We enjoyed the Due Blend last year and also have the Quattro sitting on the rack waiting to be consumed sometime soon. Cinque has just been released and is the only Blend available on their site. 

This concept is marvelous in so many ways that I have to tip my hat to the Wylies.  Well done. 

If you haven’t tried the Bruno Blends, go get some, and try the amazing Syrah or Cab from Va Piano while you are at it.  Also, check out their Facebook page for more info.

St. Laurent is worth a visit, if only for the view.  Their Syrah Rose makes a nice summer day in the hills above Wenatchee heavenly.  Winemaker Craig Mitrakul created this blend of Syrah, Reisling, and Chardonnay from 100% Wahluke Slope fruit.

“Our Rose has flavors and aromas of cherry, raspberry, apricot and melon.   On the palate these fruit flavors lead to a crisp dry finish.   Estate grown on our Wahluke Slope vineyards nestled above the Columbia River in Mattawa, Washington… It’s great chilled on its own or a wonderful companion to salads, seafood or barbequed chicken. The perfect accompaniment to morning brunch or refreshing and delicious on a warm sunny day. From the Mrachek family vineyards to you.”

I’m going to find out.  Now on to the tasting that lead me down the road of asking these questions. 

2007 Syncline Columbia Valley Syrah – this is the bigger, bold, dark colored, new world syrah. It was delicious and really opened up nicely over the course of a Friday night at home.

2002 Columbia Winery Red Willow Vineyard Syrah – this wine was crafted from the very first Syrah planting in Washington and winemaker David Lake really pushes the old world envelope in this offering.  Having spent 5 more years in the bottle this wine is very well rounded.

These two wines, produced in the same region, from the same varietal, are very different in style.  The Columbia is lighter in color and contained many of that minerality and earthiness that you’d expect from a old world style wine.  The Syncline was big, bold, and provided many of the dark berry fruit flavors.  Both wines were excellent and can be found in the $20-25 range at Pete’s Wine Shop in Bellevue.

Wine of the Week: Gilbert 2006 Syrah

According to the GIlberts: Our 2006 vintage Syrah is a super-saturated, hedonistic red wine with blueberry and dark plum fruit while cinnamon, black tea and bacon accompany loamy tannins that linger on the tongue. Performs gorgeously with grilled cuisine. Drink now through 2018. 89 points and “Best Buy” from Wine & Spirits.

This syrah was very well balanced and went perfectly with some beef off the grill and risotto.  At $26, its less than a lot of the small production wines, but you still get the same high quality.

Very classy label/bottle as well.

Some of our friends recently traveled to Argentina and loved the culture, food, and wine of this South American country. The combination of thier stories and the emergence of this wine has made Argentina a front runner for the next big trip.
Torrontes is a native grape to Argentina and, from what I gather, its really only grown there today.  Fair to say, its the quintessential Argentinean white wine.  Grown at an mile high elevation, this wine is straw white in color and might as well have been fermented at a pineapple packing plant in Hawaii.  Its light in the mouth with a high level of acidity, which makes this the perfect wine for summer time Thai food or just sipping on the patio.

With Mark and Isabell in town for the weekend and flank steak coming off the grill and onto the table, it was time.

Gramercy clearly has the pedigree and story to create some world class wines.  Add-in Greg and Pam Harrington’s understanding of their customer base and you just get the feeling that they are going to do really well. Even the Wall Street Journal is on to them.

550 Cases produced with 97% Syrah and 3% Viognier

What we Thought: we enjoyed this wine and found it to be balanced, and didn’t have that overly spicy, overly alchoholy profile that you see in so many syrahs these days.  Not dark and brooding, but a little lighter in color, it was perfect with our steak and roasted vegetables.  With a little leftover, we tried this wine next to a Syrah from France on the second day and enjoyed pulling out the similarities and drastic differences in the two wines. 

According to Gramercy: This wine displays an amazingly floral nose with hints of orange rind. Flavors of liquid stone and gravel, with smoked meat and red and black fruits. This wine is all about balance with fantastic acidity and intense fruit and earth flavors.  This is a food wine, not for sipping on the porch! 

And finally, a great quote to close: "My goal is to make wines – the kind I like to drink – with lower alcohol, higher acid."  Greg Harrington.

