Washington v. The Rest of the World

I've blogged about the excellent wines being made in Washington a few times now, so it was refreshing to attend a tasting that approached the region in a different way. The tasting was located at Sunset Magazine's new headquarters in Oakland, led by a panel of leading Washington winemakers, Bob Betz of Betz Family Wines, David Rosenthal of Chateau Sainte Michelle, and Greg Harrington of Gramercy Cellars. They spoke passionately and enthusiastically about Washington's wines, and the geographical, topographical, and climatic characteristics of the state which make it different from other regions.

What made this tasting particularly enlightening was the way it was structured, with three flights of wines each featuring one of Washington's major grape varieties. In each flight, the first of the four wines was a named wine from Washington acting as a template for the other wines. The other three were tasted blind, examples of the same grape variety to act as a comparison without prejudice. This was a great way of focusing on the characteristics of Washington wine, learning about other regions, while really making us think about why each wine tastes like it does.

Riesling

The best wines from Riesling are made with little interference in the winery, and it's all about the variety and the vineyard or region the grapes come from. I'm still not as excited about Washington's Riesling as some local winemakers are, so it was interesting to taste a couple of wines in comparison to Australia and Germany. The template was Eroica ($22; ✪✪✪✪), a collaboration made since 1999 between Chateau Sainte Michelle, by far the state's largest producer, and Ernst Loosen, one of the iconic winemakers of Germany. It's a pleasant, good-value, medium-dry wine with citrus and stone fruit aromas, but one that seems aimed more at local rather than international tastes.

The three wines tasted blind alongside it were around the same price. The wine from Australia, Yalumba's Pewsey Vale ($20; ✪✪✪✪), is a classic representation of Eden Valley, one often used in educational tastings to demonstrate the intense lime and dry mineral characteristics of Australia's world-class Riesling. The German Riesling was from Mosel, a Kabinett whose sweetness and weight made it feel more like a Spätlese: there's a combination of elegance and richness to the best German wines that no other Riesling-producing region can match. Drink Christoffel's Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett ($27; ✪✪✪✪✪) with spicy food, and have a tongue-twisting competition saying the name.

The other Riesling was an outlier: again from Washington, made by the dramatically named EFESTĒ ($20; ✪✪✪✪✪) and again from Evergreen Vineyard in Ancient Lakes AVA where the Eroica mainly comes from. It was off-dry with an intense texture, which made most people in the room mistake it for Alsace. The wine made me reassess Washington Riesling - that it can compete with, and be mistaken for, Rieslings from around the world, and at a very good price.

Syrah

Greg Harrington, an MS turned winemaker, described Syrah as a wine for Pinot Noir lovers with sophisticated palates. This brought out a chuckle, but he was making a serious point. He continued that there are Syrah producers who make the wines to be like Cabernet Sauvignon, and there are others who make it like Pinot Noir. He firmly places himself in the latter category - not least because the northern Rhône, geographically and in terms of climