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Ross Andrew Winery - Reviews
Reviews from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Nov/Dec 2009
November 30, 2009
2008 Ross Andrew Winery Celilo Vineyard Pinot Gris 90 Points
The 2008 Celilo Vineyard Pinot Gris offers up a captivating bouquet of melon, citrus, tangerine zest, and mineral. This leads to a crisp, fruity, dry finish with excellent depth and concentration. Enjoy this crowd pleaser over the next three years.
Reviews from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Nov/Dec 2009
November 1, 2009
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 91 Points
Includes 17% Merlot. Expressive aromas of black fruits, minerals and graphite, plus a whiff of menthol. Round, sweet and accessible, with palate-saturating dark berry, black cherry and tobacco flavors. Very sexy, round wine, finishing with substantial but sweet tannins. This is actually a shade under 14% alcohol. A very strong set of new releases from this producer, virtually all of them showing more generosity of texture than last year's bottlings.
2007 Boushey Vineyard Syrah, Columbia Valley 91 Points
Bright medium ruby-red. Vibrant raspberry, blueberry, smoked meat and floral aromas. Sweet and lush but lively in the mouth, offering a superb combination of fat and floral lift, along with a subtle saline character. The broad, sweetly tannic finish really saturates the mouth with blueberry perfume. This represents a blend of three clones from young vines.
2008 MEADOW, Oregon White Wine 89 Points
A Pinot Blanc dominant blend. Sweet aromas of stone and soft citrus fruits, spices and flowers. Fresh and enticing, with a captivating sweetness and lovely aromatic lift to the flavors of orange and apricot. A very appealing fruit-driven wine with a supple aftertaste.
2008 Celilo Vineyard Pinot Gris Columbia Gorge 90 Points
Aromas of stone and citrus fruits. Supple and sweet but with a compellingly juicy character from brisk acidity. Boasts unusual concentration and depth of flavor for Washington pinot gris. The long finish offers lovely sweetness of apple and apricot fruit. Fully two-thirds of the crop was dropped to get the rest ripe, and the harvest did not take place until October 23.
New Releases from Washington State
By Stephen Tanzer
Nov/Dec 09
If this year’s coverage of new releases from Washington State is longer than ever before, that’s because there are more wines worthy of your notice than previously. Sure, I’m still depressed by the number of oxidized, hollow or otherwise flawed wines I taste on my annual visit to Washington State, and amazed that the offending wineries can find homes for these bottles. But today’s stiff competition to sell wine in a difficult economic environment, in conjunction with new plantings of the right varieties in the right sites, the steady maturation of existing vines, and more careful winemaking and élevage, have enabled previous underperformers to make solid wines and allowed Washington’s stars to take their wines to a yet higher level of quality.
Like so many winemakers in California, growers in Washington once harvested strictly on brix levels whether the grapes had achieved phenolic ripeness or not. Then they got the idea that they needed to pick their grapes with fully brown seeds in order to make great wine; and now they’re coming around to thinking that the ideal time to harvest lies somewhere between these two extremes. The result is fresher, better balanced wines that are more likely to enjoy a positive evolution in bottle.
It helps, too, that Washington has enjoyed a favorable recent string of vintages. Many of the new reds I tasted in recent months are from 2007, a vintage most producers are thrilled with. This reasonably warm and even growing season, which avoided serious heat spikes, yielded dense, complex, elegant wines with vibrancy, including many very good whites. Some producers say their 2007s combine the structure and ripeness of the 2005s with the verve of the 2006s, and that the vintage looks to be one of the great ones for Washington. Although the best ’07s I tasted in recent months have the stuffing and balance to be agers, they are often so deep, juicy and attractively fruity now that it’s hard to defer gratification. Many of these wines seem even fresher than the 2006s, and in fact numerous growers reported that these wines have lower pHs and more energy than the previous vintage.
The first half of the 2008 growing season was cooler than usual, and the flowering, budbreak and veraison were up to two weeks later than the norm. But then a very warm August and favorable September weather helped to bring the fruit to near-perfect ripeness, and although the harvest took place from several days to two or three weeks later than that of 2007, the state’s major viticultural areas were lucky enough not to be hit by early frost or fall rains (as the later pickers were in 2009). My early look at the reds suggests that the vintage’s better examples are characterized by very good color, solid backbone, and enticing floral aromatics. Not surprisingly, 2008 appears to be a very good vintage for white wines too. In many cases, alcohol levels, for reds as well as whites, are lower than in recent vintages.
