Four from Force Majeure

Hello friends. As if Force Majeure’s wines weren’t already difficult enough to source, Jeb Dunnuck came along and said the following to introduce the winery as part of his first set of reviews for Wine Advocate:

“Focusing on site specific fruit (Red Mountain) and utilizing a variety of top winemakers who each make a specific style of wine, Force Majeure (formerly Grand Reve) is the brain child of entrepreneur Paul McBride and vineyard manager Ryan Johnson. I’ve raved about this producer in the past, and I continue to do so here. If anyone doubts that great wine is made in the vineyard, I urge you to taste through this lineup as the quality of the fruit shows in each wine, regardless of the winemaker. While this estate pulls heavily from the Ciel du Cheval vineyard, their estate Force Majeure Vineyard, which is located at the very top of Red Mountain on very steep slopes (I had car “issues” trying to get up them during my first visit in 2010) is just now coming on line and is already showing ample promise. I’ve put these wines in numerous blind tastings with the best wines in the world and they always hold their own. Don’t miss them.”

For a longer origin story of this outstanding winery, check out our inaugural offering. For today, I won’t have much to add to the published reviews, as I have only tasted two of these four latest releases, and not in an environment where I could write extensive notes. The competitive nature of allocations dictates an offering as soon as possible, and given the consistency of style and quality in previous vintages, I’m confident that we all know what we’re getting here.

2010 Force Majeure Collaboration Series I

Collaboration Series I is a Cabernet-dominant Bordeaux blend, and the winemaker is Ben Smith from Cadence, who knows a thing or two about Red Mountain fruit (his entire lineup for Cadence comes from Red Mountain).

Wine Enthusiast (Paul Gregutt): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 95pts.”

Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 95pts.”

2010 Force Majeure Collaboration Series III

Collaboration Series III is 100% Syrah, and the winemakers are Mike Macmorran and Mark McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery.

Washington Wine Report (Sean Sullivan): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. Rating: ***** (Exceptional).”

Wine Enthusiast (Paul Gregutt): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 93pts.”

2010 Force Majeure Collaboration Series V

Collaboration Series V is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the winemaker is Chris Gorman of Gorman Winery.

Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 96pts.”

Washington Wine Report (Sean Sullivan): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. Rating: ***** (Exceptional).”

2012 Force Majeure Viognier

And a little bonus, a Viognier that now comes 70% from Force Majeure’s ankle-busting hillside planting (the remainder from Ciel). It’s vinified by Mike MacMorran of Mark Ryan, who uses a combination of neutral oak and concrete and puts it through partial malolactic.

Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 92pts.”

Please limit order requests to 6 bottles each of Viognier, CS I, and CS III, and 1 bottle of CS V, and we’ll do our best to fulfill all requests. The wines should arrive in a week or two, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Two from Domaine Labranche-Laffont

Hello friends. Southwest France makes the Languedoc look mainstream by comparison. I’ll admit it: this is the land of obscure AOCs, and obscure varietals. Perfect for one of our Misfits offerings, and yet…

There are a few regions here with enough quality, enough historical interest, to stand alone. Cahors (the birthplace of Malbec) is one that we’ve already explored. Today we move even further southwest, inching towards the Pyrenees and the Spanish border.

Today we explore Madiran. And Pacherenc-du-Vic-Bilh. Which are actually the same place. Confusing enough?

2010 Domaine Labranche-Laffont Madiran

Check out this nice map of the “Sud-Ouest”, and you’ll see the little orange blob that represents both Madiran and Pacherenc. Madiran was established as an AOC in 1948 to produce red wines based largely on the Tannat grape. When producers in the region wanted an AOC for their white wines, they must have decided that Madiran Blanc would be far too pedestrian, so instead they came up with a completely different name, the rolls-off-the-tongue Pacherenc-du-Vic-Bilh (is there a word for the opposite of “pithy”? if not, may I humbly submit Pacherenc-du-Vic-Bilh for consideration?) Both AOCs cover the exact same boundaries; it’s just that one is for reds, and one is for whites.

Wine fashion can move really slowly, and when it does, values abound. To wit: when wine folks think of Madiran (if they think of it at all), they think of the chunky, tannic, unyielding bottles of Tannat from the 1980s and 1990s. But this is one of the frontiers of France, where the cheap cost of vineyard land attracts the young’uns looking to start some revolutions.

