A Festive Event

 

This year's Holiday Barrel Tasting Weekend, December 3-5, was a celebratory event. Because of the late completion of harvest, pressing had just been completed and winemakers were ready to party. We stopped by Friday morning at Reininger where Tracy and Chuck were were putting up an show of paintings by Todd Telander and Leslie LeViner. Later, Long Shadows was having its annual event on the winery floor where we chatted with CEO Allen Shoup and winemaker Gilles Nicault. In the evening, we drove up Lower Waitsburg Road to the Robison Ranch Cellars club party where Jim Robison and Brad and Ruth Riordan greeted guests with tasty food and their newly released 2008 Merlot and Syrah.

 

The theme of socializing was continued the next day as we started off at the Incubators near the airport. There, we visited with Chris and Cameron Kontos and tasted new releases and a preview of their "3YR" Cabernet (see below). Then we went over to the recently-opened Corvus Winery at the space formerly occupied by Trio Vintners and talked with Rand Hopkins. Then we went to Artifex where we saw Brian Rudin, the Resident Winemaker, and met Executive Winemaker Larry Cherubino from Australia. There, Ken Hart (a jolly good fellow) poured his Tulpen wines and Ned Morris his Reasons wines. We dropped by Trio Vintners and ran into Amarha Leaman, whose art works were being shown, and Todd Telander's wife, Kirsten. In the afternoon, we went to Catie McIntryre Walker's Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman wine shop where Troy Ledwick poured his current numbered Releases and a couple of barrel samples. Later, we drove south of the border to Tero Estate and Flying Trout where bottles were festively dressed for the holidays (check their Facebook Wall for pics). Doug Roskelley gave a lively barrel tasting of his '08's (see below). Then we drove on to Locati Cellars where Mike and Penne served up meatballs, fine wines, live music and a fire pit. Jan and Doug Roskelley showed up later for more fun and camaraderie.

 

On Sunday, we went out for more visits with friends. At Saviah Cellars we saw Rich Funk and sampled his fabulous '09 Cabernet from the barrel. Further up J.B. George Road, we saw Robbi Ebbel and Christa Hilt at Waters where Greg and Pam Harrington also poured their Gramercy Cellars wines. Just over the border, off Stateline Road, we went to Castillo de Feliciana where we chatted with Sam and Deborah Castillo and winemaker Ryan Raber. On our way back home, we stopped on Main Street at Rotie Cellars, where we saw Nicole ----- and owner-winemaker Sean Boyd. We dropped in a few doors down to say hi to Muriel Kenyon (whose fiance, Dreux Dillingham now works at Waters). Lots of friends and lots of fun.

 

For pictures of some of these events, go to Review of Washington Wines on Facebook.

 

A Preview of 2008's to be Released in 2011

 

While many 2008's have already been released, there are some wineries that are holding off until next year to release their wines from that vintage. But I got barrel tasting previews of some of their highly promising wines. Here are some highlights.

 

2008 Long Shadows Chester Kidder, Columbia Valley (Fall 2011 release) - Purple colored, this showed an intense, spicy nose of wild berries and cherries, with lush berry fruit and concentration. The finish was delicious and well spiced.

2008 Kontos Cellars "3YR" Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley, Pepper Bridge Vineyard (Futures $36 - Fall release) - Deep colored, this showed rich, smoky aromas and deep, penetrating flavors, redolent of dark fruits, and well-seasoned with toasty oak (3 years in oak, hence the "3YR" designation).

2008 TL Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley, Pepper Bridge Vineyard (Release TBD) - This exhibited sultry, smoky aromas of raspberries and cherries. The flavors were chewy and savory, yet velvety at the same time. Troy Ledwick will give it another 6-12 months to pull together before bottling.

2008 Tero Estate Cabernet Franc, Walla Walla Valley (Fall release) - This showed an inky purple color, a sultry, smoky nose of black cherries and berries. The dark fruit flavors were sensuous, loaded with chocolate, mocha, minerals and sweet tannins.

2008 Tero Estate Windrow Red, Walla Walla Valley (Fall release) - This field blend showed rich, spicy blackberry, cherry and cassis aroma. It was still picking up cedar and vanilla from the barrel, and the saturated fruits kept going on and on.

 

Next Week: Barrel Tasting 2009's