I have to bring a Washington State Red wine to a dinner this week. Must have Bourdeaux varietals/blend. Locally I have the choice of these wines from Washington State. I know very little about Washington wines and would appreciate your help selecting a wine. These are tasted blind and scored before dinner. Others in the group so far are bringing a 1999 Quilceda Creek, 1999 Leonetti so I'm up against some big WA wines. I'm not trying to blow anyone's socks off but would like to at least be in the store. Thanks! (some of these wines below may not even qualify as I have more research to do) I'm kinda leaning toward the Delille based on research that I've done but would love some input from others.


ANDREW WILL 2005 SORELLA 2005 $79.99

ANDREW WILL 7 HILLS RED WINE 2002 WA 90 $44.99

ANDREW WILL KLIPSUN 2003 $48.99

ANDREW WILL MERLOT KLIPSUN 2001 $48.99

CHESTER KIDDER 2004 COLUMBIA VALLEY RED 2004 WA 93+ $46.99

DELILLE CELLARS 2005 CHALEUR ESTATE 2005 WA 93 $65.99

DUBRUL CARRIAGE HOUSE 2002 $45.99

DUBRUL COTE BONNEVILLE 2002 $99.99

PEDESTAL 2005 COLUMBIA VALLEY MERLOT WA 94 $46.99

PIROUETTE 2005 COLUMBIA VALLEY RED 2005 WA 91 $46.99

SPRING VALLEY 2005 FREDERICK 2005 $44.99

SPRING VALLEY VINEYARD 2005 URIAH 2005 $44.99

WOODWARD CANYON 2005 CABERNET SAUVIGNON ARTISTS SERIES #14 WA 92 $37.99

DELILLE HARRISON HILL MERITAGE 2005 $67.95

PIROUETTE MERITAGE 2004 $47.95

This message has been edited. Last edited by: xhoser,

If you can find a 2004 Woodward Canyon Old Vine Cabernet, it's a terrific bottle. If selecting from your list I would go with the
#1 Dubrul Cote Bonneville #2 AW Sorella or #3 Delille Chaleur . The Dubrul has a couple years on it and the other 2 are still pretty young but very good.

The Quilceda and Leonetti '99s may not show at their best. '99 was a year for long aging wines, and even lesser ones I've had recently have not come around.


ANDREW WILL 2005 SORELLA 2005 $79.99

Superb wine. Needs time, naturally. Probably at least the equal of the above mentioned wines.

ANDREW WILL 7 HILLS RED WINE 2002 WA 90 $44.99

I'm not familiar with this exact wine, but 7 Hills wines are generally open, accessible, rich in fruit, but not as complex as the Champoux and Ciel du Cheval cabs.

ANDREW WILL KLIPSUN 2003 $48.99

Again, not familiar with the exact wine, but 2003 was over-ripe to my taste.

ANDREW WILL MERLOT KLIPSUN 2001 $48.99

Not Andrew Will's forte.

CHESTER KIDDER 2004 COLUMBIA VALLEY RED 2004 WA 93+ $46.99

Drinking well right now. Not particularly heavy, but highly interesting.

DELILLE CELLARS 2005 CHALEUR ESTATE 2005 WA 93 $65.99

Too soon to drink this. Always excellent.

DUBRUL CARRIAGE HOUSE 2002 $45.99

I like these wines. They are not as saturated as most of the others, but, to me, display an elegance on top of a new world accessibility.

DUBRUL COTE BONNEVILLE 2002 $99.99

Same as above, but I couldn't justify the price differential based on quality.

PEDESTAL 2005 COLUMBIA VALLEY MERLOT WA 94 $46.99

Also drinking well now. This is a "hit you over the head" style wine. Real heft for a Merlot.

PIROUETTE 2005 COLUMBIA VALLEY RED 2005 WA 91 $46.99

Was fairly closed when I tasted in the spring. A wine to wait on.

SPRING VALLEY 2005 FREDERICK 2005 $44.99

A complex wine that is much better than the 89 points HS gave it. Needs lots of time.

SPRING VALLEY VINEYARD 2005 URIAH 2005 $44.99

Easier drinking than the Fredrick, but still needs time. All the Spring Valley wines have more layers of interest than the typical new world blast of fruit and oak,

WOODWARD CANYON 2005 CABERNET SAUVIGNON ARTISTS SERIES #14 WA 92 $37.99[/QUOTE]

Best bargain in the bunch. Shows well now, and has the stuff for aging. If the tasting is for the sake of choosing wines to buy, this is a good candidate.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pape du neuf,

I bought 6 of the 2002 Spring Valley Frederick a while ago on Winebid for a steal.

I opened one, gave one to TBird, and the rest are sleeping. They really need time (it settled down after about 36 hours in the decanter - didn't expect that!), but should be great when they emerge. I will hold for at least 3-5 years before popping another, I think.

TBird did get to try one of them.

Granted, I have not had the 2005, but considering it was a very good vintage, it should be a very good wine.

