Washington Wine Tasting
Woodinville, Seattle, Jet City
Tasted Thursday, June 29, 2017 - Saturday, July 1, 2017 by GoBlue2002 with 709 views
Introduction
We stopped at many wineries over 3 days during our 5th wedding anniversary trip. Listed below are our tasting notes for the wineries. Wines are listed in the order they were tasted.
Flight 1 - K Vintners (14 Notes)
K's tasting room in Jet City. Only the downstairs room was open. Great wine!!!
Tasting fees waived with purchases.
Flight 2 - Sleight of Hand (8 Notes)
Wines tasted at the Sleight of Hand tasting room in Seattle. Great decor!
Tasting fee waived with purchase.
Flight 3 - JM Cellars (5 Notes)
Woodinville tasting room on the hill. Quite a nice spot -- would hve been great to hang out there. Met one of the winemakers as well.
1 tasting fee waived with 2 bottle purchase.
Flight 4 - Novelty Hill / Januik (12 Notes)
Lovely spot -- go outside if you can. The pizza (only on weekends) was AMAZING.
We had a free tasting coupon which we obtained for our hotel, but normally it's 4 taste for $15, with 1 tasting fee returned for every 3 bottles purchased.
Flight 5 - Gorman (6 Notes)
A nice spot overlooking the round a bout. Live music on the weekends in the evening (but no tasting pours). Just don't go on a day in the mid 80's!
Flight 6 - Sparkman (5 Notes)
One of our favorites on the trip.
Tasting fees were waived, but we bought a lot! The lady pouring our wines was very knowledgable and made our trip enjoyable.
Flight 7 - William Church (5 Notes)
A nice spot, although the wines were average.
Tasting fee waived with a bottle purchase of $25 or more per tasting, although we had free tasting coupons from our hotel.
Flight 8 - Pepper Bridge / Amavi (8 Notes)
Our first stop of the morning, and a little off the beaten path. Quite a friendly pourer.... who just kept pouring different wines! We ended up tasting 8, buying 1 bottle, and had the tasting fee waived!
Flight 9 - Alexandria Nicole (7 Notes)
In the basement of the school house. This winery was at a lower price point than most of the other wineries we went to, but they did have a couple stand outs.
Overall their wines are softer and more approachable while young.
The pourer was a long-time list member with a ton of background info, and they had a cheese platter available for purchase (in a refrigerator behind where you sit at the tasting bar).
1 ($20) tasting fee waived with 2 bottle minimum purchase
Flight 10 - Cougar Crest (5 Notes)
Not a good stop -- the 2 employees in the tasting room just talked to each other and pretty much ignored us until we needed to move on to the next wine. Wines were ok.
$10 tasting fee waived with any wine purchase.
Flight 11 - Fidelitas (6 Notes)
Great location in the strip. The wines were good but need time.
$15 tasting fee waived with bottle purchase, altough our hotel had a coupon for 2 free tastings.
Flight 12 - aMaurice
A fun artsy place. No notes taken.
Tasting fee waived with purchase. Our favorite bottle:
* 2013 ÀMaurice Cellars Artist Series "McCool" Blend Walla Walla Valley
Flight 13 - Matthews (4 Notes)
Off the beaten path, north of the Schoolhouse District. You will need a car, but it's worth the stop for the ambiance and great wine.
$15 Tasting fee waived with minimum $35 purchase.
Great wine!!!
Flight 14 - Gard
No notes taken, but a fairly fun stop. Our first in the warehouse district.
Stand out wines (which were purchased) were:
* 2012 Gård Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Lawrence Vineyards (a crazy deal for $19.99/bottle with at least 4 bottles purchased)
* 2012 Gård Vintners Syrah Grand Klasse Lawrence Vineyards
Flight 15 - Two Vintners
What a cool stop to end the day!
They have a kid's play area in back and a disco ball in the main area. Yup, fun!
But the wines were very good as well.
Our favorites (which were purchased):
* 2014 Two Vintners Syrah (amazing APR)
* 2013 Two Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Sal Mays Discovery (Yum!)
