Father-Son Steak Wine Dinner

Father Son Boy's Night Wine Steak Dinner

A wine adventure, we held a 'boy's night' Father-son (s) wine dinner. What a treat and joy to do so with all three sons in attendance. With son Sean just home from the hospital after some major stuff, now on the mend, sibling Alec came in from New York, and brother/son Ryan came over for the gathering. It was Ryan's birthday last week so we ventured down to the cellar to pull a 'birth-year' wine from the few remaining in the collection for his vintage.

We discussed the possibility of doing a 'vertical' tasting, a wine from the same label from each of their birth years. It would be possible from our cellar collection but only in larger format Magnums, obviously too much for as intimate small group tasting as it was. Notably, at some point we could, and need to do a tasting of all the kids birthyears as we have in our collection one from each, magnums of Silver Oak, Chateau Palmer and Gruaud Larose.

For the 1982 vintage we found a time-to-drink Chateau Gloria St Julien. For a near '85 we pulled a 1986 Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac. We should've pulled a '90 vintage for son Alec's birthyear but opted to stick to just the two bottles. Notably, too, remarkably, or perhaps shamefully, our cellar records show we hold more than 180 bottles in no less than 65 different labels from that vintage! Need a party or special occasion! (I am certain this number is exaggerated and doesn't reflect earlier consumption and numerous bottles 'thinned' and liquidated from the cellar at auctions when their market price points peaked during the last decade.) 

Eventually in a quest for something 'younger', we pulled a Paradigm Napa Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon from the 1994 vintage.

Later after I (Dad) went to bed, the boys pulled and tasted one of our favorite Syrah's, Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz 2005. Half of that bottle remains that we'll enjoy with tonight's dinner.

Chateau Gloria St Julian Bordeaux 1982

The cork on this bottle was a challenge as it was saturated and soft but initially intact. ryan used an Ahso (two pronged puller) to extract it and the bottom tip of the extended extra long cork eventually separated and remained deep in the neck. I was able to extract it using a traditional corkscrew, inserting it into the edge between the bottle and the cork and gently wedging it out.

We decanted and aerated the bottle. It was initially closed but opened after about ninety minutes. Initial indications suggested the bottle might be tainted or over the hill, somewhat murky with a brownish rust colored tinge on the dark garnet color. While it never cleared, the cherry and currant fruits revealed themselves and by the time the grilled strip steaks were ready, this was consumable, albeit past its drinking window and just hanging on for remaining drinking life. The fruits had given way to leather, black olive and earth tones. It was a worthwhile and acceptable complement to the steak, baked potato grilled asperagus.

For some reason, this was offensive and repulsive, conflicting with the chocolate silk pie. So be it.

While it was never an expensive or long lived collectable bottle, the fact we found one lurking in the cellar was fun and it contributed to the wine dinner experience. For what its worth, we didn't even have this bottle in our cellar records. We found it searching for another bottle.

RM 85 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=22703


Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac 1986

At 32 years this is outside its prescribed drinking window, past its prime but still approachable, remarkably holding its own, but time to drink up. Back in 2002 Parker wrote that "while this wine should age well for another two decades, it has matured faster than many of the 1986 Pauillacs".

The cork started to collapse as soon as I pressed on it but I was able to work it out, slowly rocking the 'Ahso' (two prong cork puller) between opposite sides to extract it fully. It was soft and saturated but intact.

Note the original price still affixed to the bottle, $32.99 on release back in 1989, on sale for $29.99. The pricetag tells me I obtained this at the old legendary Sam's in Chicago.