As always, the trickiest category of wines, both for me to score and for consumers to buy, are those that rate in the 87 to 89 point range (i.e., very good but not outstanding). This range includes well-made, nicely balanced and rather refined wines that simply lack the concentration, depth and complexity to merit 90-point ratings. That’s no knock on their quality: in many cases, talented winemakers have done a wonderful job with fruit from very young vines. But this scoring range also includes many other very ripe, overextracted and chunky wines that must be recognized for their sweetness and strength of material, but that come off as a bit heavyhanded and unrefined. Some of these wines get much higher scores in other publications, but I don’t find enough flavor complexity, definition or textural appeal to get overly excited about them. And I doubt that most readers of this publication will either.
Varieties in and out of favor. A sick joke going around Washington State is not a bit funny to many growers. Question: “What’s the difference between syrah and syphilis?” Answer: “At least you can get rid of a case of syphilis.” I should note that many of California’s producers saw their syrahs dead in the marketplace even before the infection spread to Washington. It remains to be seen what will happen to the newest plantings of syrah, especially those that are not in the best sites. There are already instances of producers blending syrah with cabernet, and this trend may continue. The fact that syrah is a tough sell, whether in Washington or California, is a real shame, as there are more superb examples now being produced in both areas than ever before. And in Washington State, a good percentage of them are done in a northern Rhône style that should offer considerable appeal for Francophiles. The best syrahs I tasted in recent months were among the most exciting wines of my tastings.
This year I saw a few new malbec bottlings of interest, but as these wines are not generally in the under-$15 range, they don’t yet represent much of a threat to bottlings from Argentina. The number of grenache bottlings is also on the rise, and some of these are quite intriguing. Meanwhile, the number of really good varietally labeled merlots continues to contract: today they can be counted on the fingers of two hands (a couple that come to mind are examples from Abeja and Woodward Canyon). Bordeaux blends are becoming more and more interesting, with clever winemakers making increasing use of grapes like cabernet franc and petit verdot planted in the right sites, and crafting more complex and complete wines in the process.
All of the following wines were tasted in Washington and in New York in the past four months.
Reviews from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate July/August 2008
August 18, 2009
2005 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon contains 4% Merlot with the fruit sourced from three top-notch vineyards. Deep crimson-colored, it offers up aromas of cedar, tobacco, red and black currants, and black cherry. Full-bodied, ripe, and structured on the palate, it has excellent depth of flavor and outstanding concentration. Give it 2-3 years in the cellar and drink it from 2012 to 2020.
2007 Celilo Vineyard, Columbia Gorge AVA 91 Points
The 2007 Pinot Gris Celilo Vineyard, from a superb terroir for white wine grapes, is medium straw-colored with aromas of apricots, tangerine, spring flowers, and mineral. On the palate, it is crisp, refreshing, vibrant, and balanced. Dry, mouth-filling, and long, there are a great many Alsace wineries that would be proud to turn out a Pinot Gris of this quality.
2007 MEADOW, Oregon White Wine 90 Points
The 2007 Meadow is a Pinot Blanc [dominant] blend sourced from Oregon’s Willamette and Rogue Valleys. Medium straw-colored, it has an enticing bouquet of mineral, spice box, floral notes, melon, and tropical fruits. Complex, ripe, and lively, it is an ideal aperitif wine reminiscent of the village blends produced by Marcel Deiss in Alsace.
2006 Boushey Vineyard Syrah, Columbia Valley 91 Points
The 2006 Syrah Boushey Vineyard is a blend of three clones from this renowned terroir. Dark ruby/purple, it offers up a smoky, spicy nose featuring notes of meat, bacon, and blueberry. Layered and ripe on the palate with gobs of spicy, sleek blue and black fruits, this tasty, balanced wine will evolve for 2-3 years and be at its best from 2010 to 2017.
2005 Red Table Wine Columbia Valley 89 Points
The 2005 Red Table Wine, a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot sourced from three premier vineyards. Smoky, forward, ripe, and sweetly-fruited, the wine has layers of flavor, good balance, and a mediumlong finish. Drink this pleasing effort over the next 4-5 years.
