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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.7 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 113 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by sanjuanlewis on 5/19/2021 & rated 91 points: The last bottle gone. They were good while they lasted. (1094 views) | | | Tasted by sanjuanlewis on 1/29/2021 & rated 91 points: Vanilla, cherry, strawberry, and oak on the nose. Opened up quickly. Medium bodied, well integrated tannins. Flavors of cherry, strawberry, cocoa. Medium finish. Most of the bright fruit flavors were gone by day 2, and the alcohol was becoming more prominent. I will drink my last bottle soon. (1105 views) | | | Tasted by johnnyo on 9/13/2020 & rated 90 points: Still holding in there. (1185 views) | | | Tasted by johnnyo on 7/26/2020 & rated 90 points: time to drink these. (1184 views) | | | Tasted by BHRH on 11/23/2019 & rated 91 points: enjoyed over two hours at a blind tasting. several members thought this a right bank Bordeaux. (well, it is mostly Merlot and Cab Franc!) Others a Napa blend. lots of sweet blackberry and spice with some nice cedar and moca elements. fairly lush but not overdone with very fine tannins. long, complex finish with a bit of tart dark chocolate on the end. at its peak - drink within the next year or so. 91+ (1445 views) | | | Tasted by Junedog1 on 4/27/2019 & rated 92 points: Perfect drinking, mellowed tannins, lovely fruit (1267 views) | | | Tasted by mhudes on 10/10/2018 & rated 93 points: At Lalimes in Berkeley. Decanted for 2 hours before dining. Dark purple in color. Berry brandy on the nose. Very fruit forward on the palate with lots of dark berries (blueberries, marionberries and black raspberries), dark plums and some chocolate. Sweet spices lurk in the back. There is a bit of tannin, but very nicely balanced. Medium finish. Seemed youthful to me and should have a goodly number of years to go. (1380 views) | | | Tasted by WineJunkieWest on 9/3/2018 & rated 93 points: Uncorked and decanted for 30 minutes. Served first in a line up of 3 wines, and clearly the winner of the evening. No tasting notes taken but this wine is showing beautifully now. Unfortunately this was the last of 6 bottles. I wish I had shown more restraint earlier! Lovely rich nose. Layered on the palate with chocolate, blackberry and plum with some soft tannins mid-palate, medium finish. Lovely wine! Drink up! (1442 views) | | | Tasted by BRR on 2/28/2018 & rated 92 points: This was a surprisingly youthful showing. Powerful Merlot indeed. Dark, structured red and black fruit with not much in the way of herbs. Some earth, but still pretty primary. This held up extremely well over three nights in the re-corked bottle. Drink or hold. (1851 views) | | | Tasted by AlexHop on 12/5/2017 & rated 92 points: Beautiful great balance and great with food. (1748 views) | | | Tasted by dpolivy on 11/22/2017 & rated 93 points: Really lovely right now. Smooth and elegant with lots of dark fruit and oak. Chocolate, coffee, toast, blackberry and plum. Soft tannins. Nicely balanced on the finish. (1711 views) | | | Tasted by maxmanx on 5/1/2017: Excellent on PnP. Too bad my last 2 bottles. (2307 views) | | | Tasted by maxmanx on 4/16/2017 & rated 93 points: Delicious on PnP. I'm going to drink mine over the next year. (2172 views) | | | Tasted by perlasteve on 2/13/2017 & rated 93 points: Delicious. Bookclub night. fruit forward but not jammy. Good balance of tannins, very present. Lots of black fruit. Full body. Feels like good structure and should last for a number of years. Curious when the fruit dies down the possible appearance of other nuances. (2183 views) | | | Tasted by slulkin on 8/6/2016 & rated 92 points: Enjoyed with BBQ pork and brisket. Please see Rollerball's 8/6/2016 note for details. Great wine. (3056 views) | | | Tasted by Rollerball on 8/6/2016 & rated 92 points: Stayed consistent through the night. Relatively fresh and young though it's softened a lot. Lightly plush, with a mild oaky sweetness and baking spices. Very complementary to sweet, smoky, bbq brisket. (2439 views) | | | Tasted by Rollerball on 3/26/2016 & rated 91 points: Single Blind Tasting a Dozen Wines (Rollerball's Place): Didn't love the taste of the tannins on this one and found them distracting to an otherwise fruit-forward, cassis-driven wine. Just moderate structure remaining and a long, sweet finish. Score may be reflective of lineup and company; the new worlds lost the allstar game last night, I'd say. This was the bottle with the most remaining. (2858 views) | | | Tasted by enjoyvino on 3/26/2016 & rated 92 points: Pnp. Nice big blue fruit on the nose. Palate was a bit tight at first but opened up nicely over the time in the glass. Could use about an hour decant. Really smooth mouthfeel, minimal tannins, a nice streak of cab like cassis or something similar that comes out on the finish. (2232 views) | | | Tasted by hiker_guy on 11/3/2015: Popped and poured.