Decanted and aerated but needed a couple hours to open up, dark garnet colored, medium bodied, plum and cherry fruits initially subdued and overshadowed by leather and black olive, eventually popping with some bright vibrancy with tones of cedar and spicy clove with hints of bacon fat, pepper and anise, turning to some modest tannins on the short finish. This is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

On release this got 97 points from Wine Spectator in 1989 and was Ranked #2 on the Top 100 Wines of 1989. Robert Parker gave it 90 points and Jancis Robinson gave it 17.5/20 points. I gave it 88 which is remarkable at this late stage of life.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=16448


Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 1994

We tasted and acquired this wine during our visit to the winery during our Napa Wine Experience 1999. This was the or close to the inaugural vintage of this wine and is the last of the bottles we hold in our cellar of this vintage label.

This is showing remarkably well at 24 years of age showing no signs of diminution. This may be at its apex of drinkability and will no doubt not improve with further aging. But there should be no rush to consume these either. We acquired a case of this wine upon release and the remaining bottles are in perfect condition with corks and fill levels still being optimal.

Tonight was consistent with my last tasting of this vintage label date back to 8/30/2009 when I posted this. "Dark inky color. forward fruit flavors of black cherry, with a bit with earth and leather emerging over the subtle currant, ripe plum, cedar and a hint of anise on a moderate finish."

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/03/paradigm-napa-valley-cabernet-1994.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5051

Kilikanoon Oracle Claire Valley Shiraz 2005

The boys opened this after I went to bed but left me some which we enjoyed the next evening.  I am finding these aged Aussie Shiraz's hold up for several days and may be better the day after or the day after that!

This is one of our favorite Shiraz's in our cellar collection. Shiraz is the second highest volume varietal in number of bottles in our collection after Bordeaux varietals (which includes Cabernets (Sauvignon and Franc), Merlot, and the 'lesser' varietals Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

Our collection of Syrahs aka Shiraz', represent Australia, Washington State, California and the French Rhone River Valley, upper and lower.

This producer, Kilikanoon was awarded Australian Wine Producer of the Year by the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) for the fifth time in eight years that Kilikanoon was internationally recognised as Australian Winery of the Year, (previously by James Halliday in 2013 and Germany’s Mundus Vini in 2010, 2017 and 2018).

This Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz 2005 was awarded best Shiraz in the World at the International Wine Challenge, one of three times to be so recognized, in 2001 and the 2014 Oracle Shiraz was awarded the Shiraz Trophy for best Shiraz in the world. 

Oracle is composed from select old vine fruit grown along the estate-owned Golden Hillside Vineyard in Leasingham in the Clare Valley in South Central Australia. Oracle was the first Shiraz released by Kilikanoon’s Founder and Chief Winemaker Kevin Mitchell in the inaugural 1997 vintage and has been released each year except 2011.

This 2005 was consistent with earlier tasting notes back in May and previous last entry back in 2009 when this wine was only five years old. Now three times that age, it still presents the massive blackberry liqueur accented by full bodied blueberry, notes of kirsch, expresso and hints of cinnamon and clove spices.

Dark blackish garnet colored with full body and fine grained approachable well integrated tannins on the long lingering finish. Over the years since the earlier tasting, the berry fruits are starting to give way to a notes of raisin and hints of leather.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=396281

Walla Walla AVA Wine Experience

Walla Walla AVA Wine Experience

In follow up to our Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour, we planned a trip to the Columbia Valley wine country. We traveled to Walla Walla (Washington) to visit the Walla Walla AVA wine appellation there, to visit some favorite producers, and meet and discover some legendary and emerging labels. Our trip yielded new discoveries, wonderful meetings and new/renewed friendships, great wines, great food, history and spectacular scenery. It exceeded our expectations on so many levels, we can't wait to go back, and have much to look forward to on our return visit (s). Immeasurable thanks to Carrie Alexander of Force Majeure Vineyards for hosting us and making some wonderful introductions.

