Several years over the hill; ruby & rustic, devoid of tannin. Throwing a bunch of sediment as expected; murky. We have the remnants of what once was great here.
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The nose showed a mix of black and red fruits, with fresh herbal tones giving way to dark chocolate, as a complex mix of dusty minerals and sweet spice emerged. On the palate, I found soft textures, which were offset by juicy acidity and tart red fruits, as the ‘98 turned more toward freshness and inner florals. The finish was long, showing staining red fruits, minerals and inner florals. As enjoyable as the ‘98 is today, I feel it is starting to fade a bit.
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Second of two bottles consumed over the last 10 days. Bought 10 bottles 17 years ago from eVineyard, and these were #3 and #4 from that purchase; receipt says I paid 3/b, but that seems...unlikely. Decanted with normal sediment for its age. A bit lighter color than expected--dark red; fragrant mature redcurrant nose with some muted oak; mature redcurrant and red plum, some oak, very good mouthfeel. Delicious! Won't improve, but glad I have more. However, I'll note that the first bottle seemed to have some initial off nose and flavor that passed within 2 hours. Stored horizontally in a cool, dark basement since purchase. My evaluation: I've stopped giving scores on a "100-point scale" as I've become less convinced that they can be meaningful to others. I use a 4-category scale (perhaps with +/-)--not including flawed--which runs outstanding/notable/drinkable/poor. I considered this outstanding- when considering quality, age, and price (?).
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Cork disintegrated on opening Some bricking on edges Nose is mature but still has dark fruit, leather, spice very nice Palate is rich and fully mature, very nice, long and lovely finish. Bought off the shelf in a DC wine shop Would buy again
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Currant, coffee, fresh berry, perfumed, spicy nose. Totally open and engaging on the palate with sweet fruits, cocoa, potpourri, just mature and in a perfect spot. Drink now.
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Enjoyed this very much and it is definitely still squarely in the drinking window, at least to my palate. Showing lots of WA character - speaks very much to a sense of place. It is fully mature but I would not be in a rush. No reason to wait unless you have others you want to drink first, but I think you could wait a few years and still be just fine with this.
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Same experience as two years ago where the wine was much better on day 2. The rating here is for day 2. On day one it was almost undrinkable as extremely acidic and candies red fruit - like eating sweet-tarts. Yuck! Completely changed day 2 as it darkened, deepened and the acid came into better balance. Still not as good as last time. Think it's past its prime.
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Starting to show some oxidization, deep garnet. Cloudy in the glass, dusty in the mouth. Did the best I could a hotel room to decant the beast, but there's only so much magic I can work with the tools given to me! No flower vase to improvise, and the ice bucket seemed shady.
When first opened, it's a little soft, a little flabby, some tannins in the finish. A little off-balanced.
Nose is a little muted, had a hard time picking much of anything out it. Strong scents in the air, so maybe my nose has just been knocked out. Or maybe it's because I'm drinking from a coffee mug, having used the rocks glasses to decant. Maraschino (the nasty bleached ones), toasted marshmallow, leather? Something like that.
Some nice fruit up front. Ripe acid berries, no residual sweetness at all. I'm not usually one to thirst for some sugar, but this feels like it needs a little sweetness to restore the balance? Some handsoap? No, that's just the hotel's handsoap, which is really strong and I can smell it from here. Sigh.
Cherry cola? Yeah. Definitely cherry cola.
Some nice musty oak in the finish. Tangy tart fruit and acid that just shows up in the last few seconds after a minute or so as it crawls over your tongue. Hazelnut, dark chocolate, truffles. There's some nice structure and balance at play here.
In the middle? Hm. Not much. I'm used to attack-decay, but it's more attack, decay, attack, nothing.
This is a nice wine, but I'm going to say my bottle is a little past due, be it from poor storage or just the nature of the beast. Based on this example alone, drink this a few years ago.