Christine Dupuy personifies modern Madiran. She took over the family estate in 1992 at the age of 23, and this is an estate that has a handful of pre-phylloxera vines that are as old as 150 years. Christine was an early adapter of micro-oxygenation, a technique that has benefits for tannic wines, and huge benefits for hugely tannic wines like Tannat.

Suddenly, Madiran wines, which you used to need to hold for 10-15 years before even thinking about popping a cork, were displaying the ability to offer rustically charming wines in their youths. But because everyone still thinks of Madiran as completely unapproachable, producers there have to work against that stereotype. And the only way to do so is to offer their wines at competitive enough tariffs that we all start drinking these wines again.

In my mind, modern Madiran is like baby Bordeaux, especially a wine like this, which blends significant portions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (20% each) with a core (60%) of Tannat. But the pricing is nowhere near nice Bordeaux, and we’re the lucky recipients. This begins with a leafy, crepuscular nose, blending deep black cherry, tea leaves, and a strong soil/earth component. Search elsewhere if you’re looking for fat/plush fruit. But if you’re seeking a chewy, earthy, mineral-and-terroir-expressive alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a stone cold killer.

2012 Domaine Labranche-Laffont Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec

The blend here is 70% Gros Manseng and 30% Petit Manseng. If you’re thinking “hey, those are the same grapes in Jurancon Sec,” then a) you’re a certified wine nerd; and b) you’re correct. Again, we’re helped by obscurity. Jurancon Sec is fashionable, and typically commands about twice this tariff.

Here we start with a piercing nose of lemon oil, lemon pastille, baking spice, peach, and straw. I can see from my note (“something like a cross between Chardonnay and Gruner Veltliner” and “kind of like a dry Riesling”) that I was trying to put this into a more familiar context. But the truth is: the Manseng sisters make singular blends that stand on their own. There is lovely intensity to the lemon-curd flavors, and a real exoticism to the spice (cardamom?). Seamless, rich, and vibrant, this has just the right amount of flinty minerality to counter all that concentrated fruit. A wonderful winter white.

First come first served up to 24 bottles total (mix and match as you like), and the wines should arrive in about a week, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

2007 Full Pull & Friends Cabernet Sauvignon

Hello friends. Today’s offer was originally planned for October 5, our fourth anniversary. We didn’t quite make it under the wire to send it out in time for that celebration, but the truth is, the wine is milestone enough to warrant its own celebration:

This is our first private label/negociant bottling, a wine that will be available exclusively to our list members. While it’s a new project for us, it’s certainly not a new concept. For generations, merchant-negociants in Europe, in addition to buying finished bottles, have purchased juice and/or grapes for their own labels. And closer to home, I’ve been inspired by the outstanding wine that McCarthy & Schiering puts out under their own label, as well as the terrific ded.reckoning labels from Doug Charles at Compass Wines.

This is an idea that has been germinating for some time now, because every time I’m in northwest wine country, I’m tasting not just finished bottles but plenty of juice from barrel as well. The problem, until recently, was that we simply didn’t meet the volume requirements necessary to commit to a full barrel, or two barrels, or three or four.

Which brings us to the first reason that we’re calling the label “Full Pull & Friends.” The reason is: we couldn’t have done this without our wonderful list members. It’s your support of this venture that has brought us to the point where we could even consider a project like this.

The other set of friends are our winery partners (a special note of thanks here to Trey Busch, who was very patient in explaining the economics and logistics of negociant bottling over multiple conversations). I suspect this will not be our last FP&F bottling (in fact, for our winemaker friends on the mailing list, please consider this your official RFP; Full Pull is in the market for compelling juice), and I expect that in some cases, we’ll include the name of the winery involved, and in others (like today’s offer) we won’t.

I understand the wineries that don’t want their names revealed. They have brand equity to protect, and they don’t want to see their name splashed on a bottle that costs less than half of their own. What I can say is: my plan is to only work with wineries that are already popular with our list members, wineries with whom Full Pull has a long relationship. For example, consider our winery partner for today’s offer. We first started working with them in early 2010, and we’ve offered a grand total of 28 of their wines.

