BUS TRIP 2011

As I mentioned earlier, a trip to Washington wine country was long over-due, and when Cordon Selections invited me to go on a bus trip to the other side of the mountains I jumped all over the opportunity. Three days and 21 wineries including some of the top wine producers in Washington State. Day one is in the books and I would like to share with you some of the days events.

As we left Seattle the weather was terrible, gray and raining. It was looking bleak but we were hopeful the weather would clear on the other side. Sure enough, sunny skies greeted us as we made the turn towards Yakima and wine country. Our first stop was Treveri Cellars, a small winery that focuses entirely on sparkling wine. Wineglass Cellars also joined us at the winery to share their wines with the group.

I was very impressed with the wines of Treveri, a winery I had never heard of up to this time. They presented 7 different sparkling wines and I actually missed one of them. Here are my notes…

NV (Non-vintage) Treveri Cellars Extra Brut …$13.
A blanc de blanc sparkling wine had aromas of pears and hints of green apples. Very dry on the palate which is to be expected considering the style. Pears and yeast come through on the palate which is slightly awkward with a hit of bitterness and minerals on a bone dry finish. 84 points

NV Treveri Cellars Blanc de Blanc Brut … $13.
Aromas of red delicious apples, pear and a hint of yeast. Nice balance on the palate with a core of minerality and notes of pear, yeast and sourdough. A pleasantly long finish with a little lemon zest coming through. This is an excellent value in bubbles and will be a nice compliment to upcoming holiday festivities. 89 points

NV Treveri Cellars Rose Sparkling Wine … 16.
This is only their second time producing this wine and it will not be released until the spring of 2012 which is really too bad because this was my favorite of the bunch. Wonderful aromas of strawberries and cherries with a hit of nutty yeast. Nice and dry on the palate with the strawberry notes coming through backed by hints of bread dough. The finish is clean and lingers. When this comes out I suggest you get your hands on some before it is all gone. Thankfully they have increased production from last year. 91 points

Treveri also makes a sparkling Mueller Thurgau, Gewurztraminer, pinot gris and Riesling. I was able to taste a couple of them and did not take notes but was continually impressed with the wines. The riesling version is a definite accompaniment to Asian fare. Keep your eye out for the bubbles from this producer for your holiday celebrations. The price is right and the quality is excellent.

Wineglass Cellars had a table set up right next to the bubbles. A husband and wife team that has made some killer reds in the past. Here is what I was able to taste.

2010 Chardonnay Unoaked … $16.
Sweet aromas of melon and apples. Not much going on in the mouth on this one. Lacks acidity and is fairly one dimensional. Faint notes of melon and apple, the wine finishes a little flat and flabby. Not a very good deal for the price. 80 points

2007 Wineglass Cellars Merlot … $21.
Notes of bright cherries, tomato stem and anise come through on the nose. Flavors of black olive, cherry and tomato stem on the palate with underlying notes of oak. Again, this was light in acidity making it just a little flabby in the mouth. 85 points

2006 Wineglass Cellars “Capizimo” … $14.99
Aromas of cigar box, cherry and cedar. Smooth on the palate with fine grain tannins. Cherry and currant notes with hits of cedar on the finish. Very soft on the finish lacking acidity to drive the flavors. 87 points

2007 Wineglass Cellars “Field Blend” Cabernet Sauvignon … $25.
Now this is what I am used to with these guys. Good intensity on the nose. Herbaceous notes come through backed by aromas of anise and cherries. Smooth and balanced with herbaceous notes along with flavors of currants and cassis with a nice spice thing going on. This cab has some backbone on it with hits of oak on the finish. 89+ points

2008 Wineglass Cellars Zinfandel … $20.
So this zin is produced from Lodi fruit which they hauled up from California, so they have to call it American Zinfandel. Since the borders of Washington and California do not touch, they cannot use the Lodi appellation. Strange rules indeed, but that takes nothing away from this zin. A jammy medley of red and black fruits pop out on the nose. Nice intensity on the palate with rich notes of black plum jam, blueberry and boysenberry that flow into a long finish. Nice balance and it doesn’t go over-the-top. A great price on a really good zin. 89 points

Next on the itinerary was a trip to the DuBrul Vineyards and Cote Bonneville Winery. DuBrul Vineyard is the source of some of the finest fruit produced in the state. Many well known wineries have sourced their fruit from this vineyard including Owen Roe Winery and Quilceda Creek. As we pulled into the vineyard we were met by the man himself, Hugh Shiels owner of DuBrul Vineyard and Cote Bonneville Winery. Let me tell you that this man is intelligent and dedicated to making sure DuBrul is one of the best fruit sources in the state. I could have listened to him talk about viticulture and vineyard management all day.

The group ate lunch in the vineyard and we had a chance to meet Hugh’s wife Kathy and their daughter Kerry who also happens to be the wine maker for Cote Bonneville. We tasted a couple of their outstanding wines, but the main focus was to tour the vineyard. Since the harvest this year is about three weeks behind, there was fruit still hanging on the vines. We had opportunity to pick some of the different grapes and give them a try. You could taste the quality right off the vines. What a treat to visit this iconic Washington vineyard.

Now it was off to Red Mountain to visit Kelly and Tim Hightower owners of Hightower Cellars. Also scheduled to join us was Mark Ryan from Mark Ryan Winery. The Hightowers took us on a small tour of their winery and vineyards before we tasted through their wines along with Mark Ryan and his. We soon realized that we were in for a treat.

