Introduction
This was our 4th year to attend the Passport to Woodinville event, but the first time that we had a group so large it forced us to get a van and a driver. That was a wonderful luxury, and many of the group took full advantage of it.
Flight 1 - Baer Winery (2 notes)
This has always been our first stop because it is so far away from all the other wineries, but also because we really enjoy Lance's wines. The bluegrass band is always fun to see at Passport as well.
Red
2004 Baer Winery Ursa
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Dark purple color. Great flavors of dark fruit, licorice and mocha. There was a hint of some greenish or herb flavors, but I really didn't pick those up much like others in the group. Full bodied wine with a good mouthfeel leading to a long finish. Great way to kick off the Passport event.
Red
2004 Baer Winery Arctos
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
This wine was pretty cold when we tasted it. After working it over in the glass for several minutes, the nose began to show blackberry, vanilla and some spices. Plum and currant flavors with just a hint of something floral. Medium to full bodied with good mouthfeel and nice length finish.
Flight 2 - Januik & Novelty Hill Wineries (8 notes)
Since these share the same location, there is always a ton of wine to taste here. Since we had a driver this year, that didn't slow us down one bit. Great food here as well to go with the wine tasting (well, drinking really).
Red
2004 Januik Merlot Columbia Valley
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Dark fruit flavors with mocha and some vanilla. Not the best mouthfeel, but it did transition well to a nice length finish. This was my least favorite of the Januik wines.
Red
2004 Januik Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Nose was earthy and had some mocha notes as well. Flavors of plum and cherry. Medium bodied wine with a better mouthfeel than the 04 Merlot, but the finish was not as long. Very easy drinking Cab.
Red
2004 Januik Syrah Lewis Vineyard
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Very nice plum and pepper flavors with a little toastiness. Full bodied Syrah that had a very nice mouthfeel and a long finish. My favorite of the wines we tasted at Januik.
Red
2004 Novelty Hill Winery Merlot
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Nose of cherry and some earthiness. Big flavors of sweet black cherries and some mocha. The fruit flavors were very rich, and almost bordered on fig. Medium to full bodied wine with a nice mouthfeel and a very long finish.
Red
2004 Novelty Hill Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
The nose had an earthy funk to it. Currant and cherry flavors were dominant. Medium bodied Cab with a decent mouthfeel. This wine did develop a very nice long finish that was the most enjoyable part of this wine. I did prefer the 04 Columbia Merlot over this Cab.
Flight 3 - Gorman Winery (2 notes)
On the way to Mark Ryan, we saw that Gorman was open, even though it wasn't included in the Passport event. Our group has been big fans of Chris' wines, especially the Bully and Evil Twin. We had hoped he would be open, but it was still a nice surprise.
Red
2004 Gorman Winery Zachary's Ladder
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
Nose of cherries, smoke and some oak. Nice flavors of cherry, plum, and some spices. Medium to full bodied wine with a good mouthfeel and a very nice length finish. This is a great value as well.
Red
2004 Gorman Winery The F.O.G.
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Tasted this wine right after the 04 Zachary's Ladder blend. The F.O.G. (Friend of Gorman) was spicier and earthier but shared the same cherry and plum flavors. There was a little heat on the nose of the F.O.G., but the abundance of fruit flavors and the smooth mouthfeel were the highlights of this wine. This wine is only sold at the Tasting Room and there were only 69 cases produced, so it will take a special trip up to Woodinville to pick some of these up - if there are many - or any - left.
Flight 4 - Mark Ryan Winery (3 notes)
This was one of the stops that we were really looking forward to. Mark is such a fun guy to be around, and with the disco ball and rock music playing in the winery, it's almost inevitable that you will see a loaded couple making out in one of the corners. Yup, they were there. We just didn't expect them to be in their mid 40's. I'm not encouraging this behavior, but mearly narrating the events that transpired while we were there. The wines were great, and we were thrilled to be able to taste some library Dead Horse.
White
2006 Mark Ryan Viognier Columbia Valley
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
What a beautiful Viognier this is! The nose was like a Granny Smith apple that had just been cut with a big steel knive. Very refreshing apple and citrus flavors with a really nice finish. This is another wine to look forward to drinking this summer, but it is only sold at the winery.
Red
2005 Mark Ryan The Dissident
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Dark fruit and oaky flavors with some vanilla. Medium to full bodied wine with a good mouthfeel and nice length finish. Nice solid second label wine that is very easy to drink. Good value also.
Red
2002 Mark Ryan Dead Horse Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
We had just tasted the 06 Conner Lee Viognier and the 05 Dissident, and were waiting in line to make purchases when Mark poured us a taste of the 02 Dead Horse from a magnum. Wow! This was the big guy that all of us were hoping to be able to taste some way today. Deep plum and cherry flavors with some earth, licorice and vanilla coming in at the huge finish. Loved this wine!
Flight 5 - Red Sky Winery (4 notes)
Stopped in while we were amongst the warehouse wineries to see friends that were there. We've tasted some of their wines that haven't been released yet, and they're going to have some nice stuff coming out in the next year or so. This is one to keep an eye on.
White
2004 Red Sky Sémillon Rosebud Vineyard
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
They were rinsing glasses with this wine at the Passport event, but since I had already rinsed my glass prior to going in, I tasted this as well. Big citrus flavors and a crisp wine. This paired really well with the goat cheese, onion, and sausage appetizers they had for the event.
White
2005 Red Sky Sémillon Rosebud Vineyard
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Tasted this right after the 2004 Semillon. This vintage had the same citrus flavors, but I noticed a buttery taste here that I didn't in the 04. The 05 just seemed a little more polished than the 04 was. A great value for a nice summer wine at $15.
Red
2003 Red Sky Washington State Cuvée
USA, Washington
Nose of raspberries and some floral notes. This is a medium bodied wine that was quite a bit lighter than most of what we had been tasting throughout the day. It was very easy to drink, and had a nice elegant finish though. I would enjoy this wine more with food than alone.
Red
2004 Red Sky Syrah Blend
USA, Washington
Very spicy nose with some mocha. Flavors of blackberry, pepper and other spices. This was a full bodied wine with a pretty long finish. We did enjoy this vintage more than the 03 vintage we had tasted previously.
Flight 6 - DeLille Cellars (2 notes)
Since you can only get into this place a couple times a year, it's almost obligatory to go when you are attending the Passport event.
Red
2005 DeLille Cellars D2
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Tasted a barrel sample at Passort event. It was a bit tight right out of the barrel, but there just wasn't time (or enough wine in the tasting) to really get it to open up. It did have very nice plum and cherry flavors with a very nice mouthfeel and finish. There was a huge fire going in the fireplace and the tasting room was getting quite smokey while we were tasting this wine, so I don't know if there were really smokey notes in the wine or not, but the ones we tasted weren't unpleasant, and did work well with the other flavors.
Red
2005 DeLille Cellars Doyenne Aix
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
Tasted a barrel sample at Passport event. We had just had the 05 D2 barrel sample, and the 05 Aix was much smoother and easy going than the D2 was. Big blackberry and cherry flavors with some spiciness and earthy notes. This was a great, full bodied Cab/Syrah/Mourvedre blend.
Flight 7 - Matthews Cellars (4 notes)
The first bottle of red wine that really made me start paying more attention to what I was drinking was a 1999 Matthews Red Wine. We still have a few left, and they are drinking great now. Matthew Loso is usually pretty hard to spot at these tasting events, but he has a big staff there that are all helpfull and friendly.
Red
2004 Matthews Claret
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Medium bodied wine with fruit flavors that were plummy, pruny, and a little greenish. This was dissapointing for me because I was a big fan of the 03 Claret from Matthews. Maybe this just needs more time.
Red
2005 Matthews Syrah
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
Tasted after the 04 Claret. This is much more like the style of wine that I enjoy from Matthews. This was a big, fruit forward Syrah with a very nice mouthfeel, and a smooth finish full of cherry flavors. Really enjoyed this Syrah.
Red
2001 Matthews Red Wine
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
Tasted after the 2005 Red Mountain Syrah. I really liked this the last time I tasted it, but this time it really came out with an earthy, barnyard funk on the nose, and primarily plum and earthy flavors. Guess I should hold on to my magnum for a while since my opinion of this wine has been changing back and forth. Will revisit again.
Red
2002 Matthews Red Wine
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
I was so happy to find out they were pouring this at the Passport event. The last time I tasted this, I had a poor glass, and the wine did not show well. We tasted this right after the 01 Red Wine, and we preferred the 02. This wine was floral, with plum notes on the nose. Much more plum and currant flavors, and a really smooth and easy mouthfeel. This was a really nice wine to end our Matthews tasting with.
Flight 8 - JM Cellars (3 notes)
This place is usually so hard to get into that we haven't bothered, but when you have a van (a bus like one, not a minivan) at Passport, they let you drive right on up instead of having to wait to catch a shuttle at Chateau Ste. Michelle. That sure was easier.
Red
2004 JM Cellars Columbia Valley Cuvée
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Nose of plums, and earth. Sharp plum flavors that I just couldn't get past. Maybe this would have been better if it had time to open up, but this blend hasn't been in the style that I enjoy in past vintages. Not a bad wine by any means - probably just something that I don't personally enjoy.
Red
2004 JM Cellars Merlot Red Mountain
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
Tasted this after the 04 Cuvee. This is more my style. Nice smooth blackberry and currant flavors. Good mouthfeel and finish. Nice and easy drinking Merlot.
Red
2004 JM Cellars Syrah
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Plum, currant, earth, and herbal flavors. This is another JM wine that just isn't my style. I did learn that this wine is aged in Russian Oak barrels, and I don't know that I've ever tasted wine that was aged in that kind of oak. Nothing to complain about, but just not the style of wine that I really enjoy.
Flight 9 - Dinner at Willows Lodge (3 notes)
Finally time to stop to eat after everyone shut down for the day. Most of the group got the Kobe beef burgers. Wow, were those great burgers. We had plenty of great wine to go with them as well. Some of us started with a glass of Lillet Blanc, and we also had a bottle of 2004 Baer Arctos that was picked up at the winery earlier in the day.
Red
N.V. Opus One Overture
USA, California, Napa Valley
I do not know when this was bottled, but it was sold by the winery late in 2006. Nice dark ruby color. Nose of currants and some plums. Flavors were consistent with the nose, but added some minerality. Medium bodied wine with a nice mouthfeel and finish. This is always a fun bottle to drink, and a pretty decent value considering that it's juice that just didn't make it into Opus One.
Red
2000 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Nose of currants and earth. Earthy, almost smokey, with currant and some bing cherry like flavors. This bottle went really fast in our group. Tasted right after an Opus One Overture, and this wine had more substance, but less fruit than the Overture did.
Red
2003 Quilceda Creek Red Wine Columbia Valley
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Nose mocha, toast, and dark fruits. Blackberry and blueberry flavors with more mocha and some vanilla. Good velvety mouthfeel and a long finish. These are always a huge hit with our group, though there is always the dissapointment of knowing that it's not the real 2003 Quilceda Creek you're drinking. I can deal with that kind of dissapointment though.
Flight 10 - The after parties (6 notes)
Now that our large group was well fed, it was time to pull out some corks and keep laughing and drinking for a while.
Red
2000 Quintessa
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Tasted from magnum. Loads of that dusty, earthy, tobbaco, leatherish fruit flavors. One person in the group says he can almost pick out a Rutherford wine by that distinct flavor. After that comment, I had to go back and look at my notes from the 01 Quintessa that we had last year. It was a very similar note, and something that I will look for in future Rutherford wines that we taste. It was really good, and we were elated to help move this magnum into the dead soldier column. Great stuff, and WOTN for many in the large group.
Red
2002 Ristow Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Quinta de Pedras
USA, California, Napa Valley
Nice deep purple color. Just from the color, I was hoping that this would be a big, blockbuster wine, and I wasn't let down. Huge dark cherry, and vanilla flavors with a great mouthfeel and a long lasting finish. Really wonderful stuff.
Red
2003 Ramey Claret
USA, California, Napa Valley
Nice dark purple color. Nose of blueberry/blackberry and earthy, spicy notes. Flavors of smooth dark fruits, currant and tobbacco. This wine had a good mouthfeel and a long finish that continued to be very smooth. This one was a lot of fun to try for the first time. Would like to get more.
Red
2004 Mark Ryan Dead Horse Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
Flavors of blackberries, cherries, anise, and some earthiness. Huge wine with a wonderful mouthfeel and a very long finish. My favorite wine from Mark Ryan - and a favorite of most of the entire group.
Red
2004 Mark Ryan Long Haul Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
Flavors of cherry, raspberry, mocha, earth, and some spices. This wine seemed bigger than I remembered, but still not as big as the 04 Dead Horse. Full bodied with great mouthfeel and a long finish.
Red
2002 Stevens Merlot Tiki
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
Obviously the bottle that we tasted several months ago was cooked or corked. Tasted this time from a double magnum. Nice, smooth, and a lot of dark fruit flavors. The kind of wine that you can easily drink in massive quantities. Very enjoyable this time.
Flight 11 - The Detour (2 notes)
We took a detour from the Passport event (and a couple construction detours too) and went to the Quilceda Creek release. No, QC wasn't open because of the Passport event, it was for mailing list members to come pick up their wines that they had already purchased. This was a fantastic way to start Day 2.
Red
2004 Quilceda Creek Red Wine Columbia Valley
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Deep garnet to purple color. Nose of dark cherries and blackberries with some spices. The blackberry and blueberry flavors also had a tinge of bing cherry that brought just a little tartness to the fruitiness. There was just a little heat at the finish, but since we were tasting this at the 04 Cab release, we didn't wait too long for this one to open up because of being too anxious to get to the big boy. I felt like that little boy in the Disney commercials the night before his family goes to Disneyland who says,"I'm too excited to sleep." This was a great wine, and we're looking forward to it's release this fall. This second label is always a huge crowd pleaser, and a bottle that not everyone will be fortunate enough to be able to pick up. Not quite as good as the 03 Red Wine that we had just tasted the night before, but really close.
Red
2004 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Great flavors of blueberry and blackberry! Quilceda Creek does it again. Wow, this was a big wine with great structure that was really easy to drink right now. These were being decanted, but only briefly at the release party for this wine. Everyone in our group loved this wine, though not everyone could agree whether it tasted more like the 02 or the 03. There had been a lot of nervous anticipation from us about this wine since the price eclipsed the $100 mark direct from the winery, but this brief tasting put all our fears to rest. Truly an extraordinary wine.
Flight 12 - Stevens Winery (2 notes)
This is another place we were looking forward to going to during Passport. Tim is a really fun guy that always seems to find time to come talk with you even though his place is packed. We got hooked on Stevens during 2003, and will keep coming back.
Red
2004 Stevens 424
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
The nose on this wine is extremely floral. The flavors are mostly plum and currants, but there is some peppery spice here as well. I think that we preferred the 2003 blend, but this is still an excellent bottle of wine.
Red
2004 Stevens Syrah Black Tongue
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
Blackberry, plum and vanilla flavors. This wine was just a bit tart and tight. It did have nice level of acidity, and the finish was very nice. Looking forward to trying the 03 & 04 Black Tongues along with an 02 Thieve this summer!
Flight 13 - Des Voigne Cellars and Cuillin Hills Winery (9 notes)
Time to go see the brothers. Darren and Derek are great guys. Darren is the winemaker for Des Voigne, and Derek is the winemaker for Cuillin Hills. There's always a lot of wine to taste here, and a lot of smiles from the antics of these two. This is a really fun place to stop by.
Red
2004 Des Voigne Cellars Solea
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
Nose of earthy dark fruits, and some floral notes. Flavors of blackberry and raspberry primarily. Very smooth, medium to full bodied wine with good mouthfeel and a nice finish. This is a great value for under $30. The winery sold out of these while we were at the Passport event, and that was the last place we had seen them for a while.
Red
2004 Des Voigne Cellars Syrah
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Flavors of cherry, blackberry and some peppery spices. Full bodied wine with a nice length finish. Really good stuff, but I always end up preferring the Solea blend over this wine.
