Full Pull Buzz

Hello friends. We have the return today of one of the more buzzworthy Washington wineries going these days: Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen’s WT Vintners.

As I mentioned in our debut offer of Jeff’s wines last April, WT wines turn up on many of the most competitive restaurant lists in Seattle: Canlis. The Herbfarm. Wild Ginger. The Metropolitan Grill. Wineries beg, plead, cajole and give up significant margin to distributors in order to make inroads in places like these. So how did a self-distributed newbie make it into those accounts? The answer: because Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen has years of experience buying and selling wine for some of Seattle’s finest restaurants, and he’s now applying his formidable palate to WT Vintners.

By evening (and probably a good chunk of day), Jeff is the Wine Director at RN74 in Seattle, which means he basically tastes every important wine that comes into Seattle. That gig came after previous stints at Cascadia, Wild Ginger, and Café Juanita. He has a wickedly sharp palate, and a clear point of view, honed from tasting thousands of wines for his various restaurant gigs. To wit, here is an excerpt from Jeff’s winemaking philosophy:

From our inception I strive to be the conduit from which our vineyards speak. Minimal additions are made in the winery beyond yeast and the occasional racking off solids. I avoid the use of new oak in favor of used barrels, which add a bit of texture and little else. Foremost, I want our wines to serve as the champions of Washington’s extraordinary terroir. By utilizing whole clusters, versus just the berries, during fermentation I attempt to coax both greater structure and more savory flavors and aromas in our Syrah. With each vineyard we work closely with the vineyard’s manager and owner to reduce crop loads and find the optimal time to harvest, which is often weeks before our neighbors. By picking early I ensure the vineyard’s voice is heard and not lost to high alcohols and overtly fruity wines. Ultimately, I am attempting to make the wines I want to drink, wines of place, wines that complement a meal and wines that tell a story. I want them to be delicious as they are interesting.

Right now, the wines are sold almost exclusively through restaurant channels (check out their list; we’ll be happy to sidle on up next to our esteemed colleagues at McCarthy & Schiering as the only retailers listed). Stephen Tanzer has written positive press in the past, but WT remains a winery flying well under the mainstream radar. Not for much longer, I suspect.

2014 WT Vintners Gruner Veltliner

You didn’t think one of our resident sommeliers was going to make a buttery Chardonnay did you? Jeff has zeroed in on probably the most exciting place in Washington for white wines: the Columbia Gorge (yes, Ancient Lakes can make a compelling argument too). Gruner Veltliner grown on the southern slopes of the extinct volcano Underwood Mountain is one of the hidden treasures of the northwest. Syncline and Savage Grace are the only other Washington wineries I’ve seen to vinify these grapes.

Here’s what JLT has to say: Drawing inspiration from Gruner’s homeland, the Wachau region of Austria, we divide the fermentation between stainless steel and a small amount of neutral oak barrels to coax the austere mineral and spicy elements from the steel and a weightier mid-palate from the permeable oak. Bursting with aromas of just ripe peach, melon, green pineapple, spicy arugula, lemon balm, & wet stone. Flavors of peach, honeydew melon, pineapple, white pepper, & struck flint complement the wine’s brisk acidity. Food Pairings: Dungeness crab tagliatelle, mussels steamed in white wine & garlic, sautéed asparagus.

His note – and especially the parts about green pineapple and spicy arugula – fights the good fight of trying to convey Gruner’s unique savory charms through the written word. It ain’t easy. My descriptor has notes like “hay” and “sweet pea.” Whatever it is, it’s this green, vegetal-in-the-best-way subtlety that is really rare among white wines, and deeply attractive to those of us who love it. This clocks in at 12.9% listed alc and is bright, nervy, and terrifically vibrant. Some lees contact has plumped up the mid-palate, but ultimately this is a laser-beam wine, beautiful for its purity and its complex mix of stone fruits and savory greenies.

2013 WT Vintners Stoney Vine Vineyard

Last year’s 2012 Dalliance from WT was extremely popular with our list members. This is the new vintage, but due to the threat of a trademark lawsuit (a plague in the wine trade), Jeff is just naming this by its vineyard sourcing going forward.

And what a vineyard! Stoney Vine is a terrific Dusted Valley-farmed site in the Rocks, and here is JLT on this particular patch of terroir: In 2012, W.T. Vintners formed a new partnership in one of the world’s most unique vineyard areas, the Walla Walla Valley’s sub-region known as “The Rocks.” Unlike the dominant soils of Washington’s flood affected vine growing areas, “The Rocks” are an ancient alluvial fan of river tumbled basalt cobblestones formed by the Walla Walla river. “The Rocks” area shares its soil structure with only a couple very rare and special regions, evoking visions of Chateauneuf-du-Pape in France’s Southern Rhone Valley or New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay sub-region known as the “Gimblett Gravels.” While Chateauneuf’s famous “galet roulés” are just surface stones, the Walla Walla Rocks are deep; well over 200 feet deep in some spots. The lower hanging fruit benefits from the radiant heat being absorbed by the cobblestones throughout the sunny days. More importantly, the heat that is absorbed by day continues warming the root system and assisting in ripening well into the night. The resulting flavors from the region are decidedly very different from anywhere else in Washington. Flavors and aromas of wild game, earth and deep heady fruits pervade the wines made from fruit grown in this small area, regardless of varietal. It is truly a special place and worthy of the critical honors the region’s wines continue to garner each year.

The 2013 is a blend of 53% Grenache, 37% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre, aged for 18 months in neutral barrels. “Definitely rocks,” begins my note, which goes on to a nose of great green Cerignola olives and smoky bacon nuance on a core of layered fruit: blueberries, cherries, and loads of stone fruits like peach and nectarine. Threads of smoke wind their way through the lovely palate, which is fruity and meaty and briny in turn. What a delicious swirling stew of Rocks goodness!

Jeff again: Explosive aromas of black cherry, wild strawberry, marionberry, raw steak, black pepper, smoke, espresso & tilled earth. Silky tannins envelop flavors of smoked game, bold Walla Walla “Rocks” minerality, star anise, white pepper, mocha & violets. Food Pairings: Cassoulet, BBQ ribs, Venison Loin with huckleberries.

As someone who divides the year into “summer” and “cassoulet season,” I heartily approve of that list of food pairings.

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

Hello friends. Today’s offer got me to thinking: are our names (and nicknames) our destinies? If my father had had his way and named me Zero Zitarelli instead of Paul (reasoning: it would have been both mathematical and alliterative), would my life have turned out differently? My guess: yes. (In this case because I likely would have been teased so relentlessly in middle school that I’d probably be a shut-in by now. Thanks, mom, for sticking with Paul and saving me from that particular alternate history).

And when you’re called “the Provencal Hercules” by Kermit Lynch, are you going to make thin, insipid wine? No, probably not. Instead you’re probably going to make big, bold, beautiful Bandol:

2009 Domaine du Gros Nore Bandol Rouge

The Hercules in question is Alain Pascal, and he is making some of the most exciting wines to come out of the finest part of Provence: Bandol. Bandol (see location on this map of Provence wine) is the only region I can think of in France whose main focus is Mourvedre. Mourvedre, which is mostly used as a blender in the southern Rhone, here must make up at least 50% of the blend. In Alain’s case, his Bandol Rouge is a full 80% Mourvedre, the remainder Grenache and Cinsault.

There are really only two Bandol producers that get a lot of attention in the United States: Domaine Tempier and Domaine Ott. And for many years, Alain Pascal’s father (Honore) sold most of his fruit to Domaine Ott. The Pascal family used to bottle a small amount of their own wine for family consumption, but it wasn’t until the death of his father in 1997 that Alain began holding back more fruit and bottling it commercially. Already by 2001, Jamie Goode (of the outstanding Wine Anorak) was calling Gros Nore a rising star, and the quality has only increased from there, culminating with this 2009, which receive an eye-popping review from Wine Spectator:

Wine Spectator (Kim Marcus): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 94pts.”

Note that the “now” in the drinking window of that review was autumn 2012, so we’re in the peak of the peak, and this wine certainly drinks like it. From 30-40 year old vines grown on clay soils, this spent 18 months in big old neutral oak foudres and now another four years maturing in bottle. It jumps out of the glass with a nose of smoke, wild game, spiced and browned meat, fresh plums, and dried fruits like blackberries and figs. It’s a nose that’s plenty complex, with more than a hint of the sauvage. Mourvedre’s wild character is on fine display here, and this conveys a real sense of sun-soaked fruit. All that ripe fruit is lifted by subtle floral notes, and the overall package hangs together beautifully. In the mouth, we get lush, rich, intense dried fruit, serious structure in the form of burly/meaty tannins, and plenty of finishing toothsome chew.

Alain Pascal is a hunter, and I’ve seen pictures of him cooking wild boar to pair with this Bandol. I’ve also seen him grilling several of the big oily fishes that roam the Marseillaise coast (this is bouillabaisse country). Perhaps that would be better with his Bandol rosé, but it’d be worth a shot with the rouge. For me, this wine made me want to spit-roast some kind of small, mostly-dark-meat bird and drop a bottle into the decanter. Regardless of what you eat this with (maybe nothing at all; it’d make a fine cocktail wine), it’s a delicious, beautiful wine, evocative of one small, unique patch of terroir in the south of France.