It has been several weeks, but the 2006 Lincourt Chardonnay we had is definitely worth writing about. My only previous exposure to this Santa Barbara winery came at a dinner Mark’s in Houston a couple of years ago. I had their pinot noir and to this day rates in my top 3 pinots of all time. It’s a small production winery so I was surprised to see a bottle of their chardonnay at Whole Foods. Much like Lincourt’s pinot, this chardonnay did not disappoint – and it was only $18. Proclamation: best chardonnay under $20 I have ever had… by a long shot.

The wine had all of the silkiness of a good chardonnay, but where most bust with oak and butter flavor, the Lincourt touched on great and refreshing citrus notes. This was a wine that is great to drink on its own – especially as the days keep getting warmer – and it’s an excellent food wine. We had this wine with a white fish dinner and most chardonnays can be too dominating to such a meal. The Lincourt found it’s place though and complimented the meal quite nicely. Next time you make a trip to Whole Foods see if the Lincourt is there and you will not be disappointed.

a. Anheiser Busch is to St Louis

b. E&J Gallo is to California

c. Opus One is to Napa

d. Jack Daniels is to Tennessee

e. Antinori is to Chianti

Leonetti is the name of all Washington wines that is most closely associated with the industry to which it belongs. They continually produce quality wines that have a very high demand.  Most of their wines are only available via a mailing list.  I’ll go ahead and say that their 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon was the best wine I’ve ever had, but we’re talking about the Merlot tonight.  Leonetti produced nearly 3,000 cases of this vintage Merlot, and it’s listed at a $60 retail.

What I thought: Smokey and hot with some nice fruit, this is a really good Merlot that didn’t give me that soft mouth feel that I seem to find in so many Merlots.

According to Leonetti: The wines nose consists of bright floral aromatics, elderberry, red and black crème fruits and spicy yet subdued notes of balsam, pencil shavings, and pine. The palate is broad and fat with a soft, long, yet lively finish that brings back merlot lovers to this wine again and again.

Back to the question. I’d say that someone could make an argument for f. all of the above, but the best answer is c.

A couple weeks ago at the Taste Washington event Chef Johnathan Sundstrom of Lark in Seattle said that he was drinking mostly Rose’ now that it was springtime.  The other chefs on the panel agreed that they were drinking a lot more rose than in the past.

Clearly, its not just White Zinfandel that is pretty in pink.  My goal is to find some pink stuff that I can enjoy.  This one was good, and under $10 at the local grocer.

Barnard Griffin Rose’ of Sangiovese

According to Barnard: Beautifully crafted, bright and flavorful. Bucket loads of strawberry with cherry, watermelon and orange. Dry with racy, vibrant acidity. Discover the amazing versatility of this award-winning rose. It is great as a refreshing wine to sip on the deck or by the pool, but also nicely compliments a broad range of main dishes and appetizers.

Sometimes the best things are found in the strangest of places.  Out for a Sunday drive on the Washington peninsula we were enjoying the afternoon and a brief glimpse of the spring sunshine en route to Ocean Shores for a mini family reunion. 

One of those roadside signs, you know the ones that usually have the logos of Motel 8, McDonalds, and a Shell gas station, jumped out at me with the Walter Dacon image, same one on this page.  I had enjoyed a bottle of this as a take home prize from our volunteer work at the Washington Wine Auction Winemakers Picnic last summer, and the logo and name are unforgettably unique.

After blowing past the exit, we turned around, backtracked and tracked down this isolated winery near Shelton, Washington.  Their grounds are beautiful and their wine dog slightly intimidating.  We almost didn’t want to get out of the car, but the assistant winemaker Rick went out of his way to greet us and assure us that the dog was indeed quite friendly.

Walter Dacon’s website is under construction and really doesn’t give any background or satisfying story behind this winery that is so far off the beaten path – which is disappointing.

But, they do have a warm and friendly tasting room and happened to be pouring a horizontal selection of 4 different 06 Syrah’s.  All were tasty, but my favorite was the C’est Belle, which contained a small amount of Viognier – a nice Rhone style blending touch.  Walter Dacon is serious about blending and according to Rick, they believe that even .5% makes a big difference in their final products.

All said, a really good Syrah, and if you are in the neighborhood, Walter Dacon is worth a stop.