Carrie Alexander and Linda at Force Majeure

As I wrote recently in these pages in our Woodinville Washington Wine Tour report, Washington State wines are coming of their own achieving new heights in quality and recognition. The number of  Washington wineries has increased 400% in the last decade and has grown proportionally as a tourism industry. It is the nation's second largest wine producer. Interestingly, the area is geographically located on approximately the same latitude (46ºN) as some of the great French wine regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

As we discover more incredible wines, its becoming more and more apparent that Washington State wines are on par with the top wines from the world's great wine regions. Yet, for lack of notoriety, in many cases (no pun intended), they represent some great values for great QPR (Quality Price Ratio) wine buys, from casual sipping to serious collecting.

Indeed, I wrote recently in these pages about Long Shadows , a collaborative project by Allan Shoup, former leader of Chateau St Michelle where he introduced Washington State grapes to winemakers from around the world in collaboration to produce quality wines. He founded Long Shadows to produce world class premium wines in Washington. 

Shoup has recruited a top winemaker with expertise and a track record producing best in class wine in several categories or types of wine based on a varietal grape. The resulting Vintners Collection, features a Long Shadows label produced in collaboration with a legendary winemaker in each category. See my Long Shadows Wine Cellars feature for more details.

Washington State wine growing areas are now officially recognized in 14 federally designated American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), also commonly known as appellations.  The vineyards producing wine grapes in the fourteen different appellations lie in the Columbia Valley river basin that cuts through the center of the state from North to South and then turns west separating Oregon from Washington as it heads to the Pacific.

In the Walla Walla AVA, in the southeastern corner of the state, the number of wine producers in the  area has grown to over 150 and the total vineyard acreage has grown from 800 acres in 1999, to 1,300 in 2011 and nearly 3,000 in 2017. 
 
Highlights of our Walla Walla wine and dine experience were:

Visiting the Force Majeure Vineyards and new winery facility site

Rotie Cellars visit and tasting

The Wall Wines Winery visit and tasting

Spring Valley Vineyards Site visits and tasting

Gramercy Cellars tasting

Walla Walla Steak Company wine dinner

Brasserie Four French Bistro lunch and wine Force Majeure wine flight tasting

Touring downtown Walla Walla and surrounds, seeing homes to so many famous labels

The journey to get to Walla Walla County and seeing historic sites and magnificent Washington State geography

Legendary Cayuse

Rotie Cellars and Browne Tasting rooms

Mark Ryan Winery Walla Walla Tasting Room

Canoe Ridge Walla Walla Winery

Woodward Canyon Walla Walla Winery

L'Ecole Walla Walla Winery

Spring Valley Vineyards Walla Walla
Tasting Room

 

 

Watch for upcoming blogposts and updates on our tours, tastings, dining and travel discoveries and experiences.

Spring Valley Vineyards Tasting and Vineyard Visit

Spring Valley Vineyards Tasting and Vineyard Visit

During our recent wine appellation visit to the Walla Walla (Washington) wine region, we visited the Spring Valley Vineyards tasting room and then ventured out to the winery and vineyards. Spring Valley Vineyards is most likely the longest and deepest collection of Washington State wines in our extensive cellar collection, spanning vintages going back a decade and a half. We first discovered Spring Valley Vineyards Uriah Walla Walla (Right Rank Bordeaux) Red Blend dating back to the 2001 vintage. We still hold more than a dozen vintages dating back to the 2004 vintage in our collection.

Hence, a visit to Spring Valley was on our shortlist of winery or vineyard site visits during our Walla Walla appellation visit. We first visited their tasting room downtown Walla Walla. Spring Valley Vineyards have an extensive and growing brand of wines based on the Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot and also a Syrah.

Due to the remoteness and vast distances to many of the Washington State wineries and vineyards, it is commonplace that Washington State producers have tasting rooms retail sites in central locations. The most common site for such tasting rooms is Woodinville, Washington in suburban Seattle which advertises as having more than 130 such tasting rooms. We visited the Seattle suburb last month as part of our Woodinville (Washington) Tasting Experience.

The charming, historic small rural town of Walla Walla, in the center of the Walla Walla Valley wine region in the Southeastern corner of Washington State, is another such site with dozens of tasting rooms, including Spring Valley Vineyards.

