Although April is not ushering in Spring like it should, it is still an exciting month for wine guys, because in the spring all the wineries send reps to the store to taste their goods, in anticipation of the sales this summer. I have been visited and tasted with over a dozen reps or wine makers this month. I had a chance to go to Seattle and meet Kermit Lynch which was a highlight so far in my career. I love the wines that he imports from France.
Recently, I had opportunity to spend some time with Benjamin (Ben) Smith owner and wine maker at Cadence Winery in South Seattle. Up to this time, the only wine from them that I was familiar with was “Coda”. This is a Bordeaux blend that has a fairly large cult following, and I have been quite successful with it at the store. As we talked, and I tasted through his wines I realized just how much I had missed out on. It is not entirely my fault since they have self-distributed for a long time and did not come up to the islands. Now they distribute through Unique Wines and I will be able to get my hands on their juice for the store.
Ben epitomizes a wine maker owner. Humble with a passion for wine that oozes from his personality. His particular passion is for the wines of Northern Italy, in particular Piedomont where they grow the famous nebbiolo grape which is found in Barbaresco and Barolo wines. As he puts it, they are fresh and alive with wonderful nuances and layers of flavor. Both Barbaresco and Barolo are 100% nebbiolo and as he pointed out, it is amazing how much they can get out of one grape where it takes the blending of several grapes for us to achieve the same complexity. The grape varietal he is most fond of that grows very well in Washington is cabernet franc. It was a cab franc from Andrew Will that turned the light on for Ben and started the fire that would lead to his passion for making wine.
The wines of Cadence show an incredible depth with a structure that implies the ability to age for some time yet they are quite approachable now. Ben believes as I do, that the choice of fruit source is quite important. After scouting around and asking questions, it became evident to him that Red Mountain in Eastern Washington was the spot to find some of the best fruit. He purchased ten acres on Red Mountain and planted cab franc (of course!) , cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. He and his wife named the vineyard Cara Mia after their daughter Cara.
As the vines grew, he purchased fruit for his wines from surrounding vineyards on Red Mountain including Tapteil Vineyard and Ciel Du Cheval an iconic source of fruit for some outstanding Washington reds. The 2007 vintage showcases two wines from his own vineyard. Both Bordeaux style blends, Carameta a cab based blend and Bel Canto a cab franc based blend. I would like to take a moment to share with you some of my thoughts on the wines I tasted from Cadence Winery…
2008 Cadence Coda (Red Mountain) 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 28% Cab Franc, 6% Petit Verdot … $24.99
Very interesting bouquet of green bell pepper, mint, vanilla and asparagus. Very deep notes of mocha, dark cherry and toast come through on the front and mid-palate with hits of tobacco and leather. There is oak there but it is nicely in balance with the fruit and adds a nice toast edge to the finish. Drink now or hold for a couple of years and watch it evolve. A seriously good effort for half the price you could get a Bordeaux of equal quality. 91 points
2007 Candence Ciel Du Cheval Red (Red Mountain) 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cab Franc, 13% Merlot, 13% Petite Verdot … $45.99
Wonderful nose of dark cherries, perfumed red flowers, minerals and hints of mint. Layered flavors of black licorice, spice box, blackberry and red currant. Nice hits of leather and tobacco on the back of the mid-palate as the intensity of flavors flow into a long finish. The wine is seamless and well built with the structure to age over the next ten years. 95 points
2007 Cadence Tapteil Vineyard Red (Red Mountain) 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Cab Franc, 11% Merlot… $45.99
Vibrant deep notes of black currants and dark cherries with a nice brightness. Notes of black currants and leather hit the palate up front. This wine is massive on the mid-palate with spicy cherry, tobacco and black currant notes that flow into a long finish. Another wine that is quite approachable now but I am going to lay one away for five to ten years to see how well it ages. I know I will be in for a treat! 96 points
2007 Cadence “Bel Canto” Cara Mia Vineyard (Red Mountain) 62% Cab Franc, 31% Merlot, 7% Petite Verdot … $56.99
Cadence is not shy about their price on the wines from their own vineyard. This wine reflects the passion Ben has for cab franc. I was pleasantly surprised to have a cab franc based wine that was not heavy on the vegetal characteristics.
A wonderful nose of black licorice, tobacco, raspberry, red currants and herbs. This wine showed a lot of finesse and nuances on the palate with notes of red currants, spice hints of herbs and red flowers that flowed seamlessly across the palate with hits of wood and tobacco on the finish. Hold this wine for a couple of years and watch the wine deepen in intensity. 92 points
2007 Cadence “Camerata” Cara Mia Vineyard (Red Mountain) 85%Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot,5% Cab Franc, 5% Petite Verdot … $56.99
Nice and fresh on the nose with notes of black currants, blackberry and tobacco. Sweet tannins with notes of black currants, leather, cedar and tobacco that take you straight to Bordeaux. Seriously, this wine could have been made in Medoc and in a blind tasting you may be hard pressed to pick it out as a “New World” wine, and that is saying a lot. Excellent length on the finish with a little char action on the back end. Screams for food and begs you to age it for a few years. 94 points
A little pricey, but when compared to other wines from Red Mountain that do not show half the complexity and structure for more money, I believe these wines are a bargain. If you love Bordeaux reds, you need to explore the wines of Cadence. They reflect the passion Ben has for “Fresh” wines that have wonderful layers and nuances that come out as the wine opens up. I tasted through these wines after they had been open for over six hours and from the sound of it both Ben and Ted were impressed with how much they had opened and improved. So please, do no “pop and pour” the wines of Cadence. Decant, and let them show off the wonderful nuances and layers that Ben intended.
I would also like to point out that these wines reflect the palate of both Ben and his wife who as he points out, “Has the final say in the blending process.” Ben’s dream is to one day spend his retirement years living in Alba, Italy with a half acre vineyard that he can play with. Before that time comes we look forward to more wonderful wines from Cadence Winery. http://cadencewinery.com/ Cheers! Stan The Wine Man