Now a quick word on the label. One advantage with a wine that never has to sit on a retail shelf is that we were able to be completely abstract with the design of the front label (many thanks to Nick Peyton for the design work there). As for what it looks like, well, you’ll just have to wait and see. I also want to note that it was important to me to include “Full Pull” on the label. This is juice that we believe in, that we *want* to put our name on, that we feel represents extraordinary value for our list members.

It is Cabernet Sauvignon from perhaps the best vintage of the past decade in Washington, and it spent about two years in French oak, about two-thirds new. The fruit comes from outstanding vineyards: three of the brilliant sites managed by Kent Waliser and Derek Way for Sagemoor Farms (Bacchus, Dionysus, Weinbau), along with a bit of fruit from Stillwater Creek. To give a sense of the quality of these sites for Cabernet, Bacchus and Dionysus are vineyards that John Abbott uses for Abeja’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon program, among the very best bottles of Cab produced in Washington.

I’ll start with the end of my tasting note from when I first tasted this back in the spring. It reads: “killer 20-year balanced Cab.” There were some exclamation points and stars, too, I’m lightly-chagrined to admit. But I was wowed. For me, it drank more like wines that we taste regularly in the $50+ range, and I firmly believe that you could cellar this for 10-20 years if you wanted to.

On the other hand, why wait? We’re already six years past vintage (and what a vintage it was: the glorious 2007), and this brings plenty of pleasure right now. It opens with a classic four-corners Cabernet nose: fruit (deep cassis and blackberry), earth (good clean soil), herb (tarragon, beetroot) and barrel (cocoa powder). In the mouth it’s a textural marvel, with depth, intensity, and a real palate-staining character. There’s delicious fruit, and silty minerals, and the whole package is just so fresh still, with minty top-notes and big ripe grape-skin tannins.

For our list members who usually go for our $20-and-under offerings, I hope you’ll consider a splurge here. And for our shipping list members, I should note that these bottles are already in the warehouse, and we should be able to confirm them immediately and get them shipped out during this autumn shipping window, in time for the holidays.

We also have a review for this wine. During my autumn Walla Walla trip, I asked our winery partner to pour this wine for Sean Sullivan out of a shiner (an unlabeled bottle), and I didn’t reveal what it was until he had already written a full review. To his credit, Sean wanted to be extra careful here, so he also asked for another sample bottle from the finished, labeled stash to bag up and slip into one of his blind tastings of multiple Washington Cabernets. He has been kind enough to share this pre-publication review here:

Washington Wine Report (Sean Sullivan): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. Rating: ***** (Exceptional).”

I hope you all feel a sense of ownership in this wine, because we couldn’t have done it without you. We’re awfully proud of it. First come first served with no upper limit, and the wine is in the warehouse and ready for immediate pickup for shipping.

2010 Tenor Syrah & 2010 21 Grams

Hello friends. By rights each of today’s two wines deserves its own offering, but we’re rapidly running out of slots on the 2013 calendar, so for the sake of expedience, we’re rolling two big guns into one:

2010 Tenor Syrah

Tenor has been around for a couple years now (Sean Sullivan wrote up a nice piece on them soon after launch), but they still manage to fly a bit under the radar. Several of the partners have sommelier backgrounds, and so these wines tend to show up much more frequently on restaurant wine lists than on retail shelves (in fact, I’m not sure if this Syrah is currently being sold anywhere at retail).

The winery is a passion project for Aryn Morell, who consults for a number of Washington wineries, most notably Matthews Estate, after having spent several years cutting his teeth in the Napa Valley. The Tenor lineup shifts each year, with Aryn only producing the varietals that he sees as exceptional in a given vintage.

In 2010, that included Syrah, and it comes from three terrific vineyard sites: Lawrence, Va Piano, and Stillwater Creek. This bottle does see 100% new French oak, but it’s important to note that those vessels were all puncheons, which are more than twice as large as a normal barrel. That means less surface area touching the wine, and as you’d expect, there’s less overt oak influence than you’d get using all smaller barrels. This is a polished effort with a lovely sense of purity to the plum/blueberry/boysenberry fruit. There is smoky/espressoey barrel nuance, lavender floral notes, and silty minerality; all add intrigue to this delightful Syrah.

Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 94pts.”

Review of Washington Wines (Rand Sealey): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 19/20pts.”

2010 21 Grams

I’m not going to say much here, because we’re quite limited on our allocation, but this is the sixth vintage of this culty collaboration between Jamie Brown (Waters), Greg Harrington (Gramercy), and Makoto Fujimura (the artist who designs the front labels, including this for the 2010)

The core of this is Cabernet from Cold Creek Vineyard. Cold Creek (location here) is owned by Ste Michelle Wine Estates, and they rarely let the old-vine Cabernet out of their portfolio (it typically goes into their highest end wines: Ethos and Col Solare). In fact, I’m not sure if anyone other than Jamie is allowed to purchase Cold Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. Regardless, this 1973-planted site contains some of the oldest Cabernet vines in Washington, and as this bottling shows, some of the best. The texture is what you notice first. This glides across the palate on a silky pillow, bringing succulent notes of cassis and plum, streaked with graphite and cocoa powder. For length, concentration, and a palate-staining character, this is tough to beat.

Washington Wine Report (Sean Sullivan): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. Rating: ***** (Exceptional).”

Please limit order requests to 6 bottles of each wine, and we’ll do our best to fulfill all requests. Both wines should arrive in about a week, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

2009 Mouchao “Dom Rafael” Vinho Tinto Alentejo

Hello friends. Portugal has the Oregon problem: it is known for one thing. Port. Tawny, ruby, vintage, LBV; everyone knows Port, lots of people love Port, and when you move away from Port into dry wines, confusion abounds, as Portugal is littered with lovely, inscrutable indigenous varietals.

Dusting off the old wine Rosetta Stone, “confusion abounds” translates to “value favors the bold.” Wine pricing is some combination of a) the quality of the juice inside; and b) the ease of selling that juice. Our best values come when a) is high and b) is low.

Dry Portuguese reds fit the bill. Everyone who visits Portugal raves about the dry reds they taste there. I visited Portugal. I raved. But then we get back home, and we’re standing in the store, and we’re saying “wait a minute; did I like the one with lots of Tinta Cao, or the one with Alicante Bouschet?” And we consider that question for about five seconds before reaching for the easier-to-understand Cabernet Sauvignon. But not today. Today we revel in confusion.

We have a terrific tariff (as you can see, this is normally a $13-$18 wine) on a wine from a reference-point producer in the Alentejo:

Mouchao is among the oldest and most prominent estates in Alentejo (region #20 on this map in warm, sunny southern Portugal). The Reynolds family moved there in the 1800s to get into the cork business, and it wasn’t until a few generations later, in 1901, that John Reynolds purchased the site for the vineyard and winery. Since then, the winery has been owned by the same family, with one decade-long interruption following the winery’s expropriation during the 1974 revolution.

Dom Rafael is the destination for declassified fruit that doesn’t make it into the top-tier bottling at the estate (just called “Mouchao,” that one earns big scores – 94s and 95s on occasion, from Wine Enthusiast and Wine Advocate – and commands big prices: $45-$50). As a second bottle for the estate, it represents incredible value, and is also made to be perfectly accessible in its youth.

The blend is 60% Aragonez (the name for Tempranillo in the Alentejo), 20% Alicante Bouschet, and 20% Trincadeira, all from estate fruit. The nose begins with a lovely pairing of strawberry fruit and leafy Tempranillo notes, all very fresh and clean. But then with time and air, a series of sultry, earthen-mushroom notes begin to turn up. Compelling stuff. The balance is impeccable, especially at this tariff, and the palate is fresh, intense, vibrant.

Also, consider that most wines at this tariff are babies, typically bottled months after harvest. This instead spent three years in barrel (mostly neutral) and now almost another year in bottle. A killer wine for winter parties and weddings, so let’s open it up: first come first served up to 60 bottles, and the wine should arrive in about a week, at which point it will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Three from Mark Ryan

Hello friends. Today we have a pair of autumn releases from Mark Ryan: new vintages of Mark McNeilly’s muscular Bordeaux blends, Long Haul and Dead Horse (plus a delightful – and nearly sold out – white).

Neither red has any formal reviews yet (probably a good thing for our ability to access them), but Jeb Dunnuck of Wine Advocate posted notes from barrel (we’ll paste those below) and ranged out future reviews at 92-94 Long Haul and 93-95 Dead Horse. By the time the first official reviews come out, these wines will likely be long gone.

2011 Mark Ryan “Long Haul” (BDX Blend)

Long Haul returns to a Red Mountain designation in 2011. It’s more than half Ciel du Cheval fruit, rounded out with Klipsun, Kiona, and Obelisco, and raised in 70% new French oak for 20 months.

We start with a darkly-fruited (blackberry, black cherry) nose, swaddled in barrel notes of woodsmoke, coffee, and toast. The palate combines silky Merlot texture on a heftily-structured frame. Merlot dominates Long Haul, at 76% of the blend, and it serves as a fine example of the burliness of Washington Merlot. This is Merlot for adults, dense and chewy and far from the insipid examples that have hurt Merlot’s name. You’d swear the proportions of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon were reversed here as you’re chewing through the espressoey tannins. Dense, intense, and earthy, this needs time in bottle or decanter to unlock its highest potential.

Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck): [BARREL SAMPLE] “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD].”

2011 Mark Ryan “Dead Horse” Cabernet Sauvignon

Dead Horse has a high enough proportion of Cab (82%) that Cabernet Sauvignon appears on the label. Vineyard sources match Long Haul; this is again a crosscut of wonderful Red Mountain vines, again raised in plenty of new French barrels (80% new). A nose of blackberry fruit and loamy earth gives way to a palate at whose center spins a dense core of Red Mountain minerality. Spinning around that core are streaks of cassis fruit, star anise, barrel spice, and leafy black tea. It’s a dense, concentrated powerhouse, making it clear that even in a cool vintage like 2011, Red Mountain delivers plenty of ripeness, plenty of its rare-and-appealing combination of muscle and grace.

Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck): [BARREL SAMPLE] “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD].”

2012 Mark Ryan Viognier

This is very close to sold out, but the winery has set aside a little chunk for our list. It comes from Ciel du Cheval and Red Willow fruit. For a winery that produces such bold, muscular reds, you’d expect this to be a fat, oily version of Washington Viognier. Instead it’s nothing of the kind, an impressive Viognier that walks the tightrope between richness and vibrancy. There’s a lovely whack of chalky mineral to balance the dense, creamy fruit. Flavors include stone fruit (peach, apricot), citrus (orange peel mostly) and ginger root. Complex, balanced, lovely.

Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 92pts.”

Please limit order requests to 24 bottles total (mix and match as you like), and we’ll do our best to fulfill all requests. The wines should arrive in a week or two, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Two from Saviah The Jack

Hello friends. Rich Funk began Saviah Cellars in 2000 (the 21st winery in the Walla Walla Valley), and began producing The Jack in 2003 as a red table wine destination for his declassified fruit. The wine was always a hit, but its popularity reached stratospheric levels when the economy turned, so much so that Rich (wisely) decided to extend the line. Now the Jack comprises a series of well-priced, accessible varietals and blends, and we have two of them today, two of the stronger value-tier wines I have tasted in Washington this year.

2012 Saviah “The Jack” Syrah

This was one where I tasted it first, thought it was wildly good for the tariff, and then waited anxiously for the tech sheet to see whether the fruit sources would confirm my initial impressions.

They did. We’re looking at Syrah from Lewis, Stillwater Creek, Pepper Bridge, Elephant Mountain, Lonesome Spring. Of course with five vineyard sources (and 10% each Grenache/Mourvedre) we’re losing any real sense of individual vineyard terroir expression, but as a pan-Washington Syrah, this is dynamite juice for the money.

It’s also clear that we’re back to a more normal vintage after the cooler 2010 and 2011 harvests. I did love those years for their cool-climate charms, but I must admit: returning to a warmer year like 2012 is like getting a hug from a relative you haven’t seen in too long. It starts with a lightly funky nose of blueberry and grapey fruit, floral topnotes, and bass notes of asphalt and mineral. The palate has the silken texture, the incipient intensity of the warmer vintage, generous and delicious. A finishing lick of fine-grained espressoey tannins completes a thoroughly pleasurable glass of Syrah.

2012 Saviah “The Jack” Riesling

Again we start with the vineyards, and again they’re terrific: Evergreen (!) and Elerding. This clocks in at 11.9% alc and 1.8% RS, so it’s on the dry side as far as Washington Riesling goes. There’s a perception of sugar, but it’s barely there. Some dissolved CO2 remains, adding a lightly spritzy element that enlivens the palate. Citrus fruits (key lime, tangerine) are lifted by floral notes and a lovely whack of Evergreen’s caliche minerality. With the low alc and the vibrant palate, this is a total guzzler.

