Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting

Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting

One of the inspirations for and objectives of our Walla Walla Wine Experience 2018 was to visit Force Majeure vineyards. We first met Force Majeure winemaker Todd Alexander and marketing, distribution and branding exec Carrie Alexander during the Chicago stop of their promotion tour in 2016 when we hosted them at Italian Village in Chicago. Since then we've acquired a respectable collection of Force Majeure wines, hence, they were one of our shortlist priority visits when we planned our Washington State, Columbia Valley wine trip.

Force Majeure Carrie Alexander and Linda

Following our Woodinville (Washington) tasting experience where we tasted several fabulous  Red Mountain AVA wines, we were targeting there for our first Washington State wine appellation visit. Carrie convinced us to visit Walla Walla and we followed her guidance and were amply rewarded as it was a spectacular wine travel experience. Our Walla Walla AVA visit provided the opportunity to visit a vibrant wine region, meet some legendary winemakers on the Washington wine scene, and still experience the best of Red Mountain appellation wines as well!

Force Majeure have vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA where they grow Rhone varietals on the upper slopes and Bordeaux varietals on the lower blocks of the site. According to Carrie, the varietal blocks are based on the selection and matching of the grape varieties to the appropriate soil composition in the eight different soil types on the site.

The Red Mountain site was the very first vineyard on the steep, rocky upper slopes of Red Mountain. Developing the Red Mountain estate vineyards involved carefully matching varietal and clonal selections and vineyard trellising and irrigation to the eight distinct soil types in the vineyard.

The site was formed by the ancient Missoula floods, winds and volcanic activity resulting in many small “micro-blocks,” each uniquely suited to specific grape varietals. The rocky upper-slope with shallow soil is well suited to the cultivation of Rhone varietals such as Syrah and Grenache, while the lower blocks of the vineyard are comprised of deep, well-drained Warden soils, where Bordeaux varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc excel.

Force Majeure recently acquired a small vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley. The site is within the boundaries of the The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, just across the Oregon side of state line border. The portion of the vineyard outside The Rocks District is within the borders of the Walla Walla Valley AVA.

The Rocks District is named for the rocky deposits left by the Walla Walla River where the river exits the foothills of the Blue Mountains and enters the Walla Walla Valley. It resembles the gravelly soil of the Southern Rhone River Valley in Chateauneuf du Pape. The Rocks District of Milton Freewater is the country’s newest AVA. Wine Spectator calls this AVA “perhaps America’s most distinctive example of terroir."

The unique riverbed of cobblestones and pebbles is as much as two hundred feet deep, formed 12,000 years ago from massive floods that swept through the region caused by ruptures in the ice dam that held Montana's glacial Lake Missoula. The Rocks District is a 12-square mile alluvial fan of 3,770 acres.

Force Majeure are building a new winery and tasting room facility in an old historic renovated rural schoolhouse and an adjacent wine-making production facility on the Estate site. They are scheduled to be open and operational next year.

Force Majeure also source grapes from select blocks of a thirteen acre vineyard of SJR Vineyards (left) just down the road which are owned by Delmas Vineyards and managed by Brooke Delmas Robertson.

The SJR Vineyard is located on the corner of Lower Dry Creek and County Road in Milton-Freewater, at the SW corner of ‘The Rocks District’. The site is planted in Rhone varietals Syrah and Grenache.

After touring the vineyards and winery site we dined at Brasserie Four French Bistro in downtown Walla Walla where we tasted a flight of Force Majeure wines.

Force Majeure Estate Red Mountain Syrah 2015

This is 100% Syrah sourced from the steep rocky sections of the top of the Red Mountain hillside vineyard.

Dark garnet colored, full-bodied, rich concentrated black berry fruits, hints of blue fruits, accented with layers of smokiness, minerality and tones of anise, black tea, black olive tapenade and hints of smokey meats, with bright lively acidity and cloying but approachable tannins on the tangy lingering finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2659540


Force Majeure Parvata Red Blend 2016

Parvata is a blend of 69% Mourvèdre, 21% Syrah and 10% Grenache, 100% sourced from the Force Majeure Red Mountain Estate vineyard.

Parvata means “mountain” in sanskrit, and hence is the name for Force Majeure's southern Rhône style blend, grown in the sandy, loamy soils of the lower section of the Red Mountain vineyard.

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, this is black fruits accented by white pepper and tones of dried herbs with bright lively acidity.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2968905


Force Majeure Estate Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, complex but smooth and polished with bright lively forward blackberry fruits accented by notes of anise, hints of dark mocha, spice and subtle tones of pain grille' and soft spicy oak with silky smooth tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 93 points. 

