While Washington’s 2007 crop of wines will be covered in depth over the next year or three, it’s not too early to say that this vintage will be tricky in spots, due to rainy, cooler weather during the latter half of the harvest, which may have affected the later-ripening cabernet. Certainly, the state’s growers had become spoiled by a trio of clement seasons that offered favorable conditions and atypically long hang time for their grapes to develop even greater intensity of varietal character than usual—and it’s clear from my tastings that every vintage since 2000 has yielded many fine bottles.

In the following report on my extensive tastings in Washington this summer and in New York this fall, tasting notes are provided only for wines I rated 87 points or higher. Many additional soundly made wines are simply listed as “also recommended.” As a measure of the steady improvement shown by Washington State wine in the past couple of years, and especially the high quality of recent vintages, you’ll see far more 87+ wines than ever before.

Recent vintages. This summer I enjoyed my first in-depth look at big reds from Washington’s highly promising 2005 vintage. A warm September without extremes of heat made for longer hang time, and resulted in many fresh white wines and dense reds. Ben Smith (Cadence Winery) noted that the colors in 2005 were more saturated than those of the previous year (and were darker still in 2006!). Producers who are particularly high on 2005 cite the energy of these wines, and winemakers like Smith, Paul Golitzin (Quilceda Creek) and Bob Betz (Betz Family Cellars) believe that they have made powerful, firmly structured wines that will be unusually long-lived. Other winemakers I tasted with in September made reference to the thorough ripeness and overall balance of their 2005s. Chris Figgins, who told me that he did no acidification in 2005, reported that the fruit showed very good physiological ripeness without the exaggerated sugar levels of the previous harvest.

Two thousand four was another excellent year for quality in Washington State, although a brutal January freeze sharply cut back production in some areas, particularly in the Walla Walla Valley. It was essential to take steps in the vineyards to ameliorate the uneven ripening that could occur where the secondary buds competed with the primary buds that survived the winter freeze. This was a very warm year, and some growers started harvesting their fruit on the early side, but September turned cooler, with some rain, allowing many growers to let their fruit hang. A relaxed harvest made for better conditions than the previous year, when a high percentage of fruit had been picked in very hot conditions. As a rule, pHs are healthy in 2004 and berry size was small, but there are also plenty of wines with unwieldy alcohol levels and low acidity.

Two thousand six saw a fairly even growing season, with clear skies, cool nights and mild temperatures through much of September and October, with an absence of heat bursts. As a rule, growers were able to let the fruit hang (in some cases, they had no choice, as ripening came slowly), and the grapes maintained sound acidity and generally did not reach excessive sugar levels. Needless to say, these conditions were conducive to making fresh white wines, but they also produced red wines with density and freshness. Bob Betz described his young 2006s as fairly big and thick wines, “but juicy.”

What I discovered. Among the highlights of my recent tastings: Numerous viognier bottlings that combine a fleshiness of texture with lively, fruit-driven aromas reminiscent of the northern Rhône. Interesting syrahs from emerging producers who appear to have a working knowledge of French wine (best of all, some of these bottlings really taste like syrah, rather than simply another flavor of red wine). A compelling new grenache from the multitalented Christophe Baron (Cayuse), one hopes the first of many from Washington State. A growing number of suave and understated cabernets and Bordeaux blends that are closer in character to Bordeaux than to California in the way they combine ripe flavors, harmonious oak and good inner-mouth verve with moderate levels of alcohol. Continued excellence from many of the state’s most dependable sources, such as Andrew Will Winery, Betz, Cadence, Cayuse Winery, DeLille Cellars, Leonetti Cellars, Owen Roe, Quilceda Cree and Soos Creek Wine Cellars. And of course, as always, several exciting emerging producers—or at least names new to this reviewer—and wineries on a steep upward curve: àMaurice, Chateau Rollat, Brian Carter Cellars, Gramercy Cellars, Mark Ryan Winery and Waters Winery, to name just a few.

On the downside are the usual suspects and some new offenders who are making dilute, green, or ungenerous wines. I tasted far too many wines killed by heavyhanded use of oak, or overextraction from young-vine material that can’t support it. Many wines continue to show high levels of volatile acidity or incipient oxidative character from sloppy élevage. And, of course, as always, there’s the essential simplicity that characterizes so many New World wines made by winemakers who are learning on the job. Today, Washington State produces many, many medium-to-full-bodied wines that have at least the dimensions of serious wine, and some of these have already garnered customer support and positive press in the Northwest. But the critic’s challenge should be to differentiate between wines that are fresh, balanced, complex and reasonably refined and those that are merely rough approximations of world-class wine.

Washington State has enjoyed a succession of warm vintages in recent years, and it's quite likely that 2005 will turn out to be the best of them. In recent months I tasted some excellent white wines from this near-ideal growing season without extreme heat, but the reds will be for next year's coverage. Still, there was no mistaking the excitement of producers, many of whom told me that 2005 was a potential five-star vintage for the state, as a leisurely, drawn-out harvest yielded grapes with ideal balance and unusual complexity. Several told me that they have never made better red wines in their careers.

Many of the new releases I tried this summer and early fall were reds from 2004, a vintage that produced big wines with generally healthier pHs and a slightly cooler character than the lush, high-alcohol 2003s, which were mostly made from ripe grapes that were harvested quickly during a hot spell in September. In 2004, which was also plenty warm, many growers could safely allow their fruit to hang on the vines into October. It must be noted that 2004 began with a damaging freeze in early January, which was generally at its most destructive in Walla Walla Valley. Some vineyards did not produce grapes, while others had difficulty ripening their fruit properly. So there's a lot of "Columbia Valley" fruit in numerous 2004 Walla Walla bottlings, as growers were forced to go outside their home base to purchase grapes.

While a majority of producers rate 2003 slightly behind 2002 and 2004, this opinion is by no means unanimous. Veteran winemaker Mike Januick, for example, noted that 2003 "elevated itself" in barrel, and told me he considers the vintage to be better than '02. Of course, he added, all vintages since 2000 have been above average. Lance Baer prefers '03 to '04, especially for cabernet sauvignon. "For me, 2004 got ripe but it's not intense enough." Bob Betz is also a fan of the 2003s for their ripe middle palates and sheer sweetness, and pointed out that they have put on fat with time in bottle. But the 2004s are more primary and more powerfully structured, he says.

Among recent trends in Washington are the increasing popularity of viognier, Washington's fastest growing white variety, and.the continuing explosion of new syrah bottlings. There were less than 100 acres of syrah vines in Washington as recently as 1988; today there are about 2,500! On the Bordeaux side of the Washington State gene pool, many growers are now planting petit verdot, a grape that is working its way into an ever-higher percentage of red blends from Washington. Malbec is also felt to have a future in Washington's high-desert climate, though it will be at least a few more years before the likely success of this grape can be properly assessed. More important, though, cabernet franc continues to grow in popularity, and my tastings this year confirm that this variety is introducing greater aromatic complexity into many of the state's best Bordeaux blends. As cabernet franc grows in popularity, merlot continues to wane. There are relatively few varietal merlot bottlings left, and many of the best blends feature less merlot today than ever before.

On the following pages are recommended new releases from the overwhelming majority of Washington's top producers. Additional wines from these producers that rated 83 or 84 points are listed with an asterisk. As in past years, I tasted a Missoula flood of lesser bottlings that do not merit your interest; these wines are not included in my coverage.

Washington State's best bottles continue to be well worth pursuing, as recent vintages have been conducive to making highly satisfying red wine.While Washington's goodies don't come cheap, prices are rarely laughable, as prices for second-tier California cabernets and merlots tend to be.The superstars in my tastings this year, which were conducted mostly in Washington in late July, will come as no surprise to wine lovers who track this state's wines:Andrew Will, Betz Family Winery, Cadence Winery, Cayuse Vineyards and Quilceda Creek Vintners.I also found a high level of quality from Januik Winery, Leonetti Cellars, Matthews Cellars, McCrea Cellars, Northstar, Owen Roe, Rockblock Cellars, Ross Andrew Winery, Sineann and Woodward Canyon Winery.

Here are some brief conclusions drawn from my extensive tastings of current releases from more than 80 wineries this summer.A growing number of the top Washington State red wines are careful blends of two or more Bordeaux varieties.But since these blends often combine fruit from two or more vineyards, relatively few wines to date really showcase a single site.In my experience, only a couple of the state's vineyards have proven that they can consistently produce complete wines from a single variety (Ciel du Cheval and Seven Hills are two that spring to mind).Not surprisingly, a fuller range of Bordeaux red varieties is now being planted in numerous important vineyards (e.g., Champoux, formerly Mercer Ranch).More than one Washington winemaker told me of his plans to offer only vineyard-designated wines in the future, as opposed to varietally labeled bottlings.This approach may well be the best way to solidify Washington's position on the world wine map over the longer term.

One trend that may be counterproductive is the tendency of some producers to try to compete with the superrich cult cabernets of Napa Valley.These folks are aware of the steep prices some California wines continue to fetch, and they'd like a piece of this action.But attempting to craft ever-larger, more extracted and darker wines (often by picking overripe fruit and then being forced to acidify, or even to add water to bring down alcohol levels and finish fermentations) risks sacrificing the features that make Washington's wines so captivating:their combination of ripe tannins, sound acids, moderate alcohol and intense fresh fruit flavors that avoid going porty or pruney.

Besides all the good stuff that I sampled, there is also a shocking amount of really bad wine coming out of the state.The group tasting I do each year that focuses on wineries located in Yakima Valley (technically, between Yakima and Richland) is routinely one of the grimmest events of my year.This July, fully half of the wines at this tasting showed noticeable flaws, most frequently oxidation or excessive volatile acidity, crude oakiness, or evidence of seriously underripe or overcropped fruit (i.e., strongly herbaceous aromas and flavors; obvious dilution; tart, dry or invisible finishes).But to be fair to Yakima Valley, this area is also the home of some of Washington State's most glorious vineyards.Many of the state's elite producers, including those based in Walla Walla to the east, or in the Seattle area, work largely with Yakima fruit.