Reviews from Wine Enthusiast Magazine July/August 2008
August 18, 2009
2006 Boushey Vineyard Syrah, Columbia Valley 91 Points
A blend of three new Syrah clones that were fermented separately, then blended into a satisfying, though still young and somewhat jagged wine that will benefit from more bottle age. It comes out toasty and gamy, with undertones of cured meat, stiff tannins and moist earth. The classic Boushey vineyard flavors of herb, green tea and cured meats are here in abundance. — P.G. (12/31/2008)
Also penned as of the Best Washington wines of 2008
2005 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon contains 4% Merlot with the fruit sourced from three top-notch vineyards. Deep crimson-colored, it offers up aromas of cedar, tobacco, red and black currants, and black cherry. Full-bodied, ripe, and structured on the palate, it has excellent depth of flavor and outstanding concentration. Give it 2-3 years in the cellar and drink it from 2012 to 2020.
2007 Celilo Vineyard, Columbia Gorge AVA 89 Points
This is delicious, from 28-year-old vines at the exceptional Celilo Vineyard in Washington’s Columbia Gorge AVA. Bone dry and dappled with spice, this elegant wine has exceptional mouthfeel and length. It’s crisp, subtle and distinctive. — P.G. (12/15/2008)
2007 MEADOW, Oregon White Wine 88 Points
This is the first vintage for this spicy tasting room white. It’s lightly spritzy, crisp and bone dry, with white pepper and tart citrus skin. The four grapes in the blend—Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewürztraminer — complement each other without losing their individuality. Persistent and very refreshing this is a quintessential summer wine. — P.G. (12/15/2008)
2005 Red Table Wine Columbia Valley 88 Points
There’s a lot of Boushey vineyard Cabernet, a little Kiona vineyard Cab and a little Alder Ridge vineyard Merlot in this blend. Bright and spicy, it has deliciously lively plum and currant fruit, hints of loam and coffee, and natural acids that keep it buoyant through the finish. — P.G. (12/31/2008)
Reviews from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Nov/Dec 2008
November 1, 2008
2006 Boushey Vineyard Syrah Columbia Valley 88(+?) Points
Good deep ruby-red. Black fruits complicated by tar, chocolate and meat on the nose. Supple and complex in the mouth, if still a bit stunted by the bottling. Blackberry, licorice and floral flavors show a slightly roasted aspect and a note of game.
2007 Pinot Gris Celilo Vineyard Columbia Gorge 89 Points
($16) Bright aromas of lemon, orange and butter, complicated by a minty nuance. Juicy and intense, with subtle yet palate-staining fruit and a dusty, almost glyceral impression of extract. Reportedly made from a crop level under three tons per acre, and it shows.
2007 MEADOW, Oregon White Wine 87 Points
($16; a blend of pinot blanc, gewurztraminer, riesling and pinot gris, all done in stainless steel) Pale color. Crisp, floral aromas. Juicy and quite dry, with subtly aromatic flavors of citrus peel, minerals, spices and wild flowers. Quite dry, almost austere. Should make a light and easy-drinking deck wine.
New Releases from Washington State
By Stephen Tanzer
Nov/Dec 08
At a time when some of Washington’s most thoughtful winemakers are considering how they might make ripe, satisfying wines at lower alcohol levels, recent vintages have brought a return to more normal conditions following the 2003-2005 trio of very warm years. In my extensive tastings of Washington wines in Seattle and in Walla Walla Valley at the end of July and in recent weeks back in New York, I sampled 2006 reds from most of the state’s best producers, and I’m happy to report that this was a year that benefited from a more leisurely ripening process. There was a single heat spike in August but the weather cooled off at harvest time and growers could generally pick at their leisure, often well into October. The wines show fresher natural acidity than the 2005s, and in many cases more complexity. With healthier pHs, these wines are likely to enjoy a slow and leisurely development in bottle.
Two thousand seven is also quite different in character from recent hot years like 2005 and 2003, and I was particularly impressed by the freshness of the white wines I tasted—not just viogniers but rieslings, sauvignon/semillon blends and even chardonnays. Early evidence is that 2007 is an exceptional vintage for Washington’s white wines. But with no burst of heat at the end, it was a challenge to get the cabernet fruit fully ripe in some sites, especially where crop loads were too heavy.
Today, many Washington growers are harvesting smarter: they’re picking on flavor profile rather than on Brix levels, waiting for the acids to go down. At the same time, they know they need healthy acidity to make fresh wines, and they would like to rely less on acidification. While growing seasons like ’06 and ’07 (and probably ’08 as well) have been conducive to making wines in this style, there will still remain the longer-term challenge of getting fruit phenolically ripe before grape sugars skyrocket and acidity levels plunge. Hence the constant search for cooler and generally higher-altitude sites with less brutal exposure to the sun, more air movement, and a potentially longer and less extreme growing season.