This is a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot,1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3006827



Later we dined at the brand new just opened Walla Walla Steak Company Depot Restaurant where we enjoyed Force Majeure Épinette Red Mountain Bordeaux Blend.



Force Majeure Épinette Red Mountain Red Blend 2014

Épinette is Force Majeure's Right-bank Bordeaux-inspired blend, and was named after an avenue in Libourne that leads to Pomerol and Saint-Émilion, the home of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Épinette is also the name of a musical instrument akin to a piano, as well as a word for pine tree, which is a fitting nod to the locale's in Washington state.

Épinette is a Bordeaux blend in the 'Right Bank' style meaning it is primarily Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.

The blend for this 2014 vintage was 58%  Merlot,  22%  Cabernet Franc 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and the remaining 5% Petit Verdot.

The Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grown in the lower areas of the Red Mountain vineyard with its  deep, well-drained soils. The wine was aged for approximately 22 months in mostly new French oak.

The Force Majeure Épinette was the perfect complement to our aged prime steak dinner, perfectly prepared 'Pittsburgh' style, served with mashed potatoes.

Silky tannin' 'Legs' of Force Majeure Epinette

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright vibrant forward black berry, ripe black raspberry and black current fruits with notes of cigar box, mocha chocolate, hints of leather, anise, graphite and spicy oak with gripping but approachable silky tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2762573

https://forcemajeurevineyards.com/

http://wwsteakco.com/

http://brasseriefour.com/ 

The Force Majeure Rhone wines were perfect complements to the Provencale bistro foods of Brasserie Four.

Brasserie Four Authentic French Bistro in Walla Walla

The Rillettes porc et de Canard, 'Pork shoulder & duck breast preserved in lard with Juniper berry & sage', was authentic and very interesting, crying for and ideal for with a sophisticated wine accompaniment such as the Parvatta GSM.

I had the very unique lunch entree selection, 'Vermont duck breast burger, Hudson Valley foie gras on a Kaiser roll, served with fries'. This was exotic and obscenely rich, an interesting culinary experience, not for the feint of heart. The Foie Gras accompaniment was fabulous and ideally suited for the big Syrah and the more complex and polished Cabernet.

Cabernet Franc Duo Accompany Steak Fajitas

Cabernet Franc Duo Accompany Steak Fajitas Family Dinner

Ocean side of our beach house in Corolla

We spent a week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with the kids and grand-kids. Son Ryan and I brought along a mixed case of wine to accompany our family dinners.

With hurricane Jose stirring offshore (see wave action to the right), we hunkered down inside the beach house for the opening family dinner of our family vacation.

We had steak fajitas and opened two bright, bold and spicy Cabernet Franc Bordeaux varietal based wines as accompaniment - Ryan brought a Justin Justification from Paso Robles, and I brought a Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Franc to compare.

The spicy character of these Cabernet Franc wines was appropriately suited to the bolder fajita preparation.

'Justification' is the 'Right Bank' Bordeaux varietal based Red Blend from Justin Winery and Vineyards.

'Right Bank' refers to the style or blend of grape varietals indigenous to the Right or north or east side of the diagonally flowing Gironde River that runs through the Bordeaux region of southwestern France. Wines from that side tend to be predominantly Merlot with high (er) percentages of Cabernet Franc. Wines from the 'left bank' or south and west side of the river tend to favor Cabernet Sauvignon.


Justin Justification Paso Robles Red Wine 2014

This is Justin's Right Bank Red Blend which features 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot.

Deep ruby colored, full bodied, concentrated core of firm black current and black cherry fruits accented by graphite and cedar with notes of anise, cinnamon spice and hints of dark cocoa with moderate full tannins on a long lingering finish.

RM 89 points

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2300779

https://www.justinwine.com/

Del Dotto Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Franc 1999

Our winery visit and cellar tasting tour at the Del Dotto Cellars in Rutherford just south of St Helena was a highlight of our recent 2017 trip to Napa Valley.

This is nearing the end of our 1999 collection of Del Dotto Napa Valley Bordeaux varietals which is part of our vertical collection dating back to that era.

At eighteen years, this is showing its age as the berry fruits are starting to give way to non fruit flavors of game, earth, leather and cedar. dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, the black berry and bright black cherry fruits are offset by the non-fruit flavors. Time to drink up as this is in its late stages of its drinking window.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=37725

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/

Papillon and Legende at Indigo Springfield

Papillon and Legende at Indigo Springfield

Visiting valued client in Springfield (IL), the account team dined at Indigo Restaurant. Following our tasting of Clio last month, I took another big bold expressive wine, BYOB, Orin Swift Papillon Bordeaux Blend which we matched up against Barons de Rothschild Légende from the wine list to accompany our beef steak dinners.