White wines are steadily disappearing in favor of reds, and in most cases this is all to the good.In my tastings this summer, I found some very good chardonnays, rieslings and sauvignon blancs, and a few viogniers that indicate that this variety has a bright future here, but it is rare that a Washington State white wine possesses the balance and complexity to merit an outstanding rating.

A brief word on recent vintages.Vintage 1999 remains a personal favorite of mine for its sharply delineated, intense, structured reds from a long, cool growing season.Two thousand was very good but 2001 may be even better:some insiders describe the latter set of wines as both riper and higher in acidity than the 2000s, with brighter, more expressive fruit flavors and more obvious sex appeal.My early look at some 2002s suggests that this harvest has also produced many strong red wines.Veteran winemaker Mike Januik told me he ranked 2002 among the top four vintages of the past two decades, along with 1987, 1994 and 1999.

This year I tasted recommendable bottlings from nearly 60 producers.Additional wines from these producers that rated 83 or 84 points are listed with an asterisk.(I also tasted one or more releases that did not rate at least 85 points from another two dozen or more wineries.)
 

Washington State wines in general remain reasonably priced. At the high end, the reds are not cheap, but the finest examples match up well against the best cabernet- and merlot-based wines from Bordeaux and California. Many Washington insiders still maintain that merlot is the state star red variety, but with each passing year I am leaning toward its cabernet sauvignons. And blends of these varieties, often with some cabernet franc added to the mix, are increasingly the most complete wines of all. Today, a new generation of winemakers is more likely than ever before to mix and match juice from multiple varieties and two or more vineyard sites to make better wines. Still, it worth stating the obvious: Washington State may now be the most important source of high-quality merlot outside the right bank of Bordeaux.

During my extensive tastings of current and upcoming releases in Washington in July, and subsequently in New York, I found numerous red wines meriting outstanding ratings. Still, it only the top dozen or so producers who really understand the importance of controlling vine yields. Too many estates seem loath to do the shorter pruning and fruit-thinning necessary to get fully ripe flavors and tannins and serious concentration. At a large group tasting I did of Yakima Valley wines, for example, I waded through a dismal succession of green, dilute, dry-edged merlots and cabernets. This tasting also suggested that many of Washington winemakers are not aware of - or simply ignore - the critical importance of keeping their barrels topped.

Still, there are more rich, satisfying Washington State red wines on the market today than ever before, thanks to a string of favorable vintages and the continuing emergence of talented new winemakers. The day before the depressing Yakima event, I tasted a much more impressive set of wines in Walla Walla, all from wineries based in or around that town. There were a host of standouts as well the day after the Yakima debacle, at a major tasting in the Seattle area of the best wines from the so-called Westside winemakers - those who live on the cooler coastal side of the Cascades even though their fruit comes almost entirely from the high desert in Yakima and Walla Walla Valley. The best of today Washington State cabernets, merlots and blends are world-class wines with substantial early appeal and at least medium-term aging potential.

Recent vintages. Most of the reds I tasted were from 2000 and 1999, the whites from 2001 and 2000. My early look at 2001, a moderate growing season that featured very warm fall temperatures, suggests that many white wines benefitted from better than average ripeness while being picked early enough to retain sound acidity. The advance word on the reds is that the vintage produced some of Washington richest wines to date.

By many accounts, the highly successful 2000 growing season produced red wines that combine the nearly exotic ripeness of 1998 and the structure of 1999, and my tastings confirmed that view. The climate was essentially benign, with a mild spring and a warmer than normal summer leading to an early veraison. Moderate temperatures in the early fall allowed for extended hang time and steady flavor accumulation. Acidity levels were generally sound, even in the white varieties. Merlot ripened earlier than in 1999, giving concentrated fruit and fully mature flavors. Still, more than one insider maintained that vintage 2000 favored cabernet sauvignon, while '99 was better for merlot than for cabernet.

Nineteen ninety-nine yielded a crop of subtle, classic merlots and cabernets. This was one of Washington coolest growing seasons on record; sustained hot weather did not arrive until August. After a very late veraison, serious growers carried out considerable fruit thinning to ensure that the rest of the grapes got ripe. The weather then remained mostly warm and dry in September and early October, with very cool nighttime temperatures helping the fruit retain healthy levels of acidity. Many Washington State producers consider 1999 the best vintage of the '90s, thanks to its combination of high grape sugars and better than average acids.

This year I tasted recommendable bottlings under no fewer than 59 labels, up from 51 last year and 44 in 2000. Additional wines from these producers that rated 83 or 84 points are listed with an asterisk. (I also tasted one or more releases that did not rate at least 85 points from another 17 wineries.)