Washington wine offline with Chris Cook

Bellevue, WA
Tasted Wednesday, June 1, 2005 by Eric with 1,071 views

Introduction

Chris Cook was in town for one evening, so Michael Gordon was kind enough to assemble a hardy crew of 12 to taste Washington wines. We gathered at Daniel's Broiler in Bellevue for a very enjoyable evening.

Flight 1 (6 Notes)

With some tasty seafood trays we started off by milling around a somewhat motley collection of white wines. The Aubert was probably the highlight, but I would take a good German, Austrian or Alsacian Riesling any day over any of these wines. Personal preference.

  • 1987 Staton Hills Sauvignon Blanc

    USA, Washington

    Well, umm, it was alive. It was wine. It wasn't terribly offensive. It's not clear to me why I would taste it though other than to write a tasting note. Well, at least that is out of the way...

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  • 1989 Shafer Vineyard Cellars Gewürztraminer

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    Dark gold color. The nose is a little oxidized with nice notes of caramel. The palate starts with lychee but then gets a bit sweet with simple syrup on the mid-palate. The finish though kicks into gear with nice acidity. Interesting wine.

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  • 1995 Covey Run Fumé Blanc

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

    Moldy cheese give way to green notes of nettle soup (you really have to taste this before you depart this rock). The palate is dried out, buttery, showing wood and little fruit. No thanks.

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  • 2002 La Soufrandière Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Quarts

    France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Vinzelles

    It was nice to find a French white amidst the sea of Washington. Clean, well-balanced and showing nice minerality and acidity, there is nothing to dislike here. Unfortunately, there isn't a ton to like either. I found it to be fairly simple without much vibrancy, no fireworks, sort of a let-down after the nice initial notes.

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  • 2003 McCrea Roussanne

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain

    The nose is scorchy with lots of barrel. There is also lots of alcohol that is somewhat countered by a large wall of fruit, huge glycerin, and lush mouthfeel. Ultimately this is too hot and too oaky though.

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  • 2003 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    The best of the whites. Cloudy. The nose shows smoke and butterscotch. This is undeniably ripe and Californian, loaded with lemon curd, yet there is a nice shot of acid and mineral. This reminds me of a Kistler but with more fruit and a bit less wood and mineral.

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Flight 2 (4 Notes)

In each of the red flights we had each taster vote for their favorite wine of that flight.

With the first flight of reds we settled down for serious business. All that we knew was that we had two flights of Quilceda wines, and people knew some but not all of the wines in the overall lineup. In hindsight, I probably underscored this flight by 1-2 points across the board, and it really was the highlight of the evening.

  • 1983 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points

    USA, Washington

    At first the nose shows rust and iron, some notes of char, and then oh my the raspberry and violets start to burst forth. The color here is a stunning purple with deep color all the way to the rim, easily looking 10 years younger. The palate shows crushed raspberry, loads of mineral and fairly notable acids. Wow, there is a LOT of tannin left on the dusty and earthy finish. Lovely wine! Two first place votes.

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  • 1992 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 93 Points

    USA, Washington

    Wow, what a nose with violet and a hint of sage, wow! The palate is sappy and powerful with very pure Cabernet flavors, olive and bright acidity. At first this seemed to be richer and deeper than the 1983, but with air this tightened while the 1983 filled out impressively. Five first place votes, favorite of the flight.

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  • 1982 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Points

    USA, Washington

    A watery rim and much darker color, clearly the only mature looking wine in the flight. Soy and caramel hint at oxidation, but with air this rebound and shows a very spicy, green note reminiscent of Cab Franc. The palate is much better with iron, earth and cranberry, awfully nice for a wine that smelled fairly tired. Wow, this is really quite muscular with lots of tannin. One first place vote.

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  • 1994 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

    USA, Washington

    Correctly guessed as the 1994 (it was single blind amidst a lineup of 8 wines). Peat moss, violet, charcoal and tar, such an utterly soaring nose. Wow, the tannins here are massive, a dead giveaway for the 1994. At first it was jarringly closed and tight, but as it opens up, wow, it is stunning as always. For me this was the standout wine of the flight, so youthful and powerful. It really needed a lot more air than I gave it (5 hours of decanting) to fully shine. Four first place votes.

