Columbia Gorge Tasting & 30 year old wines on my 30th birthday

For my 30th birthday my friend Ken and I went wine tasting in the Columbia Gorge, and then back to my place for a small gathering of friends. I had never been to the wineries in the Columbia Valley so I was excited to give them a try. I did quite a bit of research on what was near by and what was good. Being that this was the middle of winter, many of the places were closed. However, all of my top choices were open, and we decided to go ahead and try something new. I love tasting in the Willamette Valley, and I certainly love Pinot Noir more than the warmer climate wines we'd be tasting today, but I was excited for the change of scenery. One thing I love so much about Portland is how you can drive just an hour or two in any direction and get such different landscape... from the gorgeous coast line to the fantastic city itself, then to rain forests, alpine mountains, and then very barren desert, almost like what you'd find in Utah. Great stuff... our first winery was just an hour and 10 minutes from my house; really, not that much farther than most of the wineries in the Willamette Valley.

Just an hour and 10 minutes away, and 10-15 minutes off of I-84. The road to this place was very rough and steep, not even gravel, but just hard dirt. Not too bad, though, and my car didn't even scrape. I guess they've been making wine here as long as anyone in the Columbia Gorge. A really pretty spot, according to my GPS at 965 feet, they grow exclusivly Riesling on the land, and buy fruit for the rest of the wines. From the tasting room you're looking directly at Mt. Hood from due north. Nice wines, and very friendly staff. We basically got them out of bed when we got there, and tasted through some of the wines with the pourer. Probably our friendliest encounter of the day, and I certainly would be back again.

• 2006 Wind River Cellars Gewürztraminer Celilo Vineyard 78 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  I know I'm drinking at 10:15 in the morning, but this smells exactly like soap, and specifically Head & Shoulders shampoo, with just the slightest bit of pineapple. There's some alcohol showing through on the palate, along with pineapple and some apple. The finish is mainly spicy apples.

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• 2006 Wind River Cellars Chardonnay Celilo Vineyard 86 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  This wine is apples top to bottom. Light apples on the nose, bright green apples on the mid-palate, and more on the finish. This is singular, but it is actually fairly tasty and smooth. Delicious.

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• 2006 Wind River Cellars Pinot Noir Celilo Vineyard 84 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  Very light color. Shows funky bramble fruit on the nose, along with some medicine notes. More funky fruit on the palate, and also showing some apples. Interesting. Acidic apples & raspberries on the finish. I'm an acid head, but this almost shows too much acid on the finish for me. An interesting look at Pinot Noir, but not something I'd want to drink often.

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• 2006 Wind River Cellars Tempranillo 85 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  Lots of dark fruit on the nose. More dark fruit with again apples and acidity on the palate. Do they add apple juice to their red wine? Weird. More acid and dryness on the finish with not much other than generic fruit leaving the palate. Again, good, but nothing to write home about.

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• 2005 Wind River Cellars Lemberger Celilo Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  I've never had a Lemberger before, so I was excited to try this. This varietal is most common in Germany, Austria, and other central European countries. It's often known as Blaufränkisch there (in case Lemberger wasn't German enough). Very interesting... this wine has a very strong Italian wine nose. Almost smells like a Sangiovese. I get crush cranberries and strawberries on the mid-palate, as it is fairly drying. Finish is dry with big dark fruits. All aspects of this wine remind me of an Italian wine. This may have been the first stop on the trip, but this was an interesting enough wine that I picked up a bottle. Good stuff, and never would have guessed its origin.

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• 2005 Wind River Cellars Merlot 81 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Funky light nose. Bright fruit, including strawberries, and there seems to be a little bit of residual sugar on the mid-palate? Not sure, but there is definitely a feeling of sweetness. Very generic finish.

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• 2006 Wind River Cellars Riesling Silvertooth Vineyard 67 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  This is the only wine grown on the estate (I think he said 15 acres planted?). Production is around 3500-4000 cases and he says they sell 90% of it at the winery. I guess they get quite a bit of traffic through here in the summers. Amazing that this style works for people. For me, this smells exactly like big time rotting squash. It's cloying on the mid-palate, showing maple syrup and grapefruit, minus the sour part. More rotting squash on the finish. Blah.