Please limit order requests to 12 bottles, and we’ll do our best to fulfill all requests. The wine should arrive in a week or two, at which point it will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

[Oh, and if you made it to the bottom of this one, I’ll add on one more detail on names, which is that my grandfather was sort of named Hercules too; Ercole, actually, which was the Italian version, but he shortened it to Earl, and then was eventually called Horsey more than anything else due to his predilection for the racetrack. There’s your piece of Zitarelli family history for the day. Now get back to work!]

Full Pull Tempus

Hello friends. I recently had a chance to taste through the current lineup from Tempus Cellars and came away more than a little impressed. Three different varieties, from three different vintages, from three different parts of the state; all expressive, all polished, all delicious. And each of the three represents outstanding quality compared to peers at these price points. In short, Joe Forest is killing it.

Way back when, in their early years, we hosted a few release parties for Tempus at our old warehouse space. Back in those days, there was a real spark of promise, and now it’s clear that the promise has been realized. I heartily encourage you to check out these wines:

2012 Tempus Cellars Grenache

I’m going to begin with the only wine of the trio that does not yet have a review attached, and I’m starting here because I found this a completely eye-popping wine. Are we past the point where we’re talking about Grenache’s potential in Washington? Can we just agree that there is a real way forward with this grape in our state? Especially when you see bottles like this, and like Kevin White’s La Fraternite, coming in with such high quality at prices in the $20s. I find the whole thing very exciting, in case you couldn’t tell.

While it’s not listed on the front label, this is actually single-vineyard juice, coming entirely from Art den Hoed’s vineyard outside of Sunnyside, in the Yakima Valley. It spent 18 months in barrel, all neutral, and it clocks in at 14.8% listed alc. What this particular Grenache reminded me of was old-school Chateauneuf-du-Pape, before alcohols in that region got completely out of control (some blame warming weather, some blame Robert Parker). It has that wonderful Grenache aromatic trinity of brambly raspberry fruit, cooling crushed rock tones, and herbal garrigue/eucalyptus notes. The nose is super-expressive, soaring, inviting. And the palate delivers. Bright, energetic, this comes with a wonderful sense of fruit extract. It drinks like a session Grenache: one where you could easily see enjoying glass after glass throughout an afternoon and evening, with food or without.

This is really fantastic Grenache. It’s one of the best quality-for-price wines I’ve tasted from Washington in 2015. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

2013 Tempus Cellars Riesling Evergreen Vineyard

Joe consistently makes the driest Riesling I know of from Evergreen Vineyard, and one of the most compelling. In this case, there’s just 1.1% residual sugar, and it is easily balanced by all of Evergreen’s hallmark acid-and-chalky-mineral spine. The sense of dry extract here, the salinity, the mouthwatering nature of this Riesling: all very impressive. The fruit is citric goodness (lime especially) mixed with ripe stone fruits (nectarine especially), and it lingers impressively well after a swallow. Despite its somewhat under-the-radar status, I’d call this one of Washington’s finest Rieslings year in and year out, and we have it for a few dollars below its release.

Wine Enthusiast (Sean Sullivan): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 91pts.”

2010 Tempus Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Spectator (Harvey Steiman): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 92pts.”

We have a significant price break on this lovely Cab, which Harvey puts smack in the middle of peak drinking. I tasted this and then had to scramble to figure out why it was as good as it was, because Cabernets could be really challenging in the cooler 2010 vintage. This beauty, however, is a full 73% old-vine Sagemoor Vineyard fruit (yes, that’s the same Sagemoor that appears in Woodward Canyon’s gorgeous old-vine Cab). It’s rounded out with Klipsun and Seven Hills fruit, another duo of outstanding vineyard sites. The nose is true to the vintage, high-toned with violets, cassis, espresso, and soil. There is plenty of energy from the cool vintage, and a real minty freshness here. There’s glorious acid structure, then more structure in the form of smoky fine-grained tannins, then a long attractive finish. It’s vigorous, invigorating Cabernet.

First come first served up to 36 bottles total (mix and match as you like), and the wines should arrive in the next few weeks, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Full Pull 4040

Hello friends. Last year’s 2012 vintage of Cadence Coda was among our most popular wines of the year. I know there is huge interest in well-priced Red Mountain wines, especially from the 2012 vintage. I also know that it isn’t easy to find examples in the $20s. But after a few months of back-and-forth e-mails and price negotiations, we have one today:

2012 Fidelitas 4040

This is a fascinating counterpoint to Coda, because Charlie Hoppes is a winemaker that knows Red Mountain as well as Ben Smith does, but who has a completely different house style. It’s also a fine value, negotiated down from its normal $32 price in hopes of getting more folks to dip their toes in the Fidelitas waters.

A quick primer on Charlie Hoppes and his winery: Hired by Mike Januik after finishing the UC-Davis program in 1988, Charlie spent a decade at Ste Michelle, eventually ascending to the Head Red Winemaker position, where he had great influence over Ste Michelle’s successful high-end projects, including Col Solare on Red Mountain.