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Red brick colour on the rim and the relative clarity of the wine shows the age, but the core is still a fairly dense red-purple. The nose shows some notes of maturity, with earth, pencil lead and cedar intermingling with the sweet kirsch and blueberry aromatics. A bit of Cabernet bell pepper adds some complexity. The palette is more darker fruit and the remnants of the oak influence, but extremely elegant and balanced. The tannins are completely resolved at this point, and the wine is probably at its peak of maturity.
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Consistent with previous note. Gave this a 90 minute decant and followed over several hours. Very nice fruit profile. Finish was a little longer and overall this bottle was better than my last one. Drinking very well and has a couple of years left in it.
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Fabulous nose of black cherry, dark chocolate and earthy undertones. Medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel and still maintains a good dark fruit profile. Medium length finish which is quite dry. Very nice and seems to have plenty of life left. Decanted 45 minutes but would have benefitted from substantially more air time. I was more impressed with the nose and initial fruit attack than the back end on this particular bottle. Still very nice wine overall though.
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Much better on day 2. Day one was very candied red fruit, almost fizzy. Seemed fake. Red color. On day 2 this got much darker (black cherry) with a much better nose and taste. Fairly well balanced as the tannins and acid have stepped forward. Nice finish. A little hollow mid-palate.
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Great big dark fruit on the nose. Huge up front that transitions straight to the very long finish. A little more mid palate stuffing would make this phenomenal.
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Tasting note from memory, but largely consistent with my previous tasting in 2006. The bottle did take some time to really open up, I was much more impressed at 3 hours than at first. I will hold onto my last bottle for a few more years.
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Bob W. 40th Dinner at Dom. Chandon (Etoile Restaurant): Served from Magnum. I don't know if this wine didn't receive enough decanting or what. A little thin and quite tart on the finish with bright cherries. This could have also been a little disjointed due to shipping the previous day. Perhaps it is just too young to drink from magnum...
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Tasting note from memory. My last tasting was exactly two years ago and I figured it was time to give the Sorella another taste. My, how a few years makes a difference. Unlike back in 2004, the Sorella was almost ready to go right from pulling the cork, it was big, expansive with very upfront acidity and a tart sour bing cherry element. Perhaps moreso than any wine I’ve tried in the last year. Red current and cassis were still present, but not in the forefront. I’m still of the opinion that another year or so will benefit this wine.
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We had an interesting and eclectic tasting of good Washington wines with a grilled flank steak dinner. The three wines were a 1998 Andrew Will Sorella, a 2002 Betz Pere de Famille, and a 2002 Cayuse Camaspelo; all Bordeaux blends but primarily Cab. This was perhaps an unfair mix in terms of maturity age. None of the wines were decanted and the tasting was not blind. All were delicious. The Camaspelo and the Betz exhibited more of the lush Washington fruit with the Camaspelo showing a bit more structure and finesse than the Betz. However, the hands-down favorite was the Sorella. Sorella has never let me down and I think it is the best Bordeuax blend made in Washington. The Sorella had good fruit flavors but also more earth-driven character; truly more Bordeaux style. It was very well balanced with fruit, tannins, structure and finish. Possibly some of this had to do with the age differential but I think there is a fundamental difference in the wines also. This was my last bottle of 1998 but if I had more I would not be worried about its longevity. A consensus rating was Sorella #1, Camaspelo #2 and Betz #3. However, any one of these wines are pleasure to drink.
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I've been drinking a lot of '94 to '98 wines from my favorite Washington producers lately, and the two most consistently excellent wines during that time - by far - are Andrew Will's Sorella and Quilceda Creek's cab. They are very different wines, so it's fun to compare them. The '98 QC is still quite young and stern, but there's just unbelievable depth to it. It's fantastic now, but will improve and last a very long time. To me, it is the most similar to the '94 of all the vintages since then. The '98 Sorella is much more mature. It is lush and seamless, with no hard edges whatsoever. Great balance, with a bit more complexity than the QC is showing now, although it doesn't come close to matching the other wine's concentration. There's no question in my mind that Sorella is the best blend being made in Washington.