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• 2005 Wind River Cellars Chenin Blanc Finale Horse Heaven Vineyard 80 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Smells of light motor oil (say, 0w30) and bitter fruits. Viscous in the mouth and actually not too sweet, with lots of apples and maple syrup. Lots of syrup on the finish. Eh...

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• 2007 Wind River Cellars Harriet's White Port 85 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  Tons of green apples on the noes. I mean TONS of green apples. This is like you some how blew up a Granny Smith apple without the firecracker and all the debris went directly up your nose. Thick and syrupy in the mouth with more thick green apples. Quite delicious, but gets a bit funky near the very end, almost to rotting apples. Still a pleasant drink.

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After reading about this producer on their website I was very excited to give them a try. To get here we had to take "Old Hwy 8", which was a fantastically fun road which followed a river. Syncline was right off of this road. When we got there the woman operating the tasting room was packing stuff into her car, and seemed almost annoyed we were there. She said she was tired, had a cold, and since it was slow was just about to close for the day. The whole time there we felt rushed, but it's not like two wines takes a long time to drink through. I was bummed that they only had two wines to tastes, but it seemed to be a common theme that many of these producers were going to release some new wines in just a few weeks, and they didn't have much left. The two poured were fairly uninteresting, and their location wasn't of any particular interest either. Again, some vines planted here, but it sounds like they too buy a lot of the fruit.

• 2007 Syncline Subduction Red Wine 84 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Light oak and red fruits on the nose, with tons of red fruits showing on the palate. A bit of pepper on the back end with generic fruit. Fine, but most decently produced wines can taste like this; nothing distinguishing.

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• 2007 Syncline Viognier Late Harvest Viognier 88 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills

  11.5% Residual sugar on this one. Soap, apricots, and melon on the nose. Nice integrated sweetness with apples and lots of pear. Mineraly spiciness follow through on the finish. Nice.

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This place is probably the biggest reason I was convinced to make the trip... the idea of grape vines growing directly below these massive 400 foot cliffs was something that I just had to see. It was definitely spectacular, and something that was worth seeing even if I didn't much care for the wines. I was really hoping to love this place, but it didn't really do it for me. While we were there a couple was just going on and on about how their Estate Barbera won a Double Platinum from Wine Press Northwest... sure, impressive, but what do THEY think of it? They didn't even care about that, they just wanted to buy it due to the press. Oh well, unfortunately we didn't get to try that wine, as they were sold out the day the article came out. I think all of the fruit here is grown right on the property. They also pour Naked's white wines here, of which we tried one. Still, what a spot... looking directly at Mt. Hood, but also with these massive cliffs. Wow.

• NV Cascade Cliffs Goat Head Red 81 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  The stemwear was a little soapy flavored on this one... was sure to get it fully covering the glass to hopefully eliminate some of that. A $10 wine at the tasting room. There's some light generic, slightly funky red fruits on the palate. Overall this is quite light and boring, but nothing bad about it.

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• 2006 Cascade Cliffs Barbera Columbia Valley 83 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  This is also grown at the Estate, but from younger vines so they don't put "Estate Grown" on the bottle. Internally this is referred to their "Baby Barbera." Wish I had the Estate one, as this wasn't very interesting. Shows tobbaco, soil, and light dark fruits on the nose. Mid-palate is just generic red fruits. There's light acidity on the back end, but again very straight forward and boringly generic.

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• 2006 Cascade Cliffs Nebbiolo 82 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Very light (see through) orangish color. Some wood smoke on the nose. There's some very light tannins here, but again, just boring fruit on the finish.

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• 2002 Cascade Cliffs Nebbiolo 86 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  She accidently opened this wine, so we got to do a little vertical. Finally, something mildly interesting. A much bigger look at Nebbiolo as this is much darker and more red, with just a light orange rim. Much more extracted but still showing lots of smoke on the nose. Thicker, medium bodied, showing nice bright fruit. Almost Runts candy. Some candied fruits on the finish as well.

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• 2007 Evoke Winery Riesling Tease 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley

  Interesting marketing these guys do... obviously they aren't too interested in what's in the bottle with their marketing on their website, and only going after a certain demographic. They probably sell a lot at Valentine's day. Anyway, this one was just light and spicy. Pretty generic, but nice.