Nose was a little funky to start but the funk blew off quickly and showed nice fruit.
Youthful and fruit forward with a soft smooth palate. Nice wine and one that I enjoyed with dinner. Nice complexity and a nice long finish.
Would buy again. (2909 views) | | | Tasted by tomherer on 11/3/2015 & rated 93 points: I don't get it. So many reviewers are in the good-not-great camp, but this was and still is a "wow" wine for me. Soft and perhaps a little understated, yes, but no less complex and persistent for it. Tasted this at the Woodinville tasting room on release, thought it was special, and grabbed a (this) bottle. The reviews came out shortly after.
Been saving it for a special occasion and/or Tuesday night, and here we are. Soft Bordeaux aromatics greet you from a distance. Coffee, plum, cigar box, cherry, damp earth. The palate follows evenly, but with a thin wall of spicy tannin, even after a few hours of air. The finish is, in a word, remarkable.
Bottom line, this wine is is a solid notch above excellent, and a testament to the fact that WA wine is a real player on the world stage. If you have some, good for you, and absolutely no rush; if anything, peak is a few years out. (2244 views) | | | Tasted by John McCabe on 10/1/2015 & rated 91 points: I was hoping for a bit more from this given the wine spectator score of 95 pts. The fruit is a bit muted - this is much more mineral-driven. There is some charm but there's also quite a bit of awkwardness. It's pleasant but there's not a lot going on. Nothing to write home about. (2476 views) | | | Tasted by Rollerball on 9/27/2015 & rated 94 points: Delicious with plenty of life ahead. (2076 views) | | | Tasted by FLI on 9/21/2015 & rated 89 points: I really like the softness of the Ursa - with the merlot and franc, it stands out from the crowd. This vintage a little hot at 14.5, but still a good overall experience. (1954 views) | | | Tasted by BRR on 9/8/2015 & rated 94 points: I shared this with a lot of folks, so I only had one glass. But, what little I had was absolutely fantastic. It's all about balance, but with more depth and power than one would expect form a mostly Merlot/Cab Franc blend. Silky and chock full of dark fruit with a hint of tobacco. Could continue to age, but it's drinking very well right now. Not decanted. (1638 views) | | | Tasted by EvanRose on 9/6/2015 & rated 90 points: nice balance, good fruit, great with italian sausages and cheese. (1482 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Baer Winery Producer website2008 Baer Winery UrsaThough somewhat late ripening, the 2008 vintage favored Merlot and Cabernet Franc—the stars of our signature Ursa blend.
With aromas of ripe black cherry and red berries, vanilla, wood smoke, roasted herbs and sweet oak, the concentrated flavors of this supple blend offer a lengthy finish. The 2008 blend amps up the Merlot, but remains distinctively “Ursa” with hints of violet, and spicy black pepper derived from Cabernet Franc.
A well-rounded crowd pleaser, Ursa continues to deliver a lush, but complex fruit-forward blend that pairs well with food or sips well on its own.