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Washington wine offline with Chris Cook (Bellevue, WA): 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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The 98 Sorella will take a few more years. After two hours of decanting time, it finally started to soften and open up. Still, it remains relatively closed. The nose offers notes fo cassis, red current layered with a background of oak. Medium weight in the mouth, followed by a tannic and acidic finish. Finish is a bit on the short side, but you get some lingering berries. This wine tasted it's best after three hours. Overall a good wine, but I have to say I expected a bit more from the Sorella.
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1/29/2022 - fitchbuck wrote: 91 Points
Several years over the hill; ruby & rustic, devoid of tannin. Throwing a bunch of sediment as expected; murky. We have the remnants of what once was great here.
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1/21/2022 - mattb76 Likes this wine:
Mature cab. Cassis, Graphite, leather, menthol. Smooth. Well made. Excellent with roasted venison rack.
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10/23/2019 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 91 Points
The nose showed a mix of black and red fruits, with fresh herbal tones giving way to dark chocolate, as a complex mix of dusty minerals and sweet spice emerged. On the palate, I found soft textures, which were offset by juicy acidity and tart red fruits, as the ‘98 turned more toward freshness and inner florals. The finish was long, showing staining red fruits, minerals and inner florals. As enjoyable as the ‘98 is today, I feel it is starting to fade a bit.
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3/25/2019 - Oenecnist wrote:
Second of two bottles consumed over the last 10 days. Bought 10 bottles 17 years ago from eVineyard, and these were #3 and #4 from that purchase; receipt says I paid 3/b, but that seems...unlikely. Decanted with normal sediment for its age. A bit lighter color than expected--dark red; fragrant mature redcurrant nose with some muted oak; mature redcurrant and red plum, some oak, very good mouthfeel. Delicious! Won't improve, but glad I have more. However, I'll note that the first bottle seemed to have some initial off nose and flavor that passed within 2 hours. Stored horizontally in a cool, dark basement since purchase. My evaluation: I've stopped giving scores on a "100-point scale" as I've become less convinced that they can be meaningful to others. I use a 4-category scale (perhaps with +/-)--not including flawed--which runs outstanding/notable/drinkable/poor. I considered this outstanding- when considering quality, age, and price (?).
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3/24/2016 - bablues wrote: flawed
Corked
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9/1/2015 - hiker_guy Likes this wine:
Cork disintegrated on opening
Some bricking on edges
Nose is mature but still has dark fruit, leather, spice very nice
Palate is rich and fully mature, very nice, long and lovely finish.
Bought off the shelf in a DC wine shop
Would buy again
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10/11/2014 - andtheodor wrote: 93 Points
Currant, coffee, fresh berry, perfumed, spicy nose. Totally open and engaging on the palate with sweet fruits, cocoa, potpourri, just mature and in a perfect spot. Drink now.
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3/13/2014 - grayfont Likes this wine: 91 Points
Enjoyed this very much and it is definitely still squarely in the drinking window, at least to my palate. Showing lots of WA character - speaks very much to a sense of place. It is fully mature but I would not be in a rush. No reason to wait unless you have others you want to drink first, but I think you could wait a few years and still be just fine with this.
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2/10/2013 - andtheodor wrote: 86 Points
Mature, simple, a little candied fruit. Foursquare and not up to par for Sorella, not worth the $$$.
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1/11/2012 - iamandyc wrote: 88 Points
Same experience as two years ago where the wine was much better on day 2. The rating here is for day 2. On day one it was almost undrinkable as extremely acidic and candies red fruit - like eating sweet-tarts. Yuck! Completely changed day 2 as it darkened, deepened and the acid came into better balance. Still not as good as last time. Think it's past its prime.