First come first served up to 48 bottles total (mix and match as you like), and the wines should arrive in about a week, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Hello friends. Rich Funk began Saviah Cellars in 2000 (the 21st winery in the Walla Walla Valley), and began producing The Jack in 2003 as a red table wine destination for his declassified fruit. The wine was always a hit, but its popularity reached stratospheric levels when the economy turned, so much so that Rich (wisely) decided to extend the line. Now the Jack comprises a series of well-priced, accessible varietals and blends, and we have two of them today, two of the stronger value-tier wines I have tasted in Washington this year.

2012 Saviah “The Jack” Syrah – $14.99 (TPU $13.99)

This was one where I tasted it first, thought it was wildly good for the tariff, and then waited anxiously for the tech sheet to see whether the fruit sources would confirm my initial impressions.

They did. We’re looking at Syrah from Lewis, Stillwater Creek, Pepper Bridge, Elephant Mountain, Lonesome Spring. Of course with five vineyard sources (and 10% each Grenache/Mourvedre) we’re losing any real sense of individual vineyard terroir expression, but as a pan-Washington Syrah, this is dynamite juice for the money.

It’s also clear that we’re back to a more normal vintage after the cooler 2010 and 2011 harvests. I did love those years for their cool-climate charms, but I must admit: returning to a warmer year like 2012 is like getting a hug from a relative you haven’t seen in too long. It starts with a lightly funky nose of blueberry and grapey fruit, floral topnotes, and bass notes of asphalt and mineral. The palate has the silken texture, the incipient intensity of the warmer vintage, generous and delicious. A finishing lick of fine-grained espressoey tannins completes a thoroughly pleasurable glass of Syrah.

To order this wine, click here

2012 Saviah “The Jack” Riesling – $9.99 (TPU $8.99)

Again we start with the vineyards, and again they’re terrific: Evergreen (!) and Elerding. This clocks in at 11.9% alc and 1.8% RS, so it’s on the dry side as far as Washington Riesling goes. There’s a perception of sugar, but it’s barely there. Some dissolved CO2 remains, adding a lightly spritzy element that enlivens the palate. Citrus fruits (key lime, tangerine) are lifted by floral notes and a lovely whack of Evergreen’s caliche minerality. With the low alc and the vibrant palate, this is a total guzzler.

To order this wine, click here

First come first served up to 48 bottles total (mix and match as you like), and the wines should arrive in about a week, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

2009 Den Hoed Wine Estates Cabernet Sauvignon “Andreas”

Hello friends. We have a new vintage today of a lovely under-the-radar Cabernet that has become something of a list-member darling in its previous vintages. We’ve jumped around a bit in vintages, too. First we offered the 2006 and 2007 in October 2011. Then we got access to a library parcel of 2004 in February 2013. And now we have the latest release.

This new release already has one strong review from the only reviewer to publish so far:

Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 95pts.”

For the story behind this wine, I’ll excerpt from those previous offerings:

The first force of nature to get its hands on Wallula Vineyards was the Missoula floods. The second was the Den Hoed brothers. As to which was the more powerful, the more stubborn, well, that’s an open question.

Even today, Wallula looks like an impossible place for a vineyard. In much the same way we puzzle today about Stonehenge and the Easter Island statues, future historians might wonder if it took alien technology to blast a vineyard out of virgin terraced rock and sagebrush. As it happens, no aliens were required; just two Dutch brothers and more than two backhoes.

When the Wallula site came up for sale in 1997, Bill and Andy Den Hoed had already been growing wine grapes in Washington for 20 years. Their parents, Andreas and Marie, first-generation Dutch immigrants, began their Washington farming career in the Yakima Valley, where they grew mint, potatoes, and Concord grapes. In 1978, they were among the first farmers in the state to plant vinifera, and it wasn’t long before Chateau Ste Michelle was their biggest customer, and Bill and Andy were hooked into the family business.

Here are object facts about the site in 1997: Untouched sagelands bordering 7 miles of the Columbia River near the Wallula Gap, a Missoula Flood bottleneck. Steep slope, ranging from 350ft above the river at the bottom of the vineyard to 1400ft at the top. Intensely variegated soils, with soil depth ranging from 6 inches to 20 feet.