That project must have influenced him, because Charlie eventually set up shop on Red Mountain himself. I had a chance to visit Charlie at his Fidelitas tasting room during my research trip for the “Destination Wineries” piece I wrote for Seattle Magazine last year. It is a terrific spot to visit: one of the few tasting rooms on Red Mountain with regular open hours, one of the few tasting rooms anywhere in the state to aim for modern architecture, and maybe the only tasting room with a certified baby whisperer available (Charlie made it a point to call me after that article was published and let me know that multiple visitors to their tasting room had asked about his skills in baby whispering; it definitely worked for our daughter).

This 2012 vintage marked Charlie’s 25th vintage in Washington, so this is a winemaker with deep experience, broad expertise, and an impeccable lineup of vineyard partners. Here he is blending six separate sites on the mountain (which, by the way, contains 4040 acres; hence the name) in this Cab-dominant (54%) cuvee, rounded out with 33% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. It sees 20 months in a mix of French and American oak, about half new barrels. The nose is smoky and seductive, offering earthy peat, crème de cassis, spicy nutty pecans, and bourbon barrel. Charlie really knows how to swaddle rich Red Mountain fruit in smoky/nutty barrel notes; the combination is alluring indeed. In the mouth, the cocoa powder-dusted black fruits continue, complicated here by a red ferrous mineral/sanguine note. For most of this seamless mouthful’s trip across your palate, it is a luscious little truffle of a wine, but my oh my does this pick up power and structure as it rolls into a finish with sneaky back-end chew. Sneaky because these tannins are so polished and fine-grained, you barely notice them. The overall package drinks like some Red Mountain blends (that shall remain nameless) that cost twice this much.

The pricing we’ve negotiated may be one-time only, so I’m inclined to open this one up a little: first come first served up to 36 bottles, and the wine should arrive in a week or two, at which point it will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Full Pull The Rocks District

Hello friends. We have the new vintage today of one of last year’s most painfully allocated wines. This year, the pain should be lessened. Somewhat.

2013 Delmas Syrah

Before going any further, I’ll say what I said last year: give serious consideration to heading over to the Delmas website and joining their mailing/waiting list. This is an extremely exciting new project coming out of the Walla Walla rocks, and I fully expect them to wind up selling most or all of their wine through their list, a la Cayuse and Reynvaan.

We’re fortunate to be receiving any allocation of this wine at all. Outside of us and our colleagues at McCarthy & Schiering (consider contacting Dan and Jay if we under-allocate you), the only place to source this wine is at the winery door. No restaurant sales. No other retail sales. It’s an extremely limited wine. Last year we set upper order limits at 3 bottles. In the end, no one got more than a single bottle, and dozens of list members were shut out entirely. This year, we have a marginally bigger allocation. I’m going to (optimistically? foolishly?) bump the order limit to 6 bottles today, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see final allocations closer to 2-3 bottles.

What makes Delmas so exciting is that this is the estate winery for SJR Vineyard. Now, SJR first came onto my radar back in 2011, when Sean Boyd from Rotie Cellars put a solid chunk of Syrah from this site into his 2009 Northern. You know, the one that ended up at #7 on Sean Sullivan’s Top 100 for Seattle Met Magazine that year, with an attached 94pt review? At the time, SJR vineyard was on its third leaf (planted in 2007), and it was clear then that the fruit quality was outrageous, especially for such young vines.

You can always judge the quality of a vineyard by who is working with the fruit. And over the next few years, Steve Robertson of SJR sold fruit to exactly three wineries: Rotie, Rasa, and Gramercy. That is a murderer’s row of Syrah producers.

And at the time, I also started hearing about Delmas, which was keeping some of their fruit for a three-year “soft release.” They made 45 cases of 2010 vintage, 45 cases of 2011. I inquired after both, and in both cases, there was only enough wine to sell to friends, family, and mailing list members.

Then, in summer 2013, I got the chance to meet Steve in person and walk the rows at SJR. Unfortunately, my best picture from that trip has my fat fingers all over it, but you still get the idea: this is squarely in the rocks. And on that front, it’s also worth noting that Steve was one of the real champions of applying to the TTB for approval of a new sub-AVA within the Walla Walla Valley: The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater (I wrote about this development under my Seattle Magazine guise). That meeting led to more conversations and eventually an agreement that Full Pull would receive a small allocation of the 2012 vintage. And the rest is history.

On the viticulture front, Steve’s daughter Brooke is getting more and more involved. She has been cutting her viticulture teeth in a small California region called the Napa Valley and is currently pursuing her viticulture master’s at Cal Poly, but she’s winging back and forth between Northern Cali and the Walla Walla Valley, and once she finishes her degree, she’ll be onsite at SJR full time.