Closing
What a Trip!
Standouts: Matthews (great wine), K (great wine), Novelty Hill/Januik (good wine, great food & ambiance), Sleight of Hand (good wine, great ambiance)
Lowlight: Cougar Crest
2014 SIXTO Chardonnay Uncovered 90 Points
USA, Washington
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Light golden in color. Nose - mineral, bright stone fruit, floral. Taste - oily, mineral, spice, subtle fruit. A different style of chardonnay compared to the others in the lineup.
Me - 91, Wife - 90
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2014 SIXTO Chardonnay Moxee 92 Points
USA, Washington
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Light yellow in color. Nose - mineral, fruit, spice. Taste - more oak than the Uncovered, smooth, warm spices, nice acidity for balance. Longer finish than Uncovered. Great chardonnay.
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2014 SIXTO Chardonnay Roza Hills 90 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Golden in color. Oaky nose -- a bit unbalanced. Buttery, oak, some mineral, subtle spice & fruit. Medium length on finish. Good but not the best of the lineup.
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2013 K Vintners Guido 89 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Color - orangy / light red.
Nose - Tomato! Brandy/boozy
Taste - rose-like. Light, with spice/acidity. Earthy. Dried fruit palate. Finish -- smooth & acidic.
Summary -- Very different -- for sangiovese, washington, K... etc.
Good for a change but if you want great sangiovese at this price point look to Italy.
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2014 B. Leighton Gratitude Olsen Brothers Vineyard 92 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
70% mourvedre, 25% grenache, 5% syrah.
Cloudy red in color. BIG nose of spicey fruit. Rich with balanced acidity. Long finish.
A powerful fruit forward GSM blend -- not for everyone.
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2013 Substance Merlot Super Substance Northridge Vineyard 91 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Wahluke Slope
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Purple/red in color. Nose of fruit and meat (odd for merlot)?
Tasteof spice, fruit, meat, more tannic than a typical merlot and K's other wines.
Long finish. Good, but needs time. Drink 2019+
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2014 K Vintners Syrah Powerline Vineyard 92 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Dark purple in color. Nose of smoke & meat. Taste - meat, earth, smooth. Long finish. Such a great wine at this young age, but give it some time if you can.
Me - 93, Wife - 92
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2014 K Vintners Syrah Rock Garden 89 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Purple in color -- almost looking aged on the rim.
Nose - earth without much fruit.
Taste - very earthy, mushroom. Not enough fruit. Unimpressive finish.
Not out style of wine -- especially for K.
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2014 SIXTO Chardonnay Frenchman Hills Vineyard 93 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Golden yellow in color. Nose - spicy oak. Taste - silky, buttery, bright, balanced, pear/some citrus. Long lovely finish. Our favorite of the lineup -- for those who like balanced oaky Washington chardonnay.
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2015 Substance Sauvignon Blanc 88 Points
USA, Washington
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Yellow/golden in color. Nose of wet earth, fruit, and a bit of acid on the finish. Somewhat unique and a decent change of pace, but there are better sauv blancs at this price point.
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2014 K Vintners El Jefe Stoneridge Vineyard 90 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
An interesting domestic tempranillo.
Looked almost redish & aged.
Earthy nose.
Taste of dark fruit, earth, balanced, light body. Medium finish.
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2015 K Vintners Syrah Milbrandt Vineyard 92 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Wahluke Slope
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Deep purple in color. Nose of spice, dried fruit, earth.
Taste of spice, dark fruit... this is a big/rich syrah, especially at this price point. Bold long finish.
An in your face Charles Smith syrah.
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2014 K Vintners Malbec Broncho Stoneridge Vineyard 93 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
(6/29/2017)
Purple in color. Nose of spice, fruit, meat. Lots of spice & fruit on the palate. Well balanced. Could use a bit more time, but great already!
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2015 Substance Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points
USA, Washington
(6/29/2017)
Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
A great cab at this pirce point, but I'd give it a bit more time.
Bronzed red in color. Nose of herbs & spice. Taste of spice, dried fruit, and some tannins. Good length on the finish.
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