Indigo with their whimsical fun Blue Dog gallery offers a nice atmosphere for a business dinner, a special occasion or intimate dinner date. As always, the Indigo staff were professional, proficient, accommodating and attentive. The steaks were done to perfection and this evening they served an imaginative gorgonzola laced roasted potatoes accompaniment. The sushi entree left something to be desired and should be avoided in favor of their traditional midwestern faire.

Papillion is a Bordeaux Proprietary Blend from Dave Phinney, of Orin Swift Cellars, producer of a range of imaginative and bold wines that showcase the range and diversity of the best of Napa Valley wines.  Orin Swift perhaps is best known for The Prisoner series of wines which he sold a few years ago. He now focuses on and produces his higher end selections including this bold but polished red blend. 

David Swift Phinney began his wine journey back in 1995 when he traveled to Florence, Italy and discovered and got hooked on wine. After university graduation in 1997 he worked as as temporary harvest worker at Robert Mondavi Winery.  Setting out on his own, in 1998 he founded Orin Swift Cellars named for his father’s middle name Orin and his mother’s maiden name Swift. He spent his early years making wines for others and developing a line of Zinfandel based wines under his own label from fruit sourced from others. 

I've written about how Phinny is one of the more fascinating studies in wine branding. In his Orin Swift line, he shows why he is known for and recognized by his imaginative, creative, if not mysterious, even weird branding with his artistic naming and labeling of his wines. His line-up reads more like a series of mystery novels than a flight of fine wines - Abstract, China Doll, Mannequin, Machete, Mercury Head, Mute, Palermo, Papillon, Slander, Trigger Finger, and Veladora.

Mercury Head is his premium label Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and simply features a US mint original Mercury Head dime affixed to the bottle in place of a label. I've written in these pages about Machete with its series of labels with a dozen different photos of a mysterious woman brandishing a machete in various poses, many featuring a vintage Cadillac Eldorado.

Papillon features on the label (pictured) an image of third generation grape grower Vince Tofanelli's hands taken by the producer's friend and world famous photographer Greg Gorman. 

Papillon is a classic Bordeaux blend, Papillon features all the Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc, the heavy weight weighs in at 15.1% alcohol. The grapes are sourced from Napa Valleys sub-appellations Oakville, Rutherford, and Howell Mountain, from top vineyards such as Stagecoach and Morisoli.

Robert Parker gave the 2013 release 95 points and this 2014 wine 94 points and noted "forest floor, graphite, blackcurrant, blackberry fruit and spring flowers with a full-bodied, unctuously textured, deep, rich pure wine".

This was dark garnet colored, full bodied, complex, bold, powerful, concentrated, almost jammy with rich black fruits tones - blackberry, black raspberry, hint of black cherry, with a layer of anise, dusty cedar, hints of graphite, mocha and loamy earth with firm textured tannins on a long lingering finish. This probably needs a couple years to settle and will be interesting to watch it age over the next decade.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2292084

http://www.orinswift.com/Papillon


Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) St. Émilion Légende 2013

Légende is a second label from the legendary Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) producer. Of course they're best known for their classic 'first growth' Chateau Lafite Rothschild. But they also produce a wide range of more than a dozen labels for the wider general marketplace consumer - most from across the Bordeaux region.

The Legende family of wines includes more everyday selections from Bordeaux, one blend from the Bordeaux region, two from the left bank Medoc and Pauillac appellations, and this right bank offering from the St. Émilion appellation.

This 2013 may not be a fair representation of the label since it was one of the most difficult weather condition vintages in three decades. A wet spring, two hail storms in July and August that damaged the grape vines, followed by intermittent rains leading up to the harvest made the weather condition among the worst since the frost of 1991.

The challenging conditions of the 2013 season required meticulous work in the vineyards and very strict selection in the winery to produce this release which they considered an over-achievement under the circumstances rendering what they referred to as supple, with a gentle, crisp structure.