For winemaking, Steve has chosen Billo Naravane from Rasa Vineyards as Demlas’ consulting winemaker, and what a joy it is to see Billo – who is a Rhone savant – working with rocks fruit. Here’s what the always-eloquent Billo has to say about the site: “SJR Vineyard produces Syrah with an amazing sense of terroir; there is a haunting earthiness and minerality that is present in all of the wines from this vineyard. The resulting wines have that rare combination of elegance, finesse, and power without heaviness. SJR Vineyard is a site that truly has something spectacular to say.”

The vineyard (located at the far southwestern edge of the rocks) is 9.6 acres, of which 7.9 are planted, mostly to Syrah (5.9 acres) and then an acre each of Grenache and Viognier. That Viognier is a full 8.1% of this 2013 Syrah, cofermented, and the whole thing is aged for 18 months in French oak, about 50% new. The first sniff confirms the large proportion of Viognier via an evocative garden of flowers: jasmine, orange blossom, violet. The second sniff: a core of brambly red raspberry fruit. And then each subsequent sniff seems to reveal another savory subtlety: now exotic smoky incense, now a plate of charcuterie, now anise and cardamom. It’s a nose that glories in its complexities. And then the mouthfeel. Oh, the mouthfeel. It’s hard to say enough about Billo’s skill with texture, which is on clear display here. I actually used the word “endearing” in my note: a rare adjective for me. But this is just so supple, so attractive, so impossibly pillowy. With every minute open, this bottle revealed more savory/smoky goodies. The mix of deep intense fruit and naughty brackish salty notes had me completely seduced. What a fine sophomore effort this is. What a fine harbinger of things to come for this thrilling new project.

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

Full Pull Spain in Washington

Hello friends. Idilico wines have become list-member favorites over the past few years, and why not? The label is a terrific project from our resident Spanish winemaker, Javier Alfonso, designed to highlight Spanish varieties grown in Washington.

I have rarely seen these wines reviewed anywhere, but even without the critics weighing in, this label has developed serious buzz, spurred on by the sommelier set and other insider types who know value when they see it. The sales focus for Idilico is mostly restaurant wine lists, and the wines are priced accordingly. That makes them incredible values at retail, values that have become well-loved by our list members.

Today, we have the return of Javier’s Albarino, along with a new (red) addition to the Idilico lineup:

2014 Idilico Albarino

This is the fifth vintage of Albarino (we’ve offered all of the previous four) under the Idilico label. Quick primer on Albarino: it’s the main varietal grown and produced in Rias Baixas, along the northwest coast of Spain. Light-bodied and highly aromatic, with screaming acidity and generally low alcohols, these wines pair perfectly with the abundant shellfish and finfish of the region. To the best of my knowledge, there are no more than a handful of Albarino vineyards in Washington. Javier’s comes from Dutchman Vineyard, a DenHoed-planted site in the cooler part of the Yakima Valley, north of Prosser.

The wine moves from those vines to bottle with little intervention: stainless steel fermentation and aging; moderate lees contact; no malolactic fermentation. It’s pure Albarino, 12.5% alc and awash in mineral-soaked lemon-lime and peach-fuzz fruit. Eminently refreshing, this is all bright acid on the attack, then transitions into a mid-palate with surprising plumpness before gliding onto a finish with lingering citrus/rock notes. I’m not sure there is another Washington white more evocative of our long northern-latitude summer days, with those blue twilights that last for hours. As many a wise Westerosi has said: winter is coming. Drink this wine (made by a legit Dornishman no less!) to stave it off.

2013 Idilico Roble

This is the first vintage for Javier’s new blend, a mix of 40% Tempranillo (young Boushey Vineyard fruit), 33% Garnacha (Grenache for you Francophiles), and 27% Graciano. It comes out a year earlier than the red varieties (Temp, Garnacha, Monastrell, and Graciano are all on 2012) and is meant for early consumption. When I asked Javier about the reasoning behind introducing a new wine to the lineup, he wrote back a great response. And rather than paraphrase, I’m going to excerpt:

A “roble” designated wine is typically the second wine to be released for many Spanish wineries (“joven” being the first which is typically un-aged)… We wanted to create a wine from the past. A red wine that is deliciously fresh and juicy with very little if any oak flavor.  These are the wines that I love to drink with 95% of the food I eat.  A red wine that breaks all the stereotypes by drinking it in summer slightly chilled in the porch.  A red for Asian food, BBQ, seafood, soup, pizza and green vegetables. This is the way inexpensive wines used to taste (and still do in Europe).  

