Washington Wine Road Trip Part 2
Day three began at a little more reasonable 7 am. I don't mind getting up early, that's what I do every day. But many of the group work in the restaurant world where 2-3 am calling it quits is the norm and getting up at 5:30 is not. After an hours drive my group ended up at Goose Ridge Vineyard, the largest contiguous vineyard in the state of Washington at 1400 acres.
2006 Goose Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon
Goose Ridge makes wine under their name as well as the Stonecap brand. They also sell fruit to a number of other wineries in the area. We drove out into the vineyard and met up with some of the Goose Ridge people along with the Chateau Ste Michelle director of vineyard operations, Kevin Corliss. He talked to us about how they manage the water program in the vineyard to facilitate canopy management. By denying the vines water at the right time they can halt vegetative growth and limit the amount of manual labor involved in leaf thinning. We also got to see first hand how a mechanical harvester works when they drove it right over our heads while we cowered against the adjacent row. The harvester straddles a row and "fingers" reach into the vines and strip the grapes off onto a conveyor that deposits them into a bin on another vehicle that travels in parallel down another row. They claim that the process is gentle but it looked to me like there was a lot of damage done to the grapes and a fair amount of leaf material included in the mix. Interestingly enough the Goose Ridge wines are hand-picked while the Stonecap wines are mechanically harvested.
We got a brief tour of the facility which is divided into two operations: a (relatively) small space devoted to the Goose Ridge wines where they use oak barrels for ageing the reds and a large space filled with giant (25,000 gallon) stainless steel tanks used for the Stonecap production where oak chips are used to impart that component. Charlie Hoppes, the winemaker, lead us through a tasting of their wines. He also has his own brand, Fidelitas. The Stonecap wines were uninteresting to me. They were not flawed but they had no soul. They are meant to hit the shelves at less than $10, but with all of the great value wines from Italy, France, Spain and South America that exhibit real character, I say pass on these. The Goose Ridge wines had more depth and nuance.
Medium-dark ruby color. A nice burst of red fruits when it first hits your palate is followed up by some sage and olive notes. The tannins are ripe and it has a medium-long finish.
2005 Goose Ridge Vireo
39% Syrah, 37% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Sauvignon. This has more dark fruit elements along with a hint of cocoa on the finish. The supple mouthfeel and smooth, ripe tannins make this very enjoyable.
We were bussed over to Anthony's at Columbia Point in Richland for a luncheon hosted by Jeff Gordon of Gordon Brothers Family Vineyards. Following lunch we broke up into different teams once again for our afternoon "vineyard exercises". My group was hosted by Tim and Kelly Hightower of Hightower Cellars located in the Red Mountain AVA. Our work focussed on determining if a block was ready to pick. We walked between two rows collecting berries randomly from both sides and placing them into ziplock bags. Once back in the winery we crushed the grapes while still inside the bags and tested the resulting juice for pH and sugar content. We also looked at the seeds, or pips as they are called, to determine color (green - not ripe, brown - ripe) and to see how much pulp adhered to them (lots of slimy pulp attached - not ripe, little or no pulp - ripe). Tasting the seeds gives you the final input needed to make a decision. The consensus was that the block could use a little more time and because the weather was cooperating they would hold off another few days before picking.
We were lead through the Hightower wines by Tim and Kelly who share all of the responsibilities at the winery. They are really nice, genuine people that share a passion for making great wine. When asked asked what else we wanted to do and Aaron pipped up with "can we just sit on the patio and drink some more wine?". Sure, was the reply and the glasses were taken out onto their deck that overlooks the Yakima Valley. We watched the hawks circle lazily overhead and shared stories about wine and our lives for the next hour or so. All-in-all a very relaxing afternoon.
2006 Hightower Merlot
82% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc (most of the fruit is sourced from Horse Heaven Hills with roughly 1/3 coming from Red Mountain). Medium-dark garnet color with black cherry, blackberry and a hint of roasted herb on the back end. Medium body with good overall balance and fine-grained tannins. Medium length finish.
2006 Hightower Cabernet Sauvignon
88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot (mostly Red Mountain fruit). Deep ruby color with black cherry, anise and currant aromas that are echoed on the palate. Mouth-coating (ripe) tannins provide a lovely texture to the wine and the finish lingers pleasantly for almost a minute.
2006 Hightower Red Mountain Red Wine
78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot (all Red Mountain fruit). This was my favorite of the bunch. Deep garnet color with aromas of cherry, wood smoke, cassis and sage followed by flavors of dark fruits and dried herbs. The texture is fantastic and the finish goes on and on. Really well made.
The regional tasting this day was held at the Precept Brands' Canyon Ranch facility. The tables were setup outside and not everyone was prepared for the cold air. During the tasting a bright, near-full moon rose over the Rattlesnake Hills to bathe the area in soft light. Following the tasting we enjoyed a nice dinner outside under propane heat lamps. Some of my favorites from this day:
2007 RiverAerie Malbec
Deep garnet in color with some earthy notes under the black cherry and plum. Good depth of fruit and a mouth-filling texture make you go back for another sip after enjoying the lengthy finish.
2005 Col Solare
71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Medium ruby color with ripe blackberry, plum and black cherry aromas that get delivered on the palate too. Very lengthy finish on this complex wine.
2006 Col Solare
72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Syrah. I don't know, a lot of people were really excited by this wine while I didn't care for it that much, at least not at this time, but then I'm not an oak slut either ;>Perhaps with some additional bottle ageing it will come together.
2007 Cote Bonneville Chardonnay DuBrul Vineyard
Medium golden yellow in the glass. Tangerine, pear and some tropical notes emerge from this well-balanced Chardonnay and the vibrant acidity really keeps the fruit core focussed.
2005 Cote Bonneville Carriage House Bordeaux Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon (73%), Merlot (26%) and Cabernet Franc (1%). Medium-dark garnet in color with lush aromas of dark cherries, plum and sweet spices. The flavors echo the aromatic profile and are wrapped up by velvety tannins that provide great texture to the wine.
2004 Cote Bonneville Estate DuBrul Vineyard Bordeaux Blend
63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot. Bright ruby-red. Aromas of redcurrant, licorice, and toasty oak. Sweet, lush and highly concentrated, with a candied quality to the flavors of currant, black cherry, and spices. A really elegant wine of great depth and complexity but at $120 it's a little too spendy.
2006 J. Bookwalter Protagonist Bordeaux Blend
A Merlot-based wine with aromas of menthol, cherry, blackberry and wood smoke. On the palate the shows focus and concentration with silky tannins and a long finish. First rate stuff.
2006 J. Bookwalter Foreshadow Cabernet Sauvignon
Another well made wine this one with a medium-dark ruby color in the glass and a complex array of aromas from black cherry and currant to dried herbs and cocoa. Layers of fruit unfold on the palate and the fine-grained tannins hold it all together for a long, long finish that begs for another sip.
2006 Owen Roe DuBrul Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Medium-dark garnet color. Blackberry, currant and dried herb aromas follow through onto the palate where vibrant acidity holds the ripe fruit in check into the lingering finish.
Comments