Washington Wine Tasting w/ Steven Tanzer

Only the Betz and Cadence Cabernets were decanted prior to the tasting, the rest were just popped and poured. Some of these could have used much more air.

Washington Cabernet flight - with one of Steven's favorites from outside of WA

• 2006 Cadence Tapteil 89 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain

  Double decanted for 3 hours prior to tasting. The nose was still fairly closed, but there were some currant and smoke aromas. The palate had some rich dark red fruit and licorice notes, but they were overpowered by a very tart and acidic finish. This wine was bordering on astringent. This would probably be much better with food, but seemed somewhat fierce and shrill on its own. The incredibly mouth-drying tannins would suggest that this could age for a very long time, maybe it would improve with several years in the cellar.

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• 2006 Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon Franschhoek 90 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Franschhoek Valley

  The nose of this wine was very Bordeaux-like. Nice pencil shavings, and tobacco aromas complimented the dark fruits. The palate was primarily currant and cherry flavors, but this wine turned slightly Port-like at the finish. Some heat showed up as the finish began to tail off. This wine was a real surprise, and was pretty fun to analyze.

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• 2006 Betz Family Cabernet Sauvignon Père de Famille 94 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Decanted about 30 minutes prior to tasting. The nose of this wine had nice espresso, and spice notes along with the dark cherry and raspberry aromas. Very rich cherry and berry flavors with with a pleasant smoky oak note. The tannins are present, but not overpowering. This wine had a great mouthfeel, and a very long finish. My WOTN.

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• 2005 Januik Cabernet Sauvignon Ciel du Cheval Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain

  The nose had rich plum and candied cherry aromas along with a spice note. The palate had good mixed berries and chocolate flavors. I thought this was a bit too acidic, and it actually burned on the way down a little bit. This might be better with food, but I hate it when I get heartburn from drinking a glass of wine. At least one other taster commented that the wine was "more than a little warming" after swallowing - but not everyone around felt that way.

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• 2004 Corliss Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  The nose of this wine had a nice funk to it. Not as funky as Cayuse, but some of the animal and scorched earth notes were there. The palate had dark cherry and mocha flavors with notes of minerals and dark roasted coffee beans. This was full bodied, and had a nice mouthfeel, but the finish was clipped. If the finish hadn't just dropped off the edge of a cliff, I probably would have given it a couple more points. My notes said this wine saw 80% new oak and was in the barrel for 33 months. I found that amazing since this wine did not seem nearly as oaked as others we tasted this evening.

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• 2004 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  The nose had nice aromas of blue fruit with just a note of high-toned oak. The palate seemed lighter than I had experienced before. Some currant and cherry flavors with a little earth. With some time in the glass, it did take on a slightly roasted quality that added some nice complexity. We tasted this right after an 04 Corliss Cab, and the Quilceda seemed light and a little unimpressive in comparison. The Quilceda did have a long finish, that the Corliss did not have though.

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Washington Syrah flight - also with one of Steven's favorites from outside of WA

• 2005 Long Shadows Wineries Syrah Sequel 87 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  This wine was very one-dimensional. There was nothing here that I found very appealing, and I hardly took any notes, and lost interest in it pretty quickly. Some people thought this would become more complex with age, but there was a very short finish, and not a lot of tannins. I wasn't so sure that this would be a Syrah to age, and think there's a lot better WA Syrah out there. That's not even considering the pricing of this wine...

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• 2006 Gramercy Cellars Syrah Walla Walla Valley 84 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  The nose of this wine had mixed berry aromas and notes of spice and perfume. The palate had red fruit flavors, but seemed quite green and stemmy. The first note that I wrote when I tasted this was there must be lot of whole cluster in here. Turns out to be 60% whole cluster - I thought it might have been even more. I was also surprised to find out this wine was only 13.8% alcohol. It seemed like it had more alcohol than that - almost on the verge of showing heat from alcohol. This would probably be a much better food wine, but this wine just isn't my style. Jay Miller's review talked about Gramercy being the complete opposite of Cayuse or K Vintners, and I'll agree. I like Cayuse and K.

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• 2006 Delas Frères St. Joseph Sainte-Epine 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  The nose initially had a fur/animal note to it along with blackberry and smoke aromas. With some swirling in the glass for a couple minutes, it turned to dirty diaper, and any fruit aromas vanished. The palate had currant, tar, and some nice minerality to it. Medium bodied with nice acidity and a good length finish. This would be a good pairing with lamb - if that dirty diaper aroma doesn't keep you from wanting to eat.

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• 2006 Andrew Rich Syrah Les Vignes en Face 91 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain

  This was basically an unscrew and pour. There was a lot of sulfur on the nose initially. I've had some Loring Pinots that were under screwcap that took a couple hours for the sulfur to blow off. I think that's what this Syrah needed - more time. The nose did improve with more time in the glass and ended up showing some blackberry and spice, but the sulfur was still there after about 30 minutes, though not as much. The palate had nice candied fruit flavors, and a little peppery spice. Good acidity, and a medium-long finish. This was my first tasting of an Andrew Rich wine, and I wish we would have been able to give it more time, I think I would have enjoyed it even more. I also think this is the first time I've had a domestic Syrah that was under screwcap.

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• 2006 Abeja Syrah 93 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  This was the surprise of the night for me. The nose had wonderful blue/black fruit aromas, and notes of smoky oak. The palate had blackberry, cherry, roasted meat, and smoke flavors. Wow this was tasty. Full bodied with a nice mouthfeel and a medium-long finish. This was the first time that I have had an Abeja Syrah - I enjoyed it a lot more than I have their Cabs.

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• 2005 Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  The nose had aromas of dark fruit, with notes of game and black pepper. The nose had much more of the typical Cayuse Funk than the 04 Cailloux that I tasted a couple months ago did, but it was still one of the less funkier Cayuse wines that I've had. The palate had rich berry and plum flavors, with earth and spice notes. Full bodied, good mouthfeel and a medium-long finish. The only wine that I enjoyed more than this during the evening was the 06 Betz Pere de Famille.

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