My annual trip to Washington is always a voyage of discovery, and this year I had the impression of experiencing early releases—and some barrel samples—from more potential future stars than ever before (perhaps not a surprise, as nearly 80 of the state’s roughly 540 wineries will release their first crop of wines from vintage 2006). Among emerging wineries of note are such producers as Cadaretta Winery, Efesté, O’Shea Scarborough, Pacific Rim, Trust Cellars, Va Piano and Woodinville Cellars. Add these to the list of producers I named last year—àMaurice Cellars, Chateau Rollat, Brian Carter Cellars, Gramercy Cellars, Mark Ryan Winery and Waters Winery—and wine lovers have a pretty impressive list of new choices. And then there’s Corliss Estates, this year’s #1 new superstar on the Washington scene, with a bullet
Reviews from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Nov/Dec 2007
November 1, 2007
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 88(+?) Points
Bright medium ruby-red. Dusty, musky aromas of black fruits, menthol, mocha and tobacco leaf. Dense, rich and penetrating; sweeter than the red blend but with a stronger acid spine to frame its cassis and licorice flavors. The wine's chewy, rather powerful finish suggests energetic extraction. This has more flavor intensity than the table wine but is quite tight today, showing an almost medicinal austerity.
2005 Red Table Wine Columbia Valley 88 Points
($28) Bright red-ruby. Musky aromas of cassis, espresso, bitter chocolate and toasty oak, lifted by a floral topnote. Moderately dense and juicy, with nicely concentrated dark fruit flavors and a rather strong oak element. Finishes with good length and lift; the tannins are firm but not dry.
New Releases from Washington State
By Stephen Tanzer
Nov/Dec 07
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.
Reviews from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Nov/Dec 2006
November 1, 2006
2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 91(+?) Points
(Blended with 15% malbec and 8% merlot; from Alder Ridge, Boushey and Ciel du Cheval fruit) Deep ruby-red. Blackberry, blueberry, bitter chocolate and violet and licorice pastilles on the nose. At once creamy and juicy, with good cut to the dense, sweet dark fruit flavors. There's a candied, slightly jammy framboise and blueberry compote character but this has the bright acids and core of spice to give it grip and lift. Finishes with substantial tannins and enticing lingering sweetness. Aged in 95% new oak, including a high percentage of Darnajou barrels.
New Releases from Washington State
By Stephen Tanzer
Nov/Dec 06
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.
Reviews from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Nov/Dec 2004
November 1, 2004
2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 90 Points
79% cabernet sauvignon and 21% merlot Dark red. Pungent aromas of raspberry, redcurrant, black plum and spicy oak. Offers a lovely restrained sweetness and a rather suave texture, with flavors of plum and chocolate complemented by sexy Darnajou barrels. Finishes plummy and lush, with fine-grained tannins and very good persistence.
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 91(+?) Points
(83% cabernet sauvignon and 17% merlot) Deep ruby-red. Aromas of black cherry, cocoa powder, musky espresso and smoky oak; a bit blacker in character than the 2001. Then denser, sweeter and larger-scaled, as well as more structured and backward. Again, the wine's boysenberry, plum and chocolate flavors show a rather restrained sweetness. A step up in complexity from the 2001 bottling. Finishes long and firm, with a late hint of woodsmoke. Ross Andrew notes that this wine contains a higher percentage of fruit from the cooler Boushey Vineyard, which typically ripens its fruit at a lower alcohol level. Still, this wine is a bit higher in alcohol than the 2001 (13.9 vs. 13.8%), but with a lower pH (3.7 vs. 3.8).
Reviews from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Nov/Dec 2003
November 1, 2003
2000 Red Table Wine Columbia Valley 90 Points
55% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot and 5% cabernet franc Red-ruby. Slightly high-toned nose combines currant, licorice, cola and nutty oak. Sweet, fat and expressive, with creamy, somewhat high-toned flavors of currant and spice. Impressively glyceral and pliant wine, but with plenty of supporting structure and brightness. Finishes with substantial but thoroughly ripe tannins.
Best New Wines from Washington State
By Stephen Tanzer
Nov/Dec 03
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.)