Wine Data
Blend: 53% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot
Vineyards: 100% Stillwater Creek Vineyard
Aging: 19 months in 100% new French oak; bottle aged 9 months prior to release
Production: 1,095 casesBaer Winery UrsaUrsa
Baer Winery’s signature wine is named Ursa for a reason, as it means “bear” in Latin. Ursa is a right-bank style Bordeaux blend primarily made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This well-rounded and complex blend is aged in French oak for 20 months before it’s released. It opens with aromas of black cherry, vanilla, wood smoke, roasted herbs, and sweet oak followed by hints of violet and spice black pepper. This bear pairs well with food or sips well on its own.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.Washington Washington Wine Commission | Credit to Washingtonwine.org for this article
Washington Wine
Washington State is a premium wine producing region located in the northwest corner of the United States. Although a relatively young wine industry, it is now the nation's second largest wine producer and is ranked among the world's top wine regions. Washington wines are found nationally in all 50 states and internationally in more than 40 countries.
Wineries
With 30,000+ acres planted, the state has ideal geography and conditions for growing premium vinifera wine grapes. Primarily grown on their own root stocks, the vines produce grapes of consistent quality, resulting in strong vintages year after year. While its focus is on Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, the region also produces a wide range of other spectacular whites and reds.
Growers
Winemakers from all over the world have chosen to establish themselves in Washington, where they can create wines reflecting this region's unique characteristics. Their hand-crafted wines are receiving wide acclaim from critics regionally, nationally and internationally for their consistently high quality. Many of them have received scores of 90 and above from the major wine media. Overall this is a higher percentage than other leading wine regions.
Regions
As the state's fourth largest fruit crop, the Washington wine industry is an important contributor to the long-term preservation of Washington agriculture. The industry is committed to sustainable agricultural practices and conservation of water resources.
Washington State is a premium wine producing region located in the northwest corner of the United States. Although a relatively young wine industry, it is now the nation's second largest wine producer and is ranked among the world's top wine regions. Washington wines are found nationally in all 50 states and internationally in more than 40 countries.
Varieties
Washington produces more than 20 wine grape varieties - a ratio of 56 percent white to 44 percent red. As the industry matures and experiments, it finds many grape varieties that thrive throughout Washington's microclimates. There are more than 16,000 vineyard acres of red wine varieties statewide.
History & Vintages
Washington's wine future is limitless. As consumers discover the quality of Washington wines, demand continues to grow nationally and internationally. New acreage and wine varietals are being planted and new wineries are opening at a remarkable pace. Washington State is recognized as a premium viticultural region around the world.
State Facts
Washington's wine industry generates more than $3 billion to the state economy. It employs more than 14,000 people, directly and indirectly, with projections to add nearly 2,000 more jobs by 2006. In terms of tax revenues accrued to the state and federal government, wine grapes are among the highest tax generators of any agricultural crops. Furthermore, Washington wine tourism attracts nearly two million visitors annually contributing to the positive growth of local and regional economies.
Washington State - the perfect climate for wine = ideal growing conditions, quality wines, business innovation, lifestyle, and social responsibility. All are key elements of this world-class wine industry.
Vintages
"2008 and even more so 2010 and 2011 were cool, even cold vintages (think: 2002 in the Barossa) without the extreme ripeness, extract and higher alcohol that had become the norm in the state’s post 1995 world. 2008 was manageable but the duo of 2010/2011 nearly caused a “great depression” in Washington State." - Jon RimmermanColumbia Valley Columbia Cascade Winery Association
The Columbia Valley AVA lies mostly in Washington state, with a small section in Oregon. The Cascade Range forms its western boundary with the Palouse regions bordering the area to the east. To the north, the Okanogan National Forest forms a border with the AVA and Canada. It encompasses the valleys formed by the Columbia River and its tributaries, including the Walla Walla River, the Snake River, and the Yakima River. The Columbia valley stretches between the 46th parallel and 47th parallel which puts it in line with the well known French wine growing regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy. The northern latitude gives the areas two more hours of additional daylight during the summer growing season than wine regions of California receive. The volcanic and sandy loam soil of the valley offers good drainage and is poor in nutrients, ideal in forcing the vine to concentrate its resources into the grape clusters.Columbia Valley Columbia Valley Winery Association |
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