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Well, it's not quite to Goldendale. I wasn't sure if I wanted to come here after seeing their website, but being that it was only 9 miles from Cascade Cliffs, I figured it'd be worth while. We were told by several people along the way that they haven't had a good tasting room experience there, and that they are the "Napa Winery of the Columbia Gorge." I could tell what they meant... their tasting room is full of all kinds of trinkets and random crap you can buy. They do have a very beautiful amphitheater, and have had both Crosby Still & Nash and BB King play there last year. It may be worth the trip to see, because it's certainly a great backdrop, with vines and the Columbia River snaking by...





I would say if Disneyland had a winery, this would be it. They seem to have quite a production, about 80 producing acres, but none of the wine really stands out. I really think that they sell a majority of it in the tasting room because it's an impressive setup. People like what they see, and don't really care about what they taste. Also, there wasn't a single true wine enthusiast there while we were. Everyone just seemed totally oblivious to what they were tasting, and when asked they'd always just say "it's good!" Everyone there seemed completely confused by me, and with my note taking, I think were convinced I was ITB. They'd ask me details of what I thought of each wine, and then didn't have us pay the tasting fee even though we requested the reserve wines as well, which aren't usually poured.

• 2007 Maryhill Sauvignon Blanc 77 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  More rotting squash on the nose. Seems to be a theme in these parts. Light palate with the funky squash. Not tasty, but not horrible.

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• 2007 Maryhill Viognier 86 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Much more interesting, showing kiwi, lemon, and melon on the nose. Light honeydew melon on the mid-palate. Butterscotch, honey dew melon show on the finish. Nice.

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• 2005 Maryhill Cabernet Sauvignon Flawed

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  From the first sniff I could tell this bottle being poured at the tasting room was corked. Palate was also wet cardboard with no fruit. The bottle was half gone by the time she poured me a glass. Probably served this to 15 people before me. I asked, "Can you smells this and tell me if it seems right to you?" She said she couldn't tell, even after pouring herself a glass and trying it. The tasting room manager walked up and he took the bottle to the back. He re-emerged saying there was definitely something off with the bottle (only opened yesterday), and it went down the drain. Amazing no one noticed until now... kind of shows the types of clients here, I guess. I requested a new glass, and all the other hillbillies here did as well and re-tasted the wine from the new bottle.

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• 2005 Maryhill Cabernet Sauvignon 87 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  This one's much better. Still shows quite a bit of weird funkiness on the nose, but there's also pepper, spice, and some fruit. Again some generic fruit on the mid-palate. There's actually tons of lingering fruit on the finish, along with some light oak, and pepper. The nose is what brings this down a bit, but the palate is actually quite interesting with a nice finish.

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• 2005 Maryhill Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietor's Reserve 86 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Light nose, but more dark fruits than the standard Cab. Generic fruit, and nice spice on the finish, but the new oak here masks much of what was nice about the regular Cab, which was a bit more angular. This one is buttery and smooth, but as a result loses some interest.

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• 2005 Maryhill Merlot 85 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Really sweet bright fruit on the nose, along with light oak. Roses and tons of skittles on the palate. Tasty in the mouth (candy is tasty), but this definitely is not "real" fruit. Drying, again with the skittles on the finish, but then it disappears.

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• 2005 Maryhill Barbera Proprietor's Reserve 76 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  The Tasting Room Manager was bragging about this one. Said it was very different than the Cascade Cliffs Barbera, which we just had, and since I found that one a bit boring, I said, "well that's good." I didn't know this one would wind up worse... very funky fruit on the nose, along with spice and raspberry cake. Funky fruit on the mouth feel, and huge amounts of brett. Just brett on the finish without much else of anything. 60% of this is in neutral oak, which I usually would prefer... but you have to handle those barrels well.

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• 2005 Maryhill Proprietor's Reserve Serendipity 84 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Very dark color. Much more complete nose showing floral aromas along with berry. Spicy on the mid-palate and carrying into the finish, but some heat is also showing through.

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• 2006 Maryhill Zinfandel 83 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Better than most California Zins I've had lately. Nose shows spicy candied fruits. More candied fruits on the mid-palate. There is quite a bit of noticeable residual sugar on the finish, but this isn't hot at all. There is also a very interesting light bit of vegetable flavors on the finish that I picked up on my last sip.