Reviews from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Sept/Oct 2002
September 1, 2002
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 91 Points
($25) Saturated ruby-red. Sappy crushed blackberry and black raspberry, superripe roasted strawberry, maple syrup, leather and smoked meat on the flamboyant nose. Sweet, lush and velvety; really fat with fruit. Slightly sauvage notes of meat and leather add complexity. A wonderfully pliant, seamless wine with just enough acidity to maintain its shape. Finishes long and sweet, with very fine tannins. Has the stuffing to age but also offers great early appeal. Made by the assistant winemaker at Betz Family Winery.
New Releases from Washington State
Sep/Oct '02
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.)
Ross Andrew Winery - Articles
2007 Washington Wine Guide
August 18, 2009
Seattle Magazine - August 2007
In case you haven't heard, Washington wines have arrived - with 500 (and growing) wineries, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate the history, people and places that have put our state on the wine map. Join us in a preview of the hottest new varietals, pioneering winemakers, swank wine bars and where to taste our favorite new releases. Read the article >
Best Washington wines of 2008
December 19, 2008
The best Washington wines of 2008, as picked by Seattle Times Wine Adviser Paul Gregutt.
With each passing year, my list of the year's Top 100 Washington wines gets more competitive. We now have nearly 600 wineries in the state, so even limiting it to one listing per winery means that five out of six wineries won't even appear on the list.
Washington wines do well on other Top 100 lists, and though these are not inexpensive wines, they are far less expensive than most of the wines that show up elsewhere. This list is the only one that focuses exclusively on wines made with Washington grapes — and the only one compiled by a single individual living and working here.
Whether or not you always agree with my choices, I hope they will encourage you to explore many of the wineries (listed from 1 to 100 on page 10), and not just for the specific wine on the list, but for all of their wines. Quality is rarely an accident; if the winery made one great wine, they probably made quite a few really good ones.
Every wine on this list has been scored 90 points or higher by me on the standard 100-point wine-rating system. Within each scoring category, I have listed the wines from least to most expensive, awarding a higher slot to the cheaper wines, because they offer the most value. They have all been released within the 2008 calendar year, but be advised — some are already sold out. Your wine seller can guide you to what is still available, and in some instances he or she may have a newer vintage in stock. (See a list of wine shops on page 10.)
This special NW Ticket edition of the Wine Adviser column will close out the year. In 2009, Wine Adviser will move to Pacific Northwest Magazine, the Times' Sunday magazine, and will appear weekly beginning in February. I wish you all a holiday season filled with good friends and family, good health and, of course, good wine!
Paul Gregutt's Top 100 Washington State Wines For 2008
1. Betz Family 2005 Père de Famille Cabernet Sauvignon ($55)
2. Leonetti Cellar 2005 Reserve Red ($110)
3. Cayuse 2006 En Cerise Syrah ($65)
4. Quilceda Creek 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($115)
5. Woodward Canyon 2006 Estate Red ($60)
...
66. Ross Andrew 2006 Boushey Vineyard Syrah ($28)
74. Seven Hills 2005 Pentad Red ($50)
75. Fidélitas 2005 Boushey Vineyard Red ($50)
76. Spring Valley Vineyard 2005 Derby Cabernet Sauvignon ($50)
77. Pedestal 2005 Merlot ($55)
78. Feather 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($60)
...
Paul Gregutt is the author of "Washington Wines and Wineries The Essential Guide." His column, Wine Adviser, will begin appearing in Pacific Northwest Magazine on Feb. 1. 2009. He can be reached by e-mail at wine@seattletimes.com.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Food: Sips - July 21, 2004
July 21, 2004
One Man's Wine
By Roger Downey
Suppose that, right out of college, you decide you want to spend your life making wine—your own wine, not someone else's. Your family isn't wealthy, nor does it own vineyards or a winery, both fairly high-capital enterprises. What do you do to break into a very high-stakes game?
Ross Mickel is doing it the hard way. To get a toehold in the business, he worked the harvest in Oregon's Willamette Valley, picking up what he could during the most frenzied weeks in the winemaker's year. With a little experience under his belt, he began apprenticing to established winemakers, trading his labor for their experience. In time, he established an ongoing year-round relationship with Bob Betz, one of the Northwest's most respected wine scientists and educators, and, in a very small way, one of its most respected winemakers as well.
Delivering Betz wines to the specialty shops selected to carry them, Mickel made more connections, so that when, in 2003, he released 250 cases (3,000 bottles) under his own Ross Andrew label, he wasn't just another unknown competing for top retailers' attention and shelf space. Mickel's ongoing association with Betz also helped when buying grapes; his second (2001) release, due out this fall, was composed of fruit from name acreage like Alder Ridge, Boushey, and Hedges.