The branding of Spring Valley wines is based on the rich family history and heritage. The land that the Corkrum, Derby, and Elvin families farms today has been farmed by the family dating back to the mid 1800’s. Current vineyard owner Shari Corkrum Derby’s grandfather Uriah Corkrum began farming in the area acquired the land now known as Spring Valley in 1910. Shari and Dean Derby planted the first grapes at Spring Valley in 1993 and the first vintage of Estate grown and bottled Spring Valley Vineyard wines were produced with the 1999 vintage. All the wines are named for ancestral members of the family going back to Uriah and Frederick and others. 

In the Spring Valley retail site tasting room, we got to taste their range of primary labels, six labels that span their primary brand. We tasted all six labels from the recent vintage. Two or three vintages were available as boxed sets of the family of labels. No library wines were on offer, or apparent in the retail tasting room.

More on the tasting room wine flight to come.

Wines tasted:

Uriah Red Wine Blend 2014 - Blend: 56% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec
Frederick Red Wine Blend 2015 - Blend: 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec

Katherine Corkrum Cabernet Franc 2016 - Blend: 100% Cabernet Franc

Sharilee Petit Verdot 2014 - Blend: 90% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Franc

Mule Skinner Merlot 2016 - 100% Merlot

Nina Lee Syrah 2015 - Blend: 99% Syrah, 1% Viognier

The Spring Valley Vineyards and wine production facility lie about fifteen miles northeast of downtown Walla Walla. The vineyards are a stark contrast to the vast openness and plains of the surrounding wheat fields that cover the wide vast expanses of the central and eastern parts of the State. The vineyards stand out in stark contrast even on the Google satellite imagery, as shown below.

We drove out Middle Waitsburg Road, around the Walla Walla airport, to Corkrum Road, aptly named for the patriarch ancestor of the Spring Valley producer's family, to the winery and vineyard site. 

There we ran into Dean Derby patriarch, husband to Shari Corkrum Derby, ancester and co-owners of the family business. What a treat and honor to meet Mr. Derby and what a delightful visit we had.
 

The vineyard site sitting amidst over 110 acres of vineyards is open to the public from May to September during posted hours during the week, and at other times by special appointment.

The Spring Valley Vineyards from a distance down Corkrum Road. 

The Spring Valley Vineyards adjacent to the winery site

 The Spring Valley Vineyards adjacent to the winery site

The Winery Production Facility 

Much of the adventure and interest of visiting the region and the Spring Valley site is the magnificent expansive vast vistas of the surrounding hills, as shown below. 

Spring Valley Vineyards continues to expand operations with new vineyard plantings and a growing staff of family members and professionals joining the organization. It is a historic institution in the region and a label of serious quality wines to be sought out and appreciated. It should be on the shortlist of any visit to the Walla Walla appellation.




 

Walls Winery Visit During Walla Walla Wine Experience

The Walls Winery Visit During Walla Walla Wine Experience

One of the highlights of our Walla Walla Wine Experience 2018 was a visit to The Walls Winery, and meeting former tech exec, Founder and CEO, Mike Martin.

The "Walls”, is an imaginative tribute to the Walla Walla regional name and the historic legacy of the Washington State Penitentiary there, also known as 'Concrete Mama', which looms on the outskirts of town, just down the road from some of vineyard sources for their wines.

"Like you, our wines are different."

Legend has it that in the 1880's, the young town of Walla Walla chose to site a prison, rather than a University, within its city limits. While to some this may have seemed an odd decision, to the locals of the time it was more about pride.


The Walls pays tribute to the notorious landmark that has been a cornerstone of the community dating back to 1886. Life behind the “Walls” was memorialized in the book “Concrete Mama”, nickname for the prison, published back in 1981, a compendium of photographs and stories showing the uniqueness of the place including the preponderance of motorcycles behind the gates. The classic book is being republished in an upcoming re-release.