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• 2006 Maryhill Zinfandel Proprietor's Reserve 81 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Dark plums and sugars on the nose. Lots of sweetness on the finish, along with heavy plums (they said this was around 1.6% RS). Preferred the regular Zin to this one.

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• 2007 Maryhill Sangiovese Rosé 86 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  This was probably the most complete wine they had to offer. Shows strawberry skins on the nose along with some spice. Bright strawberry short cake on the palate, along with some rhubarb. Little harshness on the finish, but then light, pretty fruit. If it weren't for that slight harshness, I probably would have picked some of this up.

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• 2007 Maryhill Muscat Canelli 82 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  6% RS. Honeydew melon and cantelope on the nose. Shows candied white fruits on the palate and finish.

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Probably the most famous and respected winery out here... not sure why. The tasting room was decent, and they too buy most of their fruit. The site we were at had a few white wine plantings, but was fairly mundane of a location compared to the other places we visited today. The woman behind the counter told me that the winemakers basically just tell the growers at what sugar levels to pick at, and they all pick themselves. I'd expect a bit more interaction there, because as we all know, brix alone do not determine whether a grape is fully "ripe," just that the sugars are where you want them. Weird theory there, but ok...

• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Gewürztraminer 78 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  Smells like bathroom cleaner, lemon, and bubble gum. More bathroom cleaner on the palate and finish.

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• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Riesling 70 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  They also make a dry Riesling. That is not this one. Very clean nose. Omm... I get nothing on the palate. This is almost water. Wow, one of the lightest wines I've had all around. Finish also has hardly any flavor either, and is almost water. Why even bother making this? It's not BAD, but it's certainly not what I want when I drink wine. I want some flavor!

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• 2007 Cathedral Ridge Necessity Red 86 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  Wow, never had this blend before. Strange (or is it?), this really does smell exactly like you blended Zin and Pinot Noir together. Imagine that... shows the lightness of the Pinot fruits, but also there's more weight showing through, and also some weird pear skins. Medium bodied, with some mild fruits coming through on the finish, and the acidity of the Pinot. This wine doesn't seem to quite know what it is and is searching for a place... still, I found the experience enjoyable. I probably would score it lower if I had a whole bottle (or even a full glass).

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• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Bordheauxd Red 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  Mild red fruit on the nose, and again on the palate. Uninteresting, showing some spice. Quite drinkable, but not much excitement.

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• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Pinot Noir Bangsund Vineyard 83 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  Wow, surprised they want $52 a bottle for this thing. Very light color, and only 12.5% alcohol. Shows bell peppers on the nose. Very light fruit on the palate. Certainly tastes like a Pinot Noir, but it's so light yet there's no subtlety. Boring.

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• 2006 Cathedral Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 82 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  Nice mild fruit on the nose. Oak, and I swear there's some RS on this one... definitely something sweet, and there's a bit of alcohol coming through as well. Not really enjoyable.

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This was an interesting spot... the tasting room is inside a really nice, expansive art gallery. Some interesting things hanging on the walls. I was very interested in them because Peter Rossback of Sineann is their wine maker. Peter generally makes massive, extracted wines, even with Pinot Noir. I don't care much for his style of Pinots, but he is definitely a great wine maker for his style. When we walked in there, there was a woman who appeared to be in her 50s sitting in a chair drinking a glass of wine, and she seemed quite intoxicated. The guy behind the counter actually asked for my ID, which I had accidentally left in the car. As I was walking out Ken said, "It's his 30th birthday today!" and apparently as I was leaving the woman looks at me and says under her breath (but quite loudly), "I don't care if he's 30, I'd fuck him." Ken looked at the guy pouring who clearly heard her as well, and knew Ken heard her, and Ken said it was a very awkward moment. Once I come back in we learn that this drunk woman is the tasting room manager. Nice! After that a female friend of hers showed up and some pretty shockingly racist things were coming out of the TRM's mouth... anyway, onto the wines!

• 2007 The Pines 1852 Viognier 80 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  More cleaning supplies and squash. Seems to be the theme for the day... boring.

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• 2006 The Pines 1852 Pinot Noir 83 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  Odd... this is big time strawberry syrup on the nose. Not very Pinoty showing quite a bit of big fruit. I'd never guess Pinot Noir blind. Not my style.

