Hello friends. Today’s wine first caught my eye when Paul Gregutt’s Top 100 was released in late December. It stood out as the only red wine in the top 50 that was under $25, it’s set to receive a score of 93pts from Paul Gregutt in a future issue of Wine Enthusiast, and it had an inscrutable name that gave no impression as to what was in the bottle.
So I dug.
And I was pleased to find that I am still able to be surprised by the wacky world of wine.
Hellion, as it happens, comes from a winery in the heart of the Willamette Valley, where the folks at Angel Vine grow and manage a cool-climate Pinot Noir Vineyard, but where their real passion is hot-weather varietals from Washington.
Go figure.
Washington certainly needs champions for the triumvirate of hotties: Zinfandel, Primitvo, and Petite Sirah (before the wine police snatch me up, I am required by law to tell you that recent research has revealed a strong likelihood that those first two are actually both clones of a single Croatian varietal: the tongue-stumbling Crljenak Kaštelanski). And if that champion happens to come from south of the Washington border, then so be it.
Zins and Petite Sirahs have garnered huge acclaim in California, but the truth is, most of the Pac-NW simply isn’t hot enough to consistently ripen these thermophiles. But there are pockets that work, and winemaker Ed Fus has identified some of the best among them: StoneTree, Alder Ridge, Coyote Canyon, Les Collines.
As is frequently the case with these varietals, this is a massive wine: big fruit, big alc (15.5%), big generosity. It stains the glass, and ethers hit your nose before you even inhale. The aromatics present good Zinfandel/Primitivo typicity: for me a mix of brambly red berries, baking chocolate, and tomato leaf. Here is a plump wine indeed, but one that holds its weight beautifully. It certainly can work as a cocktail wine, with enough savory-sweet, sultry pleasures to kick off a party right. If you’re going to pair with food, think big and rich; anything else will be overwhelmed. This is the rare Washington wine that can win a staring contest with your next fresh-ground, thick-cut, medium-rare cheeseburger.
Here is PaulG’s review, which will be released with the February Wine Enthusiast: Wine Enthusiast (Paul Gregutt): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 93pts.”
Once that review is released, this wine will likely be more difficult to source (only 200 cases produced), but in the meantime, it’s well under the radar. So, first come first served up to 12 bottles, and the wine should arrive in about a week, at which point it will be available for pickup or shipping during the spring shipping window.
