Pacific Northwest Tasting Trip

Walla Walla Day 2
Tasted Friday, October 29, 2010 by manonthemoon with 827 views

Introduction

Breakfast and coffee at Walla Walla Roasters, by far the best espresso of the trip. Always impressed by their special roastss and coffees. Lunch was at Andrae's Kitchen foodtruck which was awesome. We had ran into Andrae in Sleight of Hand the day before and then at the Vintage Cellar while having a beer after a long day of tasting and he, as well as the rest of the patron's including Mr. Funk of Saviah, had convinced us to come by for lunch the next day stating he had the best burger in the area. This did not disappoint with pickled green tomatoes and saracha to boot, it was excellent, even without the fried sweet onions that commonly adorn the burger. The wife had the pork tacos which were excellent as well. This is a must stop for lunch when out tasting.

Flight 1 - Dunham, Airport Walla Walla (9 Notes)

Unfortunately we arrived an hour prior to the tasting room being open due to a lack of attention to the posted times, but the staff was nice enough to let us in to try through their wines. The staff was great, but nothing really stood out other than the rieslings which were both terrific. We didn't get to try any of the upper tier Lewis vineyard wines that I have really enjoyed in the past two visits.

Flight 2 - Northstar, Walla Walla (6 Notes)

Our second trip to this winery and we came away with a better sense of their wines this time around. We were the first people to come in for the day and were given a small tour of the facility while harvest was still going on. Have to point out that playing a little TV on the Radio never hurts to improve my mood. Merlot is the star here and it did not disappoint, was definately toeing the line of being over the top with the Walla Walla version, but didn't step across it for my palate. Plus the decent amount of new oak kept it in check.

  • 2007 Northstar Red Wine Stella Maris 87 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Bordeaux Blend.
    Nose of raspberry and cherry and smoke.
    On the palate there was more raspberry, smoke, and pepper.
    Good finish, but a touch of bitterness noted.

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  • 2005 Northstar Cabernet Franc 89 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Nose of green pepper and mint with a little cherry fruit.
    Palate of cherry, nutmeg, mint, black olive, and a little chocolate.

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  • 2007 Northstar Syrah 90 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Super dark color and a very dense wine. Nose of dark fruit, coconut, vanilla, some heat showing.
    On the palate there was more dark fruit, some espresso, cinnamon, and smoke.
    The finish was long and the palate was very inky.

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  • 2005 Northstar Cabernet Sauvignon 87 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Nose of jalopeno pepper, little red fruit, oak.
    Palate of red fruit, green pepper, and oak.
    Good structure.

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  • 2006 Northstar Merlot Columbia Valley 91 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Nose of plum or blackberry with toasted oak and coconut.
    Palate of blackberry, plum, little toast, and vanilla.
    Good freshness and acidity for this balanced wine.
    90-91

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  • 2006 Northstar Merlot Walla Walla Valley 92 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Really dense wine.
    Really nice expressive nose of black raspberry, vanilla, smoke.
    On the palate was raspberry, cherry, strawberry, really good mouthfeel, a good dose of chocolate and toast.
    Nice finish that is very long.

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Flight 3 - K Vintners, Walla Walla (4 Notes)

Another good visit with K, was really happy to see Keith from Saviah wife was still working with Charles. She tasted us through the lineup which also included the Kung Fu girl, but we didn't have any notes on the wine for some reason, remembered it was kind of meh, but decent for the price I guess. The Creator as changed percentages from these three vineyards now being used cailloux/Morrison/Stoneridge, I think the Cayuse fruit is now a little less prominent in the profile as Charles was wanting the Ovide and the Roma to show those characteristics. Also it seems like there has been a "lighter-handed" style of winemaking than the past 3 vintages that I have tasted. This seemed to show more fruit, but less oak which I really enjoyed this time through. Hopefully this persists and is just not a vintage related change.

Flight 4 - Saviah, Walla Walla (5 Notes)

We were supposed to meet Mr. Funk at the winery at 1:00 pm, but he was busy running errands for harvest and what not. We tasted through a lineup with the tasting staff on hand and then recieved a tour of the harvest area, tasted a little bit of the 2010 juice, including a great 100% PV, and got to see the newer barrel room. Really a nice visit, plus we were sent away with a bottle of the Une Valle wine to boot.

Flight 5 - Waters, Walla Walla (6 Notes)

We are always impressed with this winery's layout and incredible artwork over the tasting bar, that actually adorns the current vintage of the 21 Grams. The lineup was solid, but made in a very forward, heavy on the new oak style.