It was funny reading that e-mail from Javier, because at that point, I had already tasted the wine, and my note has phrases like “unabashed charmer” and “personality to spare.” So I think he has succeeded in making a fresh, juicy, characterful, and yes, inexpensive blend. It begins with a nose of spicy, zesty, brambly blackberry. The palate is a vibrant, delicious example of the charms of 2013, with a pure, spicy fruit character: leafy Tempranillo, berry-driven Garnacha, piquant Graciano: all sit in perfect harmony. Could anyone else in Washington put together a blend like this? There is a hint of Graciano rusticity on the back-end, and this is altogether straightforward, unfussy juice: a nifty house red for summertime.

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

Full Pull Lonely Heart

Hello friends. As we move towards the second half of 2015, I’m noticing the stream of releases from the epic 2012 vintage in the northwest is drawing down to something closer to a trickle, as many wineries begin moving onto their 2013s. Yes, there will still be more 2012s to come in the months and years to follow. We know we won’t see Corliss 2012s, for example, until 2017. And Kendall Mix’s 2012s for Lawrelin? Sheesh, it might be 2025 before we see those.

But still, the 2012s are becoming fewer and further between, which only serves to heighten the poignancy, and perhaps the urgency.

Today we have one such late-release 2012, a Cabernet that has been extremely popular among our list members since we first offered the 2007 vintage way back in December 2010. We haven’t missed a vintage since.

2012 Mark Ryan Cabernet Sauvignon Lonely Heart

Yeah, okay, so I acknowledge that mid-June is not necessarily the time of year when many of us are thinking about big Cabernet Sauvignons. The main reason to offer this wine now is to get out ahead of Jeb Dunnuck’s review. I’m figuring Jeb’s annual set of Washington reviews for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate should drop sometime in late June. He’s already given Lonely Heart a very positive barrel review, and if his bottle review comes out at the top end of the range, this wine could disappear in a blink.

Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. (94-96+)pts.”

To put that into context, in Jeb’s last set of bottle reviews (June 2014), not a single Cabernet Sauvignon earned a review stronger than 96pts. The two 96-pointers: Quilceda Creek and Sheridan Block 1.

This year’s Lonely Heart comes entirely from Red Mountain fruit; a trio of vineyards: Ciel du Cheval, Force Majeure, and Quintessence. It clocks in at 15.1% listed alc (honest to this AVA in this vintage) and spent two years in French oak, 68% new. The nose is wonderful: loads of dusty earthy notes played off against red cherry and cassis fruit, and exotic elements like candied orange peel and star anise. Let’s ignore those continuing flavors on the palate and instead focus on the texture: seriously powerful, completely mouth-coating, dense, intense, structured.

Where Mark Ryan’s wines have improved over the years, in my opinion, is that they’re not quite as imposing as they used to be. In the old days, the tannins were so burly that a wine like Lonely Heart was utterly unapproachable in its youth. These days, there is still plenty of tannic structure, but those tannins are rounder, finer-grained, more polished, and it makes for a very pleasurable drinking experience. Still, as this lingers on and on with its finishing lick of cherry tea, you can’t help but think that this wine’s best years are well ahead of it. Jeb puts the drinking window out to 2032, 20 years past this wine’s vintage. I think he’s right.

Please limit order requests to 12 bottles, and we’ll do our best to fulfill all requests. The wine should arrive in a week or two, at which point it will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Full Pull Staple

Hello friends. The list of successful sub-$20 Washington Syrahs is not a long one: Southard, For A Song, The Jack. (I’m sure there are a few more we’ve offered that I’m forgetting). And then there’s Morgan Lee’s Columbia Valley Syrah for Two Vintners, which in just three short vintages has become a list staple, offering terrific stuffing and complexity at a sub-$20 tag. Today it returns with a new vintage, and please note that below the Syrah, we’ll be offering the new releases of two whites from Morgan, both quite limited.

2013 Two Vintners Syrah Columbia Valley

This one has also become limited, and it’s mostly a price point issue. Somms around town have sniffed it out as a potential glass pour candidate, and once a wine ends up on a few glass pour lists, it tends to deplete and deplete and deplete. Last year, we only got one shot at the 2012 vintage, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same for this one.

It’s a real pan-Washington Syrah, coming from five vineyards in five separate AVAs: Olsen (Yakima Valley), Discovery (Horse Heaven), Klipsun (Red Mountain), Stonetree (Wahluke Slope), and Stoney Vine (Walla Walla Valley). It also sees a 2% Roussanne coferment, which always adds one more layer of complexity to an already-complex wine. It was raised in large French puncheons (almost all used or neutral), and it clocks in at 14.4% listed alc.

Sniffed blind, I think I would have pegged this as Owen Roe’s Ex Umbris. It has that same insistent smoky quality; just lovely. Those wafts of smoke surround a core of blackberry and blueberry fruits, dark loamy earth, and smoldering charcoal. That nose practically cries out to fire up the barbeque and grill something. In the mouth, this is intense, deep, openly delicious, another fine example of the easy charm of the 2013 vintage. There’s great presence and palate-weight here, complemented by bright acidity, and it finishes with an earthy kick of soft dusty tannins. Pass the smoked brisket. Pass the pulled pork.