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6/14/2011 - atubbs wrote: 90 Points
Starting to show some oxidization, deep garnet. Cloudy in the glass, dusty in the mouth. Did the best I could a hotel room to decant the beast, but there's only so much magic I can work with the tools given to me! No flower vase to improvise, and the ice bucket seemed shady.
When first opened, it's a little soft, a little flabby, some tannins in the finish. A little off-balanced.
Nose is a little muted, had a hard time picking much of anything out it. Strong scents in the air, so maybe my nose has just been knocked out. Or maybe it's because I'm drinking from a coffee mug, having used the rocks glasses to decant. Maraschino (the nasty bleached ones), toasted marshmallow, leather? Something like that.
Some nice fruit up front. Ripe acid berries, no residual sweetness at all. I'm not usually one to thirst for some sugar, but this feels like it needs a little sweetness to restore the balance? Some handsoap? No, that's just the hotel's handsoap, which is really strong and I can smell it from here. Sigh.
Cherry cola? Yeah. Definitely cherry cola.
Some nice musty oak in the finish. Tangy tart fruit and acid that just shows up in the last few seconds after a minute or so as it crawls over your tongue. Hazelnut, dark chocolate, truffles. There's some nice structure and balance at play here.
In the middle? Hm. Not much. I'm used to attack-decay, but it's more attack, decay, attack, nothing.
This is a nice wine, but I'm going to say my bottle is a little past due, be it from poor storage or just the nature of the beast. Based on this example alone, drink this a few years ago.
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1/15/2011 - xtenson wrote: 91 Points
For the price, this is a fantastic bottle, nice structure, good minerality and fruit...really a fine wine.
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8/21/2010 - Clarkmeister wrote: 92 Points
Same as a few days ago. Kevin Vogt tried it and without knowing my score also called it a 92. Very happy with this.
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8/16/2010 - Clarkmeister wrote: 92 Points
Smooth, understated with a great finish. Very happy with this.
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7/3/2010 - cybergod Likes this wine: 92 Points
Red brick colour on the rim and the relative clarity of the wine shows the age, but the core is still a fairly dense red-purple. The nose shows some notes of maturity, with earth, pencil lead and cedar intermingling with the sweet kirsch and blueberry aromatics. A bit of Cabernet bell pepper adds some complexity. The palette is more darker fruit and the remnants of the oak influence, but extremely elegant and balanced. The tannins are completely resolved at this point, and the wine is probably at its peak of maturity.
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4/5/2010 - Yamadori wrote: 89 Points
Consistent with previous note. Gave this a 90 minute decant and followed over several hours. Very nice fruit profile. Finish was a little longer and overall this bottle was better than my last one. Drinking very well and has a couple of years left in it.
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12/14/2009 - Yamadori wrote: 88 Points
Fabulous nose of black cherry, dark chocolate and earthy undertones. Medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel and still maintains a good dark fruit profile. Medium length finish which is quite dry. Very nice and seems to have plenty of life left. Decanted 45 minutes but would have benefitted from substantially more air time. I was more impressed with the nose and initial fruit attack than the back end on this particular bottle. Still very nice wine overall though.
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11/8/2009 - iamandyc wrote: 90 Points
Much better on day 2. Day one was very candied red fruit, almost fizzy. Seemed fake. Red color. On day 2 this got much darker (black cherry) with a much better nose and taste. Fairly well balanced as the tannins and acid have stepped forward. Nice finish. A little hollow mid-palate.
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3/14/2009 - Clarkmeister wrote: 92 Points
Great big dark fruit on the nose. Huge up front that transitions straight to the very long finish. A little more mid palate stuffing would make this phenomenal.
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1/6/2008 - Mark wrote: 92 Points
Tasting note from memory, but largely consistent with my previous tasting in 2006. The bottle did take some time to really open up, I was much more impressed at 3 hours than at first. I will hold onto my last bottle for a few more years.
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9/21/2007 - BradA wrote: 86 Points
Bob W. 40th Dinner at Dom. Chandon (Etoile Restaurant): Served from Magnum.