The Walls memorialize the book and stories with a flagship wine,  'Concrete Mama', a big firm Syrah in a large oversized heavy bottle with etched label of an image of Wall's character Stanley Groovey peering over the wall.

The Walls is also a testament as a metaphor for life and the role wine plays in our existence. The owner cites: "You can’t drive into Walla Walla -- to drink wine, play golf, spend time with friends and family -- and not think about life behind those walls. This contradiction is also a personal one as walls have become metaphors in all of our lives --  we put up walls to protect our hearts, we toil within the walls of work constraints, we build walls to defend what’s important to us.

"Nevertheless, as we build walls we’re also always looking for ways we can tear them down. Wine is the river that can overflow, subvert and topple these walls. It is a powerful force in bringing people together and building true community, capturing and preserving memories of time, places and people."

Mike Martin has fun with The Walls branding and marketing. He has created a whimsical cartoonish character Stanley Groovey who adorns the building front, the tasting room, and many of the labels. We laughed at the imagery of a 'Where's Waldo' theme where the character pops up in the vineyards or him appearing dressed in red on Christmas promotions of holiday labels.

The Walls portfolio includes a broad selection of red and white wines with creative and curious names including: Curiositas, The Ramparts, Gaspard, and Stanley Groovy (from Red Mountain); Concrete Mama, and Wonderful Nightmare from the Rocks District of Milton Freewater, and Cheys, Lip Stinger, Martin’s Gold, Cruel Summer from Yakima Valley AVA, and La Lutte and McAndrew from Columbia Gorg.

The Walls source grape from the usual suspects of prime appellations' sites with distinctive terroir in the state. They are developing their own 18-acre Estate vineyard in perhaps the most distinctive place or terroir, the Rocks District of Milton Freewater, 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. 

The Walls also sources grapes from Red Mountain, Yakima Valley and the Columbia River Gorge AVA's.

Yakima Valley was Washington’s first official federally-recognized AVA located along the banks of the Yakima River. The Yakima Valley AVA also has sub appellations of Red Mountain, Rattlesnake Hills and Snipes Mountain.  There are more than 150 wineries with more than 17,000 vineyard acres planted. The Yakima Valley AVA is the largest sub-appellation of the Columbia Valley AVA both in total size and wine-grape acreage.

The Red Mountain AVA is Washington's smallest is typically the warmest growing region in Washington, with daytime averages of 90 degrees and lows dropping below 50. These fluctuations in temperatures promote sugar accumulation with the day’s heat while cool nights promote balanced acidity. Red varietals are dominate in the AVA’s where the sweltering slopes are well-known for Rhone varietals on the upper slopes and Bordeaux varietals on the lower blocks near the valley floor.

The Columbia River Gorge AVA straddles the Columbia River for a stretch of about 15 miles, including 280 square miles in the Cascade foothills above the Columbia River Gorge, near Hood River, Oregon. The Columbia River Gorge is a unique geological site where the mighty Columbia River flows approximately 80 miles from one side of the Cascade Mountain Range to the other. It is the only such passage through any major mountain range in the Western Hemisphere.

The climate and terrain of the wine producing appellation are similar to the French wine regions of Burgundy and the northern Rhone Valley. The cool western end of the Gorge produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; further east provides Pinot Gris and warmer-weather red grapes such as Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernets and Barberas as well as white Rieslings, Gewürztraminers and Viogniers.

Wines tasted:

The Walls McAndrew White Salmon Vineyard Columbia Gorge Chardonnay 2016

This wine is a tribute to 'Doc' William McAndrew, Seattle Surgeon who first planted grapes on Underwood Mountain in the Columbia Gorge in 1972.

This is 100% Chardonnay, sourced from cuttings from Doc’s original plants and is made in a crisp, fresh style using the finest concrete tanks imported from Burgundy. Walls offer it both in his memory and with his “if you can dream it, do it” spirit.

