range.
Recommended if a bit of sweetness works for you, especially if you’re serving food on the sweet side.
Good natured, showy but graceful with a bit of zest like Annie Lennox’s Wonderful
At the recently concluded Wine Blogger’s Conference the wine flowed freely and it wasn’t the cheap stuff. Wineries want to show their best and tell their stories to people who will, after all, be writing about them. So we were treated to four days of the best the Pacific Northwest had to offer—and it was considerable. Washington State has found the mother lode of quality with their Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. I obviously could not taste everything but here are the wines that stood out. It’s not surprising that one of my favorites was an Oregon Pinot Noir. But the big surprise was a really big surprise. See below.
Force Majeur SJR Vineyard Syrah Rocks District 2016
For me the best wine of the conference, complex, intensely fragrant and elegant. Every Syrah I tasted from the Rocks District had a distinctive mineral note, instantly identifiable, with blue and black fruit, bacon fat, dried herbs and black olive.
Fullerton Vineyards Bella Vida Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 2016
Beautiful, classic red fruit and subtle earth notes, a silky mouthfeel with lots of finesse. A real gem from native yeasts, 100% destemmed, 25% French oak
Dama Wines Collage Walla Walla 2014
A blend of Merlot (59%) Cabernet Sauvignon and a bit of Cab Franc, this is ripe and luscious but savory with intriguing herbal notes and well structured fine tannins. 40% new French oak on the Cabernet.
J. Buckwalter Winery volume five Cabernet Sauvignon Dionysius Vineyard Columbia Valley 2015
Dark Cherry and savory notes with a beautiful seam of graphite, creamy and lush in the mouth with an elegant evolution finishing with beautifully chiseled tannins despite its relative youth. From old vines, aged in new French oak.
Kiona Vineyards Estate Old Block Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain 2014
In a blind tasting of 8 high end Red Mountain Cabs, this was the one that stood out. From 40 year old vines, the oldest on Red Mountain, rich blackberry but earthy and meat notes as well. On the palate it’s harmony in a glass.
Stone Hill Winery Chambourcin Hermann, Missouri 2015
Certainly the surprise of the conference at $12 per bottle. I’ve tasted many Chambourcin, a French American hybrid grown in the Midwest and East. It’s usually undistinguished and often undrinkable. But this version from Stone Hill is one of the best I’ve had. Jammy black fruit, floral and caramel notes, and black pepper, this is silky smooth on the palate with soft tannins.
There are big changes afoot at Randall Grahm’s iconic Bonny Doon Winery with the highly experimental Popelouchum Vineyard nearly ready to begin producing. New varietals, rediscovered ancient varietals, and new techniques for expressing terroir will soon have the wine world abuzz. But as we look forward to the future we can treasure the past.
Bien Nacido is a historic vineyard in Santa Maria Valley with the distinction of being the first cool climate vineyard in the U.S. to plant Syrah. Who better to make wine from these grapes than Grahm, one of the original Rhone Rangers who helped put American Rhone varietals on the wine map.
Bold, forceful aromas, more demonic than pretty, are themselves worth the price of admission. Rich, smoked meat with mint highlights, fresh dark berry and a spice note I couldn’t nail down—the warmth of clove but more herbal—mark this wine as distinctive from the first whiff.
The medium-bodied palate opens with pure juice, followed by an expansive seam of minerality, which then condenses becoming dusty with flavors of tart, dried berries. A luscious, peppery burst of fresh fruit returns to launch a finish that fades to distinct cranberry notes at terminus. A dance between freshness and desiccation marks this wine at this stage of life, revealing and concealing, coy about disclosing an essence. Brisk and insistent as it evolves on the palate, texture changes create a sense of friction, competing forces in tension, holding each other in check like cool water swelling against parched sand. Tannins and acidity are so harmonically entangled that you really can’t pry them apart analytically.
There is still plenty of life left in this wine 9 years after vintage.
Exuberant in its austerity, with a heart that blooms coldly, its motion the kind of strident intensity well captured by Springsteen’s Born to Run.
Everyone needs a wine to take to a party of people who don’t drink much of it. This can be that wine.
Chateau St. Jean is a long-lived fixture in Sonoma’s wine scene with an inaugural vintage in 1974. Now owned by the conglomerate Treasury Wine Estates, they still produce good wines at the reserve and Cinq Cépages level.
This is their entry level Cabernet Sauvignon and while it kinda, sorta has Cab-like aromas, it is too sweet for Cab lovers and you have to hunt for tannins with a divining rod.
This is definitely made for the easy drinking crowd. If you don’t mind a little sweetness it doesn’t offend.
Good aroma intensity with plum, blackberry, with a raisin undercurrent, and thin layer of dust. The palate is rendered in chocolate-covered cherries, smooth without being particularly lush, but a spark of acidity on the finish comes to the rescue and it finishes dry and short. Medium plus body but feels cumbersome in the mouth.
When large industrial wineries, such as Chateau Ste. Michelle, owners of the Columbia Crest brand, pause long enough in their quest for market share to make wines of genuine quality they should be praised. Neither blockbuster nor rebel, this reserve level wine is just variations on a familiar theme but it’s a well-made wine with some distinctive virtues.