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Flight 3 (4 Notes)

The second flight of Quilceda was very youthful by comparison, oaky and in need of time. In particular, the 1999 had a tough showing.

  • 1998 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Flawed

    USA, Washington

    High pitched, mineral, soy. Corked!

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  • 1995 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

    USA, Washington

    Lots of vitamin pill and a hint of uric acid at first. (And no, I didn't go to the restroom before this flight!) Mercifully this blew off quickly. The palate was a revelation, huge and enveloping with crushed raspberry, pure and intense, with mouthwatering acid. This was my favorite of the flight as it was for 7 of the 12 tasters.

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  • 1999 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 90 Points

    USA, Washington

    Char and tar, oaky, showing soy sauce. The palate is sweet, crazily extracted, showing loads of oak, almost Shiraz-like. This shows a bit of heat, but the impressive aspect of the wine is an utter robe of extraction, silky and rich. This is really a difficult wine at this age, young, awkward, and loaded with wood. This needs time and more time. No first place votes.

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  • 1997 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

    USA, Washington

    A sweet nose of graham cracker. The palate is dark with espresso, very nice, fairly tight, understated, yet elegant and nicely structured. Five first place votes.

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Flight 4 (4 Notes)

After this we settled into a steak dinner which we accompanied with the first of two planned Sorella flights. These were bagged and blind, and little did we know that Michael had snuck in two ringers...

  • 2001 Januik Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 91 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Spicy and leafy with hints of vanilla. The palate is fantastic, racy, exotic and bright, lithe with raspberry. Nice ringer! Four first place votes.

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  • 2002 Cadence Ciel du Cheval Vineyard 87 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain

    Not a good showing. The nose shows nice tobacco but is awash in oaky graham cracker. The palate leads with vanilla and right now just shows loads of sweet, youthful oak, awkward, even a bit cloying, too sweet for me right now. This needs some time. Even though this was one of my least favorites reds of the night, it was actually the favorite wine of the flight with 5 first place votes.

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  • 1996 Andrew Will Sorella 88 Points

    USA, Washington

    Mineral, vitamin, sage and dill. This seems a touch dilute at first, medium weight with green tobacco. One first place vote.

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  • 1995 Andrew Will Sorella 92 Points

    USA, Washington

    Intriguing, espresso, soy, oak and tar. This is dark, brooding and sleek. My notes are terse, but this was a lovely wine. One first place vote.

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Flight 5 (4 Notes)

The last flight was pure Sorella, consistent, showing racy acidity, and to my palate very precise and enjoyable. The style here is totally different from Quilceda, a bit less impressive and yet still fantastic and consistently strong.

  • 1998 Andrew Will Sorella 92 Points

    USA, Washington

    Some horse and raspberry. Mmm, this shows very bright acids, racy, with red fruit, vibrant, juicy, and nice structure behind this. Very pretty. One first place vote (mine).

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  • 1999 Andrew Will Sorella 92 Points

    USA, Washington

    Very high-pitched, citric, some plastic/putty notes, and pine. The palate is tart with cranberry, very intense and pure. Four first place votes.

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  • 2000 Andrew Will Sorella 90 Points

    USA, Washington

    Tar with a hint of volatility, very oaky. As is the theme, this is vibrant and racy, another sleek wine. 7 of 12 tasters called it as their favorite wine of the flight.

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  • 2002 Andrew Will Sorella 91 Points

    USA, Washington

    Caramel with some heat, mineral, and medicinal elements. This is very young, more than a bit primary, yet with nice, dark flavors. The structure here is impressive and again with racy acidity. Zero first place votes.

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Flight 6 (5 Notes)

Finally we finished up with a series of Washington dessert wines. Apart from the Single Berry Select, everything here was very, very forgettable.

Closing

Thanks to Michael for organizing and to Chris for giving us the excuse. :)

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