The Walls The Ramparts Red Rhone Blend 2015 - A Southern Rhone Chateauneuf-du-Pape style blend of Grenache (52%), Mouvedre (32%), Counnoise (13%), and Syrah (3%). This is a tribute to the walled city of Avignon, just south of the Chateaunuef-du-Pape appellation, Les Ramparts d'Avignon were built by Medievel Popes to ward off mercenaries.

This wine began as an experiment with this vintage. Walls took what is sometimes called a GSM blend but blended in an otherwise higher percentage of Mourvedre and added another Southern Rhone CDP varietal Counoise resulting in further layers of complexity. They confined it - protecting it - within the cool walls of a concrete tank for three months, producing a favorite wine with dark fruit and wet stone balanced by a light body with bright hints of fresh plum and lilac. The 2015 Ramparts earned a gold medal in the 2018 Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition.

The Walls Gaspard Red Mountain Syrah 2015 - Winemaker Ali writes: "A Legend has it that in 1224 a Knight named Gaspard, wounded and weary from the battles of the Albigensian Crusade, was given permission by the Queen of France to recover atop a granite peak in the storied Hermitage. Through with bloodshed, Gaspard became a hermit but was soon joined by others seeking similar refuge. Together, they began to tend the area’s mythical vines. “It’s crazy to think that almost 800 years ago, a hermit on a hill walled himself off from the world and in doing so, inspired this wine.”

The Walls Curiositas Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 - This was my absolute favorite of the flight. Of course I tend to favor Bordeaux varietals  but I found this especially appealing.

The fruit for this was sourced from the Obelisco Vineyard on the higher slopes of the Red Mountain AVA. The vines get increased exposure to the sun and are planted in higher density to further stress the grapes. The result is a wine of great complexity but one that is elegant and lush, yet subtle with tones the winemaker describes as possessing 'freshness that evokes a Margaux-styled fragrant' Cabernet' I grabbed a case of this and am eager to try it home and share with my wine buddies and friends with grilled steak. 

The Walls Stanley Groovey Red Mountain Red Wine 2015 -  This is a complex unique blend of 55% Touriga Nacional, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5% Souzao, 9% Tinta Cao, 1.5% Tempranillo. While I would not call this the 'signature' wine of The Walls, it is their namesake wine, named for their signature branded character.

They whimsically write about this wine:

"You may not have heard of Stanley Groovy, and that’s OK. We’ll tell you he’s a strange -- but delightful -- guy, much more complex than he lets on, despite his “regular guy” exterior. Inside, he’s groovy -- just like the wine in this bottle. Trying to describe this wine is like trying to describe the inside of the fine artist’s mind; you may say you “get it” but really, no one gets it. And this is why what’s in this bottle will remain in generalities - simple on the outside, complex and groovy on the inside.'

The complexity and uniqueness of the wine is indicated by the diverse varied blend of varietal grapes from Portugal accenting Cabernet Sauvignon, the principle grape of Bordeaux.  

The Walls continue, in describing this wine: "Stanley Groovy isn’t afraid to stray from the crowd — he's different and he knows it, just like the wine in this bottle. Cabernet Sauvignon lends depth and complexity while intense Portuguese varietals bring a whole lot of groovy. The result? A wine that celebrates the beauty of being “different” — something Stanley is proud to lend his name to.'

The Walls 'Concrete Mama' Walla Walla Valley Syrah 2015 - This is a blend of 91% Syrah from the Stoney Vine Vineyard and 9% Grenache from the River Rock Vineyard from the Walla Walla AVA.

This is the second vintage of this label, named for the State Penitentiary near the winery on the outskirts of town, bearing the same nickname as this wine, 'Concrete Mama'.

The Walls draws the comparison between the two:

"In the 1880's Walla Walla chose to site a prison, rather than a University, within its city limits.
While to some this may have seemed an odd decision, to the locals of the time it was more about pride.'