I don't know if this wine didn't receive enough decanting or what. A little thin and quite tart on the finish with bright cherries. This could have also been a little disjointed due to shipping the previous day. Perhaps it is just too young to drink from magnum...
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9/7/2007 - Spencer wrote: 95 Points
Another great bottle of this wine. It's fully mature now, but it should easily hold another 5 to ten years.
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3/1/2007 - Easter Everywhere wrote: 92 Points
Superb, tangy sweet fruit, beatiful texture, firm structure, plenty life left, silky mouthfeel, great
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9/26/2006 - Mark wrote: 91 Points
Tasting note from memory. My last tasting was exactly two years ago and I figured it was time to give the Sorella another taste. My, how a few years makes a difference. Unlike back in 2004, the Sorella was almost ready to go right from pulling the cork, it was big, expansive with very upfront acidity and a tart sour bing cherry element. Perhaps moreso than any wine I’ve tried in the last year. Red current and cassis were still present, but not in the forefront. I’m still of the opinion that another year or so will benefit this wine.
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4/11/2006 - Spencer wrote: 95 Points
Big, but BALANCED!! The most complete and complex Sorella of the vertical ('95-'01). Long, expansive finish. Great now, but this will age very well.
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4/10/2006 - Redteeth wrote: 93 Points
We had an interesting and eclectic tasting of good Washington wines with a grilled flank steak dinner. The three wines were a 1998 Andrew Will Sorella, a 2002 Betz Pere de Famille, and a 2002 Cayuse Camaspelo; all Bordeaux blends but primarily Cab. This was perhaps an unfair mix in terms of maturity age. None of the wines were decanted and the tasting was not blind. All were delicious. The Camaspelo and the Betz exhibited more of the lush Washington fruit with the Camaspelo showing a bit more structure and finesse than the Betz. However, the hands-down favorite was the Sorella. Sorella has never let me down and I think it is the best Bordeuax blend made in Washington. The Sorella had good fruit flavors but also more earth-driven character; truly more Bordeaux style. It was very well balanced with fruit, tannins, structure and finish. Possibly some of this had to do with the age differential but I think there is a fundamental difference in the wines also. This was my last bottle of 1998 but if I had more I would not be worried about its longevity. A consensus rating was Sorella #1, Camaspelo #2 and Betz #3. However, any one of these wines are pleasure to drink.
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12/23/2005 - Spencer wrote: 95 Points
I've been drinking a lot of '94 to '98 wines from my favorite Washington producers lately, and the two most consistently excellent wines during that time - by far - are Andrew Will's Sorella and Quilceda Creek's cab. They are very different wines, so it's fun to compare them. The '98 QC is still quite young and stern, but there's just unbelievable depth to it. It's fantastic now, but will improve and last a very long time. To me, it is the most similar to the '94 of all the vintages since then. The '98 Sorella is much more mature. It is lush and seamless, with no hard edges whatsoever. Great balance, with a bit more complexity than the QC is showing now, although it doesn't come close to matching the other wine's concentration. There's no question in my mind that Sorella is the best blend being made in Washington.
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6/1/2005 - Eric wrote: 92 Points
Washington wine offline with Chris Cook (Bellevue, WA): 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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10/3/2004 - Mark wrote: 89 Points
The 98 Sorella will take a few more years. After two hours of decanting time, it finally started to soften and open up. Still, it remains relatively closed. The nose offers notes fo cassis, red current layered with a background of oak. Medium weight in the mouth, followed by a tannic and acidic finish. Finish is a bit on the short side, but you get some lingering berries. This wine tasted it's best after three hours. Overall a good wine, but I have to say I expected a bit more from the Sorella.
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7/4/2004 - jt wrote:
Cherry, raspberry, peppery spiciness, and firm tannins. A very, very nice wine. I should have purchased more. Oh well. I have learned.
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