2009 Hightower Cellars “Out Of Line” Red … $25.
This is a Bordeaux style red being a blend of cab, merlot, cab franc, malbec and petit verdot. Red Mountain fruit is all over the nose with that intense minerality, baked earth, casssis and blackberry. The minerals come through on the palate backed by notes of currants and cherries with hits of vanilla and mocha on a long, pleasing finish. I very nice expression of the abilities of Tim & Kelly Hightower. 90 points

2008 Hightower Cellars “Pepper Bridge” Red Blend … $29.
Fruit sourced from the famous Pepper Bridge Vineyard in Walla Walla Washington this is 100% merlot. Aromas of cherry and cassis with a bright cherry skin element coming through along with hits of vanilla. Fine grained tannins on the palate with spice, cherry and currants on a solid structure. The wine is well balanced across the palate with a nice hit of tar and leather on a very long finish. This wine drinks beautifully now but will age nicely over the next 8 to 12 years. 91 points

2007 Hightower Cellars Merlot … $25.
Again this red expresses Red Mountain fruit on the nose with notes of iron, black olive and cherries with an underlying sweet fruit element. Plush on the front of the palate with silky tannins. Notes of boysenberry, currants and mocha. This is a sexy, seductive effort with a wonderfully long finish of mocha and spice. I was truly impressed with this expression of one of the varietals that put Washington on the map. 93 points

2007 Hightower Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon … $25.
Very intriguing nose of charcoal, mocha and a medley of dark fruits. Firm and full on the palate with lush dark fruits and underlying char and chocolate tones. Layered and balanced with a nice hit of spice on a long finish. For twenty-five bucks this is a steal. It is delicious now, but tuck a couple away because it will age nicely over the next ten to twelve years. 94 points

2007 Hightower Cellars Red Mountain Blend … $49.
The nose is a little closed on this one with hints of Red Mountain minerals and dark fruit. (Probably should decant this first) Spicy and racy on the palate with notes of char, black currants and blackberries. Long finish with hits of white pepper. This is a lively red and shows great aging potential. 91 points

Mark Ryan brought a couple of his wines for us to try and as many of you already know, Mark Ryan Cellars has received many accolades from wine critics and writers. Mark Ryan wines are big and bold with excellent structure and the ability to improve with age. Since Cordon Selections does not distribute this wine in Western Washington, I was not able to attain pricing on these wines but from experience I can tell you most fall in the thirty to fifty dollar range.

Mark Ryan Winery “The Vincent” Red …
A blend of cab, merlot and syran. Aromas of red flowers, tangerine and red currants. Good vibrancy on the palate Blackberry and spice with notes of black currants come through on the front of the palate. A hit of citrus pops on the mid-palate. The acidity builds into a finish that has a little tar element and tannic grip. This is a lot of wine and I believe this is a very good value. I will check out the price Saturday and let you know. 90+ points

2008 Mark Ryan Winery Lonely Heart Cabernet Sauvignon …
Concentrated on the nose with notes of minerals, red flowers, plum and boysenberry. Dense and structured on the palate with notes of perfumed dark fruit. Layered and complex with some chocolate notes on the mid-palate and some interesting citrus hits on a very long finish. This is a well muscled cab and will mellow and only get better with time. Who can wait? Love this cab now! 98 points

2009 Mark Ryan Winery Wild Eyed Syrah …
Seductive on the nose with layered aromas of dark fruits, bacon fat and a smokey element. Sweet tannins with notes of boysenberries, currants and spice. Seamless on the palate leading into loads of bacon fat and hits of tar on a long finish. This syrah is intense from start to finish and an excellent expression of this varietal in a state that produces (At least in my opinion) some of the best syrah in the world. 92 points

2009 Mark Ryan Winery Black Love Pinot Noir Lachini Vineyards …
This is the first time I have ever tasted Mark Ryan’s pinot noir. Sourced from fruit in the Northern Willamette Valley this pinot expresses aromas of plump strawberries, cherries and some earth notes. Sweet tannins with a touch of spice. Ripe cherries with a kiss of strawberry and an underlying brown sugar element. This baby has some love handles on it. For those who like some weight to their pinot noir, you are going to love this effort. 90 points

It was hard to leave the Hightowers and the great wines that were being poured, but we had to move on and visit the new facility for Fidelitas Winery and wine maker Charlie Hoppes. This is where the group had dinner and we were treated to some of the best tacos I have ever tasted. Charlie and crew had a boatload of wines and I am a huge fan of this winery. Unfortunately I did not have time to take any notes but I will follow up in another article, because these wines need to be written about.

A few that stood out to me were the Optu white which is a blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon. Nice fruit and a “10” in the delicious factor. The Champoux Vineyard merlot was stunning and I felt it had a lot of characteristics found in the famous Masseto from Ornelaia in Italy. By the way, the Malbec was perfect with the tacos… Just say’in. I was also introduced to a new label, Sonoris from former Distefano wine maker Hilary Sjolund. I was impressed with the red blend that she was sampling but the name escapes me. Google the winery and check it out, it is worth the effort.

Well that was my first day on the road and it was simply a warm-up to the whirlwind wine tasting in store for us Saturday (Today). Got to run. Cheers! Stan The Wine Man
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