"Walla Wallans were not ones to shy away from hard work; in fact, the harder the work the greater the sense of community pride. “Concrete Mama” still sits sentinel above our little town. Life is hard inside her walls, but for those who make it out, a new beginning beckons. This wine bears her nickname because nature’s struggle of transforming these Rocks District grapes into fine wine took place within similar walls of concrete, with loads of hard work and great community pride. Concrete Mama leaves these Walls full of promise. All you have to do is give it a chance on “the outside”.'
This is dark inky purple plum and ruby colored, big, bold and concentrated dense rich ripe black currant and black raspberry fruits accented by layers of olive tapenade, tobacco and pepper.

RM 94 points.

https://www.thewallsvineyards.com/

Rotie Cellars Walla Walla Rhone Style Blend Wines

Rotie Cellars Walla Walla Rhone Style Blend Wines

One of the highlights of our Walla Walla Washington Wine Experience 2018 was a visit to Rotie Cellars and discovering their Rhône Style red blend wines. Their mission is to craft traditional Rhône Blends with Washington State fruit. In the words of Sean Boyd owner, winemaker, "this means lower alcohol, less ripe, less oak, balanced, finesse driven, mouth coating wines".

We were hosted at their Walla Walla tasting room in the city centre by Madde Richards (right), head of hospitality and sales who keeps busy overseeing the myriad of details in creating a brand, building distribution and running the marketing operations. Note the Rocks District 'soil' in the picture behind us, and below.

Maddie hails from Dallas and spent time in Chicago before returning West where she enjoys horseback riding and camping with her husband, daughter and their pair of large dogs.

Like many of the Washington State producers, due to the remoteness of the Central Washington and Walla Walla regions, Rotie have a tasting room in Seattle. They also have a tasting room in downtown Walla Walla which is coming of its own as a major wine producing area and is becoming a tourist destination accordingly.

In the Walla Walla AVA, in the southeastern corner of the state, the number of wine producers has grown to over 150 and the total vineyard acreage has grown from 800 acres in 1999, to 1,300 in 2011 and nearly 3,000 in 2017. 

We knew going in that Washington State was producing some world class wines sourced from local fruit in both Rhône and Bordeaux varietals and styles. Rotie epitomizes classic Rhône wines in the styles of both the northern and southern Rhône wine regions. 

The Rhône is one of the major rivers of Europe flowing from the Swiss Alps to Geneva, then forming the border between Switzerland and France, running west to Lyon in the center of France, then flowing south through Avignon in the Southern Rhone wine region, emptying into the Mediterranean west of Marseille. 

The northern Rhône river valley experiences a mid-European climate with harsh winters but warm summers. The southern Rhône region has a more Mediterranean climate with milder winters and hot summers. A geologic feature of the region is the large pebble gravelly soil which absorb the heat of the sun during the day and serves to keep the vines warm at night.

Rocky soil at Chateau Beaucastel in Chateauneuf du Pape

Before this trip, I did not realize or appreciate how similar the area is to the classic wine appellations of the Rhône. The terroir soil composition in the Rocks District of Milton Freewater, the newest appellation in Washington State that straddles both sides of the Washington Oregon border, is amazingly like that in the Southern Rhône appellation of Chateauneuf du Pape (right).

The name Rotie conjures images of the Northern Rhone wine district Côte-Rôtie where the vineyards are comprised of the steep slopes facing the river with rocky soils that form stone walls.

Rotie sources grapes from the well known prime appellations' sites with distinctive terroir across the state. Starting with the 2015 vintage, their Northern Blend is 100% Rocks District fruit from their 18 acre Estate vineyards - with 7.5 acres coming on line in Grenache, another 7.5 in Syrah, and a half acre in Viognier. The Rocks District of Milton Freewater is the country’s newest AVA. Wine Spectator calls the AVA “perhaps America’s most distinctive example of terroir." 