2014 Two Vintners Roussanne

We offered this for the first time last year, but that was at [TEXT WITHHELD]. Morgan has offered us a nice price drop for this year, which will hopefully make this lovely white more accessible to our list members. Add up a series of factors – all stainless steel, no malo, 13.1% listed alc – and you begin to get a sense of a bright, energetic version of Roussanne (all from Olsen Vineyard fruit). The nose has that wonderful Roussanne combination of stone fruits (nectarines, apricots) and nuts and mineral, and that combination continues on the palate, which is full of verve and intensity. Roussanne wants to be fleshy by nature, and especially in a warm year like 2014. Even with all the factors noted above, there is still a sense of generosity to the fruit here. But that flesh is well balanced by juicy acid and a nervy texture. It’s Roussanne as a summer-into-autumn vin de soif.

2014 Two Vintners Grenache Blanc

There are a few producers (Syncline, Kerloo, Two Vintners) doing exciting work with Grenache Blanc, which is still a real rarity in Washington. This version comes entirely from the inimitable Boushey Vineyard, and it begins with a compelling nose of honeydew melon, peppermint, and chalky mineral. This is another crisp white, clocking in at 13.2% listed alc and seeing no malolactic conversion. All juicy citrusy acid on the attack, this picks up weight and richness in the mid-palate before rolling into a saline, mouthwatering finish. All the components are well-balanced here. This one almost goes down too easily.

First come first served up to 36 bottles total (mix and match as you like), and the wines should arrive in the next few weeks, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Full Pull Exclusive

Hello friends. It has been nearly an entire year since we’ve had anything new to offer from Maison Bleue. June 18 of 2014 was the last time. And even today we only have two wines. Everything else that Jon Meuret makes is sold out. I suspect it’s only because of our list’s long and consistent support of this winery that we’re seeing any wine at all. Jon mentioned that we’d be the only account in Seattle receiving any of this wine. As I understand it, that means no restaurants, none of our retail brethren; only us.

It was also made clear to me that this is a one-and-done deal. We will not be able to fill reorder requests. We’re going to aim to send Jon our numbers on June 22, so please try to get order requests in no later than the evening of June 21, or I’m afraid we’ll be unlikely to fulfill your requests. Now then, onto the wines:

2012 Maison Bleue Grenache Bourgeois

A new Grenache for Maison Bleue, already called Jon’s best by the only person to review the wine to date: Review of Washington Wines (Rand Sealey): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 19.5+/20pts.”

Three terrific vineyard sources from three different AVAs: Boushey in the Yakima Valley, Ciel on Red Mountain, and Seven Hills in the Walla Walla Valley. The fruit was fermented with 50% whole clusters, then aged in big old French puncheons for just shy of two years before bottling. It has now had another year to age in bottle, and it clocks in at 14.5% listed alc. The nose is no-doubt-about-it Grenache: kirsch and raspberry fruit, hot-rock minerality, dusty sagebrush. Hell yes. In the mouth, the texture is immediately noteworthy, via a beautiful glide-path across the attack, middle, and finish, carrying the mix of red fruits and minerals on a rich, supple, concentrated frame. This is classy, polished winemaking on display.

2014 Maison Bleue Rose Lisette

This is a new, Grenache-based rosé for Jon (whose rosés were previously Mourvedre-dominant). It’s 86% Grenache, the remainder a mix of Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Viognier, and it comes entirely from Boushey Vineyard (single vineyard Boushey rosé; nifty!). The fruit was picked specifically for rosé, and it was raised entirely in stainless steel. It clocks in at 12.5% listed alc, and only 194 cases were produced. Jon has set aside a small parcel for our list.

It begins with a captivating, intense nose of mixed melons, cherry, and an exotic flower note like jasmine. There is impressive richness and complexity here, likely from regular lees stirring and full malolactic conversion, and it pairs beautifully with the bright, balancing acidity. The rich, minerally finish makes me think this is a rosé that could easily work well into autumn. As usual with Jon’s rosés, it’s elevated a bit beyond your typical summer porch pounder.

Review of Washington Wines (Rand Sealey): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 18.5+/20pts.”

Please limit order requests to 12 bottles of each wine, and we’ll do our best to fulfill all requests. The wines should arrive in the next few weeks, at which point they will be ready for pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.

Full Pull Eliminator VIII

Hello friends. The Eliminator is back after a long absence. Yes, we had our “hoarders” mini-eliminator in February, but the last true Eliminator? That was December 19.

Based on the name of the final American Gladiators challenge (see link for an excellent example of the original Eliminator, and also for an epic blond ‘80s mullet), this is where we eliminate extra bottles that have accumulated for one reason or another (some reasons purposeful; others accidental/stupid/I-don’t-wanna-talk-about-it).