The difference between seeing difficulty and seeing opportunity is, I suppose, experience. The Den Hoed brothers had experience in spades, and they saw the opportunity to create a special vineyard. Wallula is a spectacular site. It’s difficult to capture in pictures, but let’s try anyway. Here is a wide shot, and here is a closer view to give a sense of the steep, terraced nature of some of these blocks. Remarkable.

As the vineyard came online and the vines gained some age, the better winery owners and winemakers in the state began to take notice. One of those was Allen Shoup, founder of Long Shadows. Recognizing the incredible potential of the vineyard, he put together an investment group that purchased a majority interest in Wallula Vineyard in 2008. Much of the vineyard was then renamed The Benches, but the Wallula name was retained for some of it, and the Den Hoeds continue to own a minority stake and to do all the farming and vineyard management.

But before any of that happened in 2008, Bill and Andy started a small label, with dual purposes: first, to showcase the exceptional nature of Wallula Vineyard; and second, to honor their mother and father. Their mother’s wine is Marie’s View, a multi-varietal blend made each year by Rob Newsom of Boudreaux Cellars. Their father’s wine, Andreas, is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon made by Gilles Nicault of Long Shadows.

Gilles controls every aspect of Andreas. The detail of the grape selection here is intense. It goes beyond block selection, beyond even row selection. In some instances, Gilles is choosing specific plants within a row that are appropriate for Andreas. Once the grapes are picked, all the winemaking is done at Long Shadows, so that Gilles can be intimately involved with the wine at all steps of its evolution. In short, this is lovingly cared-for, deeply coddled wine. And it shows. It shows in the piercing cassis notes, overlain with woodsmoke and dust. It shows perhaps most in the texture, which is balanced, seamless, intense, a silky mass of blackcurrant and blackberry fruit dusted with sweet spice and cocoa powder. This would be a great wine to slip into a tasting of cult Napa Cabs, a fine ringer indeed.

This wine is just getting released, and with the strong review already in place, I’m not sure what will be available to us. Because of that, I’m not going to set an upper order limit. Request what you like, and we’ll do our best (we’ll allocate if needed, but I’m hoping we’re getting in early enough that it won’t be necessary). The wine should arrive in about a week, at which point it will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Two Wines w/ About-To-Be-Published Reviews

Hello friends. Sneaking in a quick offering on this fine Tuesday for two wines that were originally slotted for later 2013, or maybe early 2014, but each has an about-to-be-published review that is going to exert extra sales pressure. Let’s not take a chance on missing out:

2012 Guardian Cellars Sauvignon Blanc “Angel”

This review is set to appear in the November issue: Wine Enthusiast (Paul Gregutt): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 94pts.”

As you can pretty easily glean from PaulG’s note, this is the strongest review he was written for a Washington Sauvignon Blanc. Ever.

It certainly does have the pyrazine pungency that only Sauv Blanc can bring to the table, but not in the aggressively green way that can plague New Zealand. Instead, it’s a grass-clover-tarragon-jalapeno all-things-green mish-mash. That appetizing nose gives way to a palate that marries richness to vibrancy in an intense, palate-coating manner, all citrusy and grassy and oh-so Sauv Blanc. The creamy mid-palate is just right, connecting the bright front palate to the lingering, mouthwatering finish. Impressive juice from an AVA (Red Mountain) much better known for burly reds than for Sauvignon Blanc.

2010 Robert Ramsay Cellars Syrah Boushey Vineyard

This review is set to appear in the October 31 issue: Wine Spectator (Harvey Steiman): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 93pts.”

Note: this has the score/price chops to make Spectator’s Top 100 list at year’s end, but I suspect the production level is too low. All Boushey fruit, and a coferment of 95% Syrah/5% Viognier, if it’s not the funkiest Boushey Syrah ever, it certainly has savory tomato-paste/braised-meat charm to spare. I also picked up some woodsmoke and coconutty/mocha barrel notes that makes me think some proportion of the French oak here is new. The overall package is an intense, spicy, smoky version of this benchmark Washington vineyard.

First come first served up to 12 bottles of each wine, and the wines should arrive in about a week, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Two from Marcel Lapierre

Hello friends. We have two wines today from a reference point producer in Morgon, one of the ten crus of Beaujolais. The thrust of the offering will be the new vintage of Raisins Gaulois, which was a surprise hit for our list members last autumn. And then we’ll include a short blurb (okay, a rant if I’m being honest) on the tremendous Cuvee Lapierre.