  • 2009 Waters Rosé 87 Points

    USA, Washington

    Nose of strawberry, white pepper.
    Palate of strawberry, rhubarb, white pepper, and good acidity.
    Fresh, dry style rose.

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  • 2008 Waters Interlude 88 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Nose of red fruits, black pepper, and ink.
    Palate of rip red fruits, little ink, black pepper.
    Decent food wine.

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  • 2007 Waters Syrah 90 Points

    USA, Washington

    Nose of funky game, dark blackberry, with a little blueberry.
    Palate of black cherry, crack pepper, asian spices, olive, and high acidity.
    Very high acid, and good long finish.

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  • 2007 Waters Syrah Forgotten Hills 92 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Really nice nose of funky mushroom, smoke, anise, black fruit.
    Palate of anise, black fruit, bacon, cloves, white pepper, mushrooms, smoke.
    Really nice finish and balance to this wine. My favorite of the lineup.
    92

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  • 2007 Waters Syrah Pepper Bridge Walla Walla Valley 88 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Nose of strawberries, rhubarb, spice.
    Palate of red berries, mixed with a little blueberries, spices, little vanilla.
    Little unbalanced on the fruit side.

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  • 2007 Waters Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Nose of vanilla, dark fruit, eucalyptus, and sagebrush.
    Palate of dark fruits, tobacco, pencil shavings, and a little underbrush, and oak.
    Good finish and decent mouthfeel.

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Flight 6 - Gramercy, Outside of Water's in Walla Walla (5 Notes)

After setting up a tasting appointment with Brendan, the assistant winemaker, we were treated with Greg, the winemaker, actually being present to taste through his lineup out on the stone patio. Admittedly I was really looking forward to this visit as I have had a few of his wines before and was really impressed due to his high acid, low alcohol style that he brings to the table. Greg being a former sommolier was amazing to talk to for the 45 minutes we were there and was more than comfortable to talk about everything from Cru Beaujolais to Austrian whites to his visit to Tablas Creek to discuss CDP blends. He was even nice enough to let us taste a barrel sample of cinsault that will be going into the Third Man and it was amazing to see how it is a filler grape that just seems to have a very large midpalate present. We were really impressed with the entire lineup and how they are so different from most of the wines produced in the area.

  • 2008 Gramercy Cellars Tempranillo Inigo Montoya 91 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Dark purple to black in color.
    Nose of strawberry, lavender, toast and spicebox.
    Palate of blueberry, blackberry, mineral, chocolate.
    Moderate bodied, medium finish, with good complexity.

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  • 2008 Gramercy Cellars Syrah Lagniappe 91 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    From the Forgotten Hills vineyard.
    Nose of mixed raspberry, some cherry, lavender, with a little bit of mushrooms, and spice box.
    Palate of black fruit, with some spice, a little game, and medium tannin.
    More of a reserved bottle than the walla walla, but very nice as well.
    Would go well ith a large group of foods since it has the acidity present.
    91-92

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  • 2008 Gramercy Cellars Syrah Walla Walla Valley 92 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Color was purple to ruby.
    Nose of funk, bacon, blackberry, a little violet as well.
    Palate was medium to full in intensity with freat mix of blackberry and black raspberry, roasted game, eucalyptus?, and a little spice.
    Really complex palate and an above average finish. Needs to come together, but like that there is good acidity that keeps the fruit in check.
    92-93

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  • 2008 Gramercy Cellars The Third Man 88 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Only a couple of notes.
    Nose of red fruits.
    Soft palate with black cherry, some funk, more forward than the other wines.
    Probably my least favorite of the lineup, but still a solid wine.
    88-89

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  • 2007 Gramercy Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 94 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Purple to red in color.
    Nose of dark black fruits, cherry, vanilla, little licorice, and some graphite.
    More black fruit on the palate, currant, blackberry, raspberry, penil shavings, and a little vanilla.
    Really great structure and a long finish, will show best with some cellaring as all of the complexities are still underneath the fruit at this point.
    Now this was just stunning, easily the best Cab we had the entire trip and one of the top wines overall.
    93-94+

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Closing

We stepped into the Vintage Cellar for another drink after tasting since we had some time prior to dinner at Saffron. Saffron was good, but not a great as I had recalled our other visit. I did enjoy the Foie Gras and my wifes appetizer was excellent as well, but the flatbreads were a little disappointing this time around as it seems like they have switched up the recipie somewhat. Still really good and worth the price, but last time the lamb one was amazing. Overall a good meal worth the money spent.

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