A reminder: we handle this offering a little differently than most. These will be first-come first-served, and the upper order limits will be the number of extra bottles in the warehouse (with one exception). So, if we have 15 bottles left, and you want all 15, and you’re the first to jump in, they’re yours.

This gives slight advantage to longer-term list members. Our offerings are throttled, and it takes about three hours to send offers to the entire list. So the old-heads will get a bit of a head-start (much like the Gladiators Eliminator, but with fewer tassels), but list newbies will be nipping at their heels!

All of these bottles are in the warehouse and available for immediate pickup.

2010 Domaine des Rozets Grignan-les-Adhemar

After a small, erm, nuclear accident at the Tricastin Nuclear Power Center in 2008, Coteaux du Tricastin renamed itself Grignan-les-Adhemar, and the wines have never been better values. A 60/35/5 blend of Grenache/Syrah/Cinsault grown on an alluvial former river-bed now filled with large rounded cobbles and raised entirely in concrete. We grabbed the last parcel of the final vintage that our Seattle import partner is bringing in, and we wound up with a bunch of extra bottles. They’ve been depleting steadily via reorder requests since then, leaving us with 95 bottles available of this funky, briny beauty.

2011 Montepeloso A Quo Toscana IGT

From the Tuscan coast comes this hearty, seductive Sangiovese-driven beauty. Originally a $25 wine, we secured a sweet price drop if we took the entire parcel; hence some extra bottles. It’s earthy and savory, full of spicy tomato paste and raspberry, angostura bitters and brewed coffee. In a 90pt review, Antonio Galloni put the drinking window at 2013-2019 (so we’re entering the peak of the peak), saying “A Quo is fabulous. I expected to find a rich, powerful wine given the year, instead the 2011 A Quo is fresh, vibrant and beautifully delineated.” 97 bottles available.

2013 Burgaud Beaujolais-Villages Blanc Chardonnay

We offered this in early February, kind of a terrible time for white wines, and we still only ended up with 26 extra bottles from a sizeable starting parcel. Considering we’re now entering peak white wine drinking season, considering that this is a 12.5%-alc, mineral- and salt-soaked beauty, with terrific layers of fruit (creamy peach, lemon curd) and earth and biscuity lees, considering all that, I should probably just shut up now.

2008 RiverAerie Syrah

The last RiverAerie wine we ever offered (Ron Bunnell discontinued the label) so we bought out the entirety of the remaining stock. Now we have 82 bottles remaining. Extra compelling for its age/quality/price combination. I’ve said on multiple occasions that Washington Syrahs hit their stride at 5-6 years past vintage, but sometimes it can be difficult to have the patience to cellar them for that long. No problem here. This is an immediate gratification play, with a woodsy, maturing nose, all earth and mushrooms married to blackberry fruit. That fruit character is beginning to take on the exquisite dried-fruit notes that so many of us love in our aged wines, and the extra polish from bottle age has turned this silky indeed. Wine Spectator (Harvey Steiman): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 91pts.”

2010 Moulin de la Gardette Gigondas

We went long on this lovely Gigondas back in March, taking the entire remaining parcel of 2010 in Seattle. At this point, we may well be the only folks in the country with the lovely 2010 in stock (96 bottles remaining). MdlG is a traditional, old-school producer, with all fermentation in concrete, and maturation done in a combo of concrete and old foudres. The blend is very true to this part of the world: dominated by Grenache (80%), with equal tenths of Mourvedre and Cinsault. The nose presents a wonderful combination of fruit (brambly raspberry, dried cherry) and flower, hot-rock minerality and spice. It’s a hearty, red-blooded, honest Gigondas, and it also comes with a fine review from the point-reticent Tanzer/Vinous family: Vinous/IWC (Josh Raynolds): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD]. 91pts.”

2012 Full Pull & Friends Syrah-Grenache (FPF-3)

A 50/50 blend of Angela’s Vineyard Syrah (Red Mountain) and Alder Ridge Grenache (Horse Heaven Hills) that has continued to blossom wonderfully in bottle, just as our supply continues to dwindle (we’re down to our final 71 bottles). Washington Wine Report (Sean Sullivan): “[REVIEW TEXT WITHHELD] Rating: ****/***** (Excellent/Exceptional).”

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

2006 Cadence “Camerata” Cara Mia Vineyard

We only have a handful of bottles remaining, so I’ll keep this one short: Historically significant as the first vintage release from Cadence’s estate vineyard on Red Mountain, it shows a glorious mix of primary fruit and tertiary dusty savories. Almost all Cabernet Sauvignon (94%), with just a dollop of Cab Franc. Beautiful, and still improving. A measly 9 bottles available.

All these wines are in the warehouse and available for immediate pickup or shipping during the next temperature-appropriate shipping window.