2012 Marcel Lapierre Raisins Gaulois

The late Marcel Lapierre had two famous quotes about his Raisins Gaulois bottling:

#1: “It’s wine to quench your thirst and make you piss.”
#2: “It’s wine to drink in the shower when you wake up in the morning.”

Brilliant! Showering has been so boring lately, and now I know how to fix it.

As you can glean from those quotes, Marcel was a character. He passed away about three years ago, and Eric Asimov’s obituary in the New York Times provides a lovely recollection of the man. Mathieu Lapierre, who had worked several vintages with his father, has now taken over winemaking duties, continuing the family’s serious pursuit of pleasure-making.

Marcel was a member (perhaps the leading member) of the famous Beaujolais “Gang of Four.” Along with Jean Foillard, Guy Breton, and Jean-Paul Thévenet, he pushed back – forcefully – against the horrors of banana-bubble-gum-flavored, carbonically-macerated, air-freighted Beaujolais Nouveau, which has about as much in common with good Cru Beaujolais as a sunflower has in common with the sun.

He helped revive interest in the region, and reminded us all that Gamay Noir has its own unique appeal, especially when grown on hillsides and treated with care. The particular hillside cru that became Lapierre‘s focus is Morgon. Raisins Gaulois is mostly declassified Lapierre Morgon, and it’s blended with a few lots from the greater Beaujolais AOC. Because of quirky French labeling laws, this gets the “Vin de France” designation, but it is 100% Gamay from Beaujolais proper.

The label gives a pretty good indication of what this wine is going for. Just plunge the corkscrew directly into the cluster. The goals are transparency, purity, honesty. Josh Raynolds from Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar has called this wine “frighteningly easy to drink,” and that’s about the measure of it. Tapped in kegs at many a Lyon restaurant, here in the states we’re restricted to bottles, but you can make up for it by skipping the stemware and drinking direct from the vessel. Marcel would approve (especially if done in the shower). It’s appetizing, gulpable joy juice, filled with the crunchiest, mineral-drenched berry fruit. Ultra-refreshing (especially with a light chill), it’s a slam dunk for Thanksgiving. Year in and year out, for my palate this is among the finest wine values in the world.

2011 Marcel Lapierre Cuvee MMXI

Vintages of this wine are scattered all over my cellar. I know, I know: $40+ for Beaujolais? But it all depends on your frame of reference.

If your frame of reference is grocery stacks of Beajolais Nouveau, then yeah, this is going to seem like expensive Gamay. But if your frame of reference is greater Burgundy, then this tariff begins to make sense.

I tasted this most recently at a huge portfolio tasting for Lapierre’s Seattle importer, and it was being poured at a table with similarly-priced (slightly more expensive) 1er Cru Savigny Les Beaune Fournaux and 1er Cru Beaune Bressandes from a domaine that shall remain nameless. And I have to tell you: Cuvee Lapierre was the winner by knockout.

It underscored for me how cru Beaujolais remains one of the under-tapped great wine values out there. I blame (praise?) the Brits and their vinous necrophilia, their obsession with aging red Burg until all the fruit has faded and been replaced with a mouthful of dead leaves. They’ve pushed wine fashion towards these wines that take forever to come around, if they ever do. I’m not saying a mature red Burgundy isn’t a profound beverage. It is. Sometimes. But it’s high-stakes gambling, and I’d rather push my chips towards wines where I don’t need to wait 25 years to see if I hit the jackpot.

Cru Beaujolais from a good producer is reliable. It can be drunk young for fresh fruity pleasure. It gains complexity for a few years and then plateaus for a good chunk of time after that. And it doesn’t break the bank.

Okay, rant over. Blanket accusations of mass necrophilia over. Back to the wine, which is deep, intense, filled with silky black cherry fruit and silty minerals and mouthwatering acids. It’s about as fine an expression of Gamay as you’ll find, and not Gamay trying to be Pinot, either. This is Gamay that’s comfortable in its own skin, and the result is breathtaking.

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar (Josh Raynolds): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 93pts.”

Wine Advocate (David Schildknecht): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 93pts.”

Go crazy on Raisins: it’s first come first served up to 72 bottles. For the Cuvee, please limit order requests to 6 bottles, and we’ll do our best to fulfill all requests. Both wines should arrive in about a week, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.