On Saturday, March 31, Lynn and I attended Taste Washington as Media representatives. In the morning, we participated in the Seminars. Lynn attended "Washington State Wine: Over-Delivering at Every Price," while I attended the "Vineyard Exploration: Red Willow Vineyard."

Lynn's Seminar consisted of a blind tasting of three Merlots, three Cabernet Sauvignons, and three Syrahs, one of each from Washington and the others from different regions. The panel was moderated by Sean Sullivan (Washington Wine Report), with Megan Krigbaum (Food & Wine Magazine), Shayn Bjornhold (Court of Master Sommeliers) and Luke Sykora (Wine & Spirits Magazine). For the Merlots, Lynn's favorite turned out to be the 2009 Duckhorn from Napa, but the 2009 L'Ecole No. 42, Columbia Valley turned out to be the best value at half the price of the 2008 Chateau Fonplegade, St. Emilion. Among the Cabernets, her top pick was the 2008 Abeja ($42), outshining the 2008 Chateau Calon Segur, St. Estephe and the 2008 Beaulieu, Georges de Latour, Napa at $125. The 2009 Amavi Syrah, Walla Walla Valley came out on top at a wow value of $29, compared to the Lagier-Meredith from Napa ($48) and the Molly Docker 2010 "Blue Eyed Boy" Shiraz from Australia. So Washington State does, indeed, Over-Deliver at Every Price.

My Seminar on the Red Willow Vineyard was moderated by Jon Bonne of the San Francisco Chronicle with Mike Sauer (owner-grower of Red Willow), Patrick Comiskey (Wine & Spirits Magazine) and Bob Betz (Betz Family Winery). Six wines were tasted. The panel discussed the terroir and characteristics of Syrah grown in various blocks of Red Willow, as well as the history, since the planting of Syrah in 1983, with the encouragement of the late David Lake of Columbia Winery. Here are my comments on the wines tasted.

2010 Gramercy Cellars Syrah (Barrel Sample) - Deeply aromatic and berried, showing silty soil characteristics. A bit tight now, but shows high promise. 19+/20 points.

2009 Betz Family "La Cote Patriarche" Syrah - Very deep and dark, with classic lavender and violet scents. The dark fruits are wrapped around a deep core. 19+/20 points.

2009 Mark Ryan "Lost Soul" Syrah, La Vigne de Marcoux - From another parcel of Red Willow. Deep and berried, with a lot of juice on the palate and back, Shows more of a "gamy" profile than the others. 19/20 points.

2008 Columbia Winery Syrah, Red Willow Vineyard - Classic blackberry and huckleberry aromas and flavors. Minerally and well-poised, in a chewy style. 18.5/20 points.

2008 Owen Roe Syrah, Chapel Block - This vineyard has east (silty soils) and west facing (basking in sun) slopes. Lots of ripe fruits and earthy minerals, with notes of macerated berries an creme brulee. A plush style. 19/20 points.

2009 Efeste "Eleni" Syrah - Brooding aromatics and a thick, saturated earthy and minerally wine, that is permeated with varietal character, in a deep, savory style. 19.5/20 points.

After the Seminars we attended the Grand Tasting from 1:00 to 5:00. There were over 100 wineries represented, so, obviously, I couldn't cover them all. Two of the highlignts were the much talked about 2008 Figgins Estate Red and 2008 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla, both of which lived up to expectations. Lisa Baer unveiled the 2009 Baer Ursa and Arctos blends. The Bunnell Family Cellar showed an interesting "Petit Bec" 50/50 Petit Verdot-Malbec blend. Chris Camarda poured his stellar 3009 "Two Blondes" and "Sorella" blends. James and Poppie Mantone showed their newly-released 2010 Mourvedre amd 2011 Rose. A terrific value is McKinley Springs' 2008 Malbec from the Horse Heaven Hills. These and other wines will be reviewed in the May issue of the Review of Washington Wines.

The next posting of the Review of Washington Wines Blog will be on April 16th. Lynn and I will be flying to Santa Fe for a week's vacation, so I will be skipping the next week.