Pape de neuf,

Thanks for the very informative review of the WA wines. Given your review and your moniker, I can only image what kind of response I'd get if I was asking about southern rhone wines. Anyway, from what you said, I think the front runners for a wine that will show well this week would be:

Chester
Dubrul
Pedestal
Woodward Canyon

I just found a 2002 Dunham Cellars Cabernet VIII in my cellar. Can anyone give me an opinion on the possibility of bringing this wine to the tasting or does it not measure up?

Thanks

This message has been edited. Last edited by: xhoser,

Go with the Pedestal, then after that Andrew Will is very good. Now, going off the list, see if you can get your hands on some Cadence, it is good juice!

If you're trying to win a blind tasting, get the Pedestal. Open the bottle, take a taste and re-cork it a good 6-8 hours ahead of the tasting. Pedestal can offer a younger perspective in accordance to the modern styled competition.

Read Lettie Teague's column in the last Food and Wine. She poured the Sorella instead of an 82 Mouton and fooled some people with it. So if your friends are Bordeaux folks, go with that.

The Andrew Will merlot won't hold up to the competition.

Pirouette isn't anything like Bordeaux and it's not as good as I wanted it to be. Pedestal is different - it's really big and lush and round. Good wine and drinks well now. Dubrul is too much. I'd go with the Woodward Canyon or the Delille if you decant. Those are ageable and serious.

I favor the Andrew Will Sorella,the two wines from Spring Valley and the Woodward Canyon Cabernet. I have seen the '05 DeLille Chaleur for $85 locally but have hesitated to pull the trigger.

My vote would be:

1.) Andrew Will Sorella
2.) DeLille Chaleur Estate Red
3.) Spring Valley Uriah

quote:

Originally posted by BRR:
My vote would be:

1.) Andrew Will Sorella
2.) DeLille Chaleur Estate Red
3.) Spring Valley Uriah

I'll second these, but you must remember that any big WA '05 is still a very young wine. These need to be decanted at least a few hours to show their best.

Thanks for all of the responses. I decided on the Pedestal since it seemed that it might show well right now and many of the guys in the group are big fruit, California drinkers. None of these bottles will be opened prior to the event and there will be no decanting. I'll post the standings on Friday if anyone is interested to see how the Pedestal rated against the others.

I really appreciate the feedback as the last few events I've had with different themes (syrah, pinot, etc) have allowed me to go out and buy the other wines recommended which have turned out to be great bottles. I prefer to buy wines on taste and not scores as much as possible.

You might consider 2005 Betz Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, which was recommended to me by the folks at Quilceda Creek.

quote:

Originally posted by latour67:
You might consider 2005 Betz Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, which was recommended to me by the folks at Quilceda Creek.

Latour,

It's on my list to purchase along with many other wines suggested in this post. Not sure if it is available retail or only through mailing list but I will check wine-searcher for many of these. I'm afraid since I joined this forum my allocation purchases have jumped significantly leaving me little $ for local purchases. At least now I am very focused on what I buy and the quality of wines I purchase has gone up accordingly.

Okay, last night we tasted ten WA red wines blind. I was very impressed with these wines overall as I have little to no experience with WA but will definitely purchase in the future. The group rank was as follows:

1. 2005 Spring Valley Vineyard, Frederick
2. 2004 Chester Kidder Red
3. 2005 Pedestal (my wine)
4. 2005 Pirouette Red
5. 2004 Abeja Cabernet
6. 2004 Quilceda Creek Red Meritage
7. 1999 Quilceda Creek Cabernet
8. 1999 Leonetti Cabernet
9. 2005 Januik, Seven Hills Vineyard
10. 2003 Delille Chaleur Estate

My top four were:

1. 2005 Spring Valley Vineyard, Frederick
2. 2004 Quilceda Creek Red
3. 1999 Leonetti Cabernet
4. 2005 Pirouette Red

The Spring Valley Frederick had really nice, big, juicy, and bold fruit that was well balanced. A little heat but the fruit made up for that. This wine will blossom with some time in the cellar and at $45 it is a must buy for me. As mentioned in this post, the 1999 QC and the 2003 Delille need more time. The 2004 QC red was very drinkable and tasted like an older bottle as it was nicely balanced and had an elegance about it. Great wine for the price. Sorry no formal notes but great to try something new to add to the shopping list.

Thanks again for all the input and help.

quote:

Originally posted by xhoser:

quote:

Originally posted by latour67:
You might consider 2005 Betz Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, which was recommended to me by the folks at Quilceda Creek.

Latour,

It's on my list to purchase along with many other wines suggested in this post. Not sure if it is available retail or only through mailing list but I will check wine-searcher for many of these. I'm afraid since I joined this forum my allocation purchases have jumped significantly leaving me little $ for local purchases. At least now I am very focused on what I buy and the quality of wines I purchase has gone up accordingly.

Yeah, that is a problem most everyone has, and it will only get worse unless you learn to only buy the wines you like, or can afford.....Good luck!