Red
2005 Cuillin Hills Winery Claret
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills
Floral nose with mocha and dark fruits. Flavors of dark fruits and toasty oak. Medium bodied wine with a strong, but not long lasting finish.
Red
2004 Cuillin Hills Winery Grenache
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills
Much mellower and less spicy than the last time we tasted it. The red fruit flavors were still very vibrant though. Medium bodied wine with a long finish. A very nice and easy wine to enjoy.
White
2005 Cuillin Hills Winery Viognier
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Tasted next to the 06 Viognier. I have always enjoyed the 05 Viognier from Cuillin Hills because of the great tropical fruit flavors and long finish. The 06 has much more purity of fruit, and just seems brighter and more vibrant than the 05. We will drink our remaining 2 bottles very soon.
White
2006 Cuillin Hills Winery Viognier
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Tasted next to the 05 Viognier. This is so much more enjoyable than the 05 vintage (and I was always a big fan of that one). Nose of tropical fruits, and maybe even a little bit of honey. Extremely easy to drink, and a great mouthfeel and finish. Great value too at $19.
Red
2005 Cuillin Hills Winery Syrah The Dungeon
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
Nose of dark fruits, earth, and some vanilla. Flavors of blackberries, cherries and a little toasty vanilla accent. Full bodied wine with a great mouthfeel and a very long finish. This is a great Syrah.
Flight 14 - Woodhouse Family Cellars (2 notes)
Usually this place only lets you taste the Kennedy Shah label, but on Passport, they were pouring Darighe and Dussek. How they are still pouring the 2000 Darighe is a mystery to me since this wine was sold out when we attended our first Passport event in 2004. Oh, I see how you really are...
Red
2000 Daríghe (Woodhouse Wine Estates) Proprietor's Blend
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Flavors of dark fruits, earth, and a little cola. Huge wine, with good mouthfeel and a nice finish. Tasted this next to the Dussek 02 Cab, and I now prefer that wine from Woodhouse Family Cellars. Nothing wrong with the Darighe though.
Red
2002 Dussek Family Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
The nose of this wine was just full of barnyard, horse, and earth - all in a really good way. Nice dark berry and plum flavors with a little anise. This wine has really become one of my favorites and it's $32. Really great price for a wine like this.
Flight 15 - DiStefano Winery (3 notes)
We have always enjoyed the Ottimo from DiStefano, but they were not pouring it this time. They have a lot of wines to taste on most weekends, but only 3 for the Passport event.
White
2004 DiStefano Sémillon
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Nose of pears and honey. Flavors of pear, apple and some vanilla. This was paired with slices of Fuji apples, and it was a great match. The sweetness of the apples and the acidity of the Semillon played off each other very well. This wine was teriffic, and it's a great value at $14. We'll be wanting more of this once summer gets here.
Red
2003 DiStefano Merlot
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Pretty simple merlot. Basic dark fruit flavors, but there is nice balance in this wine. When this was paired with sliced salami and olive tapanade, the wine got a whole lot more interesting. I wouldn't try this wine again without a spicy food, because that pairing really helped this wine out a lot.
Red
2003 DiStefano Syrah R
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Nose of dark fruits, mocha and some spice. Flavors of dark fruits, mocha, and just a touch of vanilla. Didn't notice excessive heat on the wine this time, and the wine was excellent. This was paired with dark chocolate sables from Fran's chocolates, and that was a really nice match. Maybe that helped hide some of the heat, but I don't think there is nearly as much there as I picked up a few months back.
Closing
There is just no way to hit all the stops in a weekend anymore while dealing with traffic, lines, and the number of great wineries that are still open even though they aren't included in the Passport event. The wineries that we didn't hit were Arlington Road Cellars, Austin Robaire Vintners (they weren't open), Chateau Ste. Michelle (they're always open), Columbia Winery (always open too), Covington Cellars, Edmonds Winery, Facelli Winery, Page Cellars (line was too long when we were near it), Silver Lake Winery, Sparkman Cellars, William Church Winery, and Woodinville Wine Cellars.
What a great weekend filled with good times, good friends, and good wine! And yes, it was very hard to take notes on this many wines in two days. Fun, but very hard...