This was dark ruby colored, light-medium bodied, somewhat austere with delicate subdued black currant and raspberry fruits with a layer of pain grillé (toast), with hints of floral, tangy spice, smoke, tobacco leaf and leather.  In the style of the 'right bank', this is a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2613407

http://www.lafite.com/en/the-collection/legende/the-wines/legende-saint-emilion/

 http://www.indigocuisine.com/

Château Corbin St. Émilion Grand Cru 2006

Château Corbin St. Émilion Grand Cru 2006

Home alone for the evening, as it protocol, I opened this 375ml half bottle to taste with dinner. Even then, I had one glass, half the half the first evening, and the remainder the following evening. This was a nice complement to some hearty cheeses and French bread.

I wrote about the allure of half bottles a couple times in recent weeks in these pages. 

Château Corbin is one of the oldest estates in Saint-Emilion, dating back to the 15th century.

Built in the middle of the 19th century, Corbin was purchased in 1924 by the great-grandparents of the current owners. Since 1999, the estate has been managed by Anabelle Cruse-Bardinet, a Bordeaux University oenology graduate, who represents the 4th generation of the family. Jean-Philippe Fort, one of Michel Rolland's team of œnologists, has been Corbin’s wine-making consultant since 2006.

The Corbin vineyards cover 13 contiguous hectares (32 acres) in the commune of Saint-Emilion, adjacent to the Pomerol appellation. The grape varieties planted in the tradition of the 'Right Bank', 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with the average age of the vines being about 30 years. The finest grapes from the best plots and the oldest vines are used for making Château Corbin while grapes from younger vines go into a second label wine (XX de Corbin and DIVIN de Corbin).

I wrote recently about the Right Bank of Bordeaux and the grape varieties and style of wines produced there. 

The producer's website lists sites where the wine can be obtained in the US, a small number of wine shops, including Bassin's MacArthur Wines in WDC, where I recall obtaining this bottle.

This was dark garnet colored, medium bodied, was a bit tight and closed the first evening, being more open and approachable the second day when the smoke, creosote, black olive and herb layer gave way to the dark berry and tangy black cherry fruits, with notes of cedar, black tea and clove spice turning to fine tannins on the crisp clean moderate finish.

RM 87 points, same as WS.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=360786

http://www.chateau-corbin.com/uk/home.php

Spring Valley Vineyard Uriah Red Bordeaux Blend 2003

Spring Valley Vineyard Uriah Walla Walla Valley Red Bordeaux Blend 2003

After going to see Brad Pitt's new (movie) release, "Allied", (okay, but far from blockbuster, love story, war action, intrigue to the end), we settled in at home with Netflix, some wine and a plate of cheese, fruit and nuts. After the recent tasting of the Columbia Valley Syrah this week, I had a taste for another wine from the region. I wanted something of quality and complexity, so I pulled this Spring Valley Vineyard Uriah Red Bordeaux Blend from the Walla Walla Valley in Washington.

I wrote about this producer and label in an earlier blogpost. 

This has the profile of a 'Right Bank' Pomerol (AOC) Bordeaux, with a blend predominantly of Merlot 77%, with Cabernet Franc 22% and Petit Verdot 1%.

For neophytes, 'Right Bank' refers to areas to the north and east of the Gironde River that runs diagonally through the Bordeaux region, while 'Left Bank' refers to those areas to the west and south. While all Bordeaux (AOC - appellation original controlle wines - subscribe to the rules of the appellation governing such things), consist of 'Bordeaux varietals' - Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot, accented by Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, perhaps some Malbec, Left Bank wines are predominantly Merlot, while those from the Right Bank are mainly Cabernet Sauvignon.

The last time I tasted this wine was eighteen months ago when I wrote, "This is the oldest of ten vintages we hold of this wine and is the last bottle from this year. This is a Merlot based Bordeaux blend. At fourteen years its likely at the apex of its tasting window/curve." Well, obviously it wasn't the last bottle, bottle variations aside, it certainly was at its apex as the bright fruits have started to diminish slightly, taking on a sense of overripe, raisin tones, and starting to give way to the non-fruit notes of tea, graphite and cigar box. The spicy tones of the Cabernet Franc are starting to show through.

In a tasting note from the period, I wrote the same thing about the 2004 vintage, "the fruits are starting to subside a bit and give way to non-fruit tones".  All that said, the same profile remains ...

I said above, 'bottle variations aside', but perhaps this bottle represents more the true character of this label, because I've written this about the 2005 vintage, "Definitely needs some time - decant and let breathe. A bit harsh up front with cedar and tar overpowering black currant and black berry fruits - turns to vanilla with creme brulee burnt sugar on the long firm tannin filled finish."

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, bright vibrant flavors (starting to fade) of black berry, cherry and currants with (increasing predominant) tones of tea and cigar box turning to mild tannins and lively acidity on the long, silky, finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=148343

http://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/