Many beginning winemakers try to hedge their bets by making half a dozen different wines; often, distracted, they fail to ring the bell with any. For the foreseeable future, Mickel plans to make just one, labeled as cabernet sauvignon but containing a legally permissible admixture of merlot fruit. This choice has both advantages and disadvantages: In Washington, as in California, the cabernet market is dominated by famous labels with long pedigrees and commanding high prices. A newcomer has to price his product modestly enough to persuade sophisticated buyers to experiment (Mickel's '01 Ross Andrew will run $25), but high enough to indicate that he's serious about contending with the big names. (Fair or not, wines priced under $20 rarely develop much buzz where buzz counts.)
A lot of cabernet winemakers go for maximum heft and impact: The result can be impressive but rough, and need a few years in bottle to lose their asperity. Mickel prefers a suaver approach; the wine he's releasing this fall has been a year in bottle to date, but, a distinctive cabernet aroma apart, it's as easy on the palate as wines made mostly from the traditionally softer merlot grape, though the blend is actually four-fifths cab.
Mickel upped his production slightly for the '01, to 350 cases; 425 cases of the '02 are slated for '05 release. When you consider that the '03 Ross Andrew is already waiting to be blended before the '01 is released, you can see why Mickel favors a wine that asks to be drunk right away. "It's a pretty big investment, spending three years making wine before you find out whether anyone likes the style of wine you make."
Food: Sips - August 27, 2003
August 18, 2003
Meant to Be
By Roger Downey
The ancient folkways of the grape never really took root in North America, so it's understandable if our winemakers' tales are fraught with epiphanies: sudden midlife course corrections, abrupt trade-ins of hot urban concrete for cool Mother Earth. Maybe it's a sign that wine has finally gone native that an easygoing Bellevue boy could drift into winemaking as if it were the most natural move in the world.
An English major at the University of Washington, Ross Mickel had his first brush with the wine game when a childhood friend suggested he work as a wine waiter at the friend's family's restaurant. Since the childhood friend was Mark Canlis, Mickel abruptly found himself counseling some of the region's wealthiest and most knowledgeable wine consumers on their beverage choices before he was all that secure in the subject himself.
Once in the wine bag, Mickel got serious, flying to UC Davis for weekend winemaking classes, with luck and contacts at home ensuring that theory got blended with practice. A college classmate working at Woodinville's DeLille Cellars introduced Mickel to DeLille winemaker Chris Upchurch, who put him to work as a "rat" around the winery. In another lucky twist, Ste. Michelle winemaker Bob Betz was using DeLille's plant to produce his own wines, and Mickel soon found himself assisting one of America's most admired winemakers in crafting his spare-no-expense boutique syrahs and Bordeaux-style blends. In 1999, Mickel produced his first solo wine from the 2000 harvest, a fairly standard "meritage" blend of 55 percent cabernet sauvignon grapes, 40 percent merlot, and 5 percent cabernet franc. But thanks to his reflected credibility from Master of Wine Betz, Mickel was able to procure grapes from some of Washington's best growing sites, including Alder Ridge, Milbrandt, and Taptiel.
Briskly tannic without raspiness, refreshingly acidic, the three-year-old wine favors fruitiness over weight, a distinct advantage when most Washington reds, no matter how gnarlyexcuse me, "age-worthy"are consumed the year of their release.
Mickel is delighted at the reception his debutant is getting. "I think people I know who taste it are thinking, 'What can I say nice about it?' because after they do, they say, 'I like it! No, I really like it." He'll have no trouble placing the mere 200 cases made at about $25 per bottle. That won't come close to paying off what Mickel and his partners ("well, parents") have invested in the enterprise so far, but it's a great base to build on.
On the threshold of wider recognition, does he regret not having a more stormy tale of struggle to tell? "Not really; I've been lucky, sure. But looking back, it seems like it was all just meant to be."
Where to buy and drink wine discussed in this week's Sips column:
Ross Andrew 2000 Columbia Valley Red is available on the wine lists of Eva, Chez Shea, Canlis, el Gaucho, Waterfront, and Jack's Steakhouses in Issaquah, West Seattle, and Sand Point. It is also available at retail shops including Pike & Western, McCarthy & Schiering Queen Anne and Roosevelt, and Pete's Wines Eastside and Larry's Market in Bellevue.
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