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• 2007 The Pines 1852 Merlot The Pines Vineyard

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  Not sure why I didn't put a score down for this one. I asked when this one was harvested because it was quite green on the nose... Late September was the answer. I don't know anything about usual harvest times in these parts, but that's probably not too abnormal. So yeah, greenness on the nose. This is very mild, showing medium red fruits on the palate. The finish is soft and very mellow.

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• 2006 The Pines 1852 Big Red The Pines Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  Omm... smells big. Spicy and fruity on the palate; quite nice. Tasty on the finish, if not remarkable.

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• 2007 The Pines 1852 Old Vine Zinfandel The Pines Vineyard 86 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  Yeah, I'm not a Zin fan, but this is one of my highest scoring Zins ever, so many others would appreciate it still more than I did. It's a bit hot on the nose, showing funky dark fruits. It has a spicy finish and is very tasty. A bit cloying on the finish and remains on the palate 30 seconds later.

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• 2007 The Pines 1852 Ice Gris 90 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  Hey, cool! We finish off the tour with the only 90 point scoring wine of the day. This is pretty interesting stuff. Nose shows lobster shell and rocks. Palate is tangerine. This is very creamy in the mouth and yeah it shows a lot of sugar, but it is so smooth and integrated. Tons of sugar on the finish, but this is very delicious. Picked a bottle up.

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Perfect timing all around. We got home at 6pm with a pizza in hand, and plowed through that. I popped the below 1979 Echezeaux, which was quite funky under the foil:



This wasn't the greatest Burg I've ever had, but the Riesling was quite enjoyable, and very exuberant for its age!



Ken and I got into these wines before people really began showing up...

• 1979 Weingut von Othegraven Kanzemer Berg Riesling Brut 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Popped and poured. Tons of big bubbles. Gorgeous orange hued yellow. Smells of a citrus car wash (with the car, including paint, rubber, and plastic), and a bit of Spree sour candy. Really, the car shop aromas are solidly in place on this nose, and I love it. Not too many bubbles on the palate, with this petrol tinged rubber, kumquat, and kiwi. There is lots of grapefruit and lime on the finish. Tons of sourness on the finish, along with bright acidity and very drying on the palate. This is an interesting experience. This is not showing its age. I would have never guessed this to be so old (wait, am I "so old?"...). The acidity and sourness is really quite bright.

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• 1979 Labouré-Roi Echezeaux 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Let stand up for a few days before pouring, and it definitely had about a quarter inch of very fine sediment at the bottom. Cork top looked very moldy once foil was removed, and upon extraction, the cork seemed fully saturated and very spongy. Gorgeous color of copper, orange, and a slight red hue. Does smell like of a moldy sponge, but there's also some raspberry poking its head. Tastes of paper and soily raspberry on the palate. Finish is very acidic, with earthy cranberry.
  
  Left a few ounces in the Burgundy Grand Cru glass over night and tried 18 hours after decanting. I think it's at it's best right now, with most of the funk that was on the nose pretty much gone. Right now it's mainly just cranberries and raspberries covered in dry dirt. Mid-palate isn't too interesting but there is some maderization here. Finish is bitting, showing sour cranberry and earth, with the acidity lingering.
  
  Overall this is definitely over the hill, but some enjoyment other than the simple fact it's as old as me can be extracted from it.

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Once people did start showing up, included in the mix was the 30 Voodoo Bacon donut that Alex brought. Sweet!



Man that was delicious. My sister also brought me a bottle of 1979 Château Gruaud Larose, which I had been wanting to pick up for a while! Awesome! A variety of wine was consumed with everyone here, and then we cracked into the scotch. Another tradition I have is drinking scotch of my AGE each year (unlike wine, scotch does not "age" once it's bottled, so the age, not the vintage, is important here). Last night I drank some of the 29 year old Longmorn I had on my last year's birthday, and it was absolutely fantastic. Today it's the 30 year old Banff bottled by Duncan Taylor. y0wza, this one's really hot and not very interesting at all. Is that a sign that the 30 year old scotch is terrible but the 29 is great? Nah... I knew I was taking a chance on this Banff, but didn't feel like spending twice as much as it for the other 30 year old the local shop had (though that Highland Park would have been fantastic).

Overall, despite not really enjoying the wines in the Columbia Gorge, it was a really fun day, with beautiful, and unusual scenery. Glad I could spend it with the friends who could make it over for the evening.