Rotie are building a winery with a tasting room at the Rock's District estate location. The unique riverbed of cobblestones and pebbles is as much as two hundred feet deep, formed 12,000 to 15,000 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. 

Rotie Cellars is the vision, handiwork and artcraft of owner winemaker Sean Boyd. He started his career in oil and gas exploration utilizing his degree in geology. He pursued his passion for wine working from the bottom up learning the craft and business first at Waters Winery in 2004, and eventually stepping out on his own in 2007.

Sean's academic studies and early work in geology prepared him well to produce authentic wines using natural techniques and methods to reflect the terroir or sense of place that results from the vineyard sites where the grapes are grown. He believes great wine happens mostly in the vineyard, and that his main job is to stay out of nature’s way. The result is Rotie wines that reflect the style that Sean loves to drink — French-style Rhône blends. 

The wines:

The Spring and Summer Releases ....

Rotie Cellars Rose' 2016

This is 100% Mourvedre from the Painted Hills Wine District

Rotie Cellars Southern Rhone White 2017 

This is a blend of 65% Viognier, 18% Rousanne and 17% Marsanne. 800 cases are produced. 

This is straw colored and light medium bodied, it opens with pineapple accented by citrus fruits turning to hints of apricot and honeysuckle and finishing with notes of peach with a nice bright crisp acid finish. This has received 93 points by Wine Advocate. 

Rotie Cellars Southern Rhone Blend 2016

This is a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah. Fruit for this is sourced from Alder Ridge. 

Garnet colored with medium body, it resembles the highlights of a Southern Rhone from Gigondas or Vacqueyras (lesser appellations to the better known Chateauneuf-du-Pape - known for Grenache based wines) with accents of white pepper on the black currant, black berry and raspberry fruits.

The 2015 of the label was awarded 94 points by Wine Advocate.

Rotie Cellars Northern Rhone Blend 2016

This is a blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier.

Sourced from 100% Estate fruit from Rotie's Rocks District estate vineyard. This is a big full bodied fruit forward wine with structure by nicely polished aromatic dark fruits accented by notes of olive tapenade and bacon fat  

This 2015 label was awarded 95 points by Wine Advocate. 

The Fall release wines ...

Rotie Cellars 'Little G' Grenache 2016

This is a Grenache sourced from the Mary Hill Winery Rock Quarry land in the Columbia Gorge in western Oregon. 

This is smooth and polished - a Grenache wine discovery for folks not familiar with the varietal. Garnet colored medium bodied with bright vibrant raspberry and currant fruits accented by tobacco leaf and black tea notes.

Rotie Cellars  Hommage Red Blend 2015

 

Like the Southern Rhone Blend, this is a blend of select fruit - 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah.

This is dark inky blackish garnet colored, full bodied,  structured but nicely balanced black berry accented by blue fruits with tones of anise and dark mocha chocolate. 

Rotie Cellars DRE 2016

This is 100% Mourvedre. I've never experienced or appreciated what Mourvedre is capable of or how it contributes to the blend in the CDP (Chateauneuf du Papes). This is remarkable and a case study in this varietal. What a discovery! Is this to CDP what Petit Verdot is to Bordeaux?

Dark, full bodied, structured and muscular with black berry and boysenbarry fruits on layers of tobacco, spice box and white pepper on a long lingering tongue coating finish. 

Several of these wines are allocated and available or preferenced to Club Members. In Chicago, we've sourced these wines from Vin Chicago. With limited production and increasing notoriety for Washington State, Walla Walla, and the Rocks District - get on the bandwagon and the Club to source these wines while they are available. And acquire and store these for future enjoyment, and before the prices escalate as they become more well known and more in demand.

NOTE that Rotie are offering LIFETIME price protection on allocated Club wines at the price in effect when joining, and $25 flat rate shipping in the 48 States, as well as complimentary tastings. 

We look forward to further explorations in Rotie wines. Watch for them, and pick them up while you can.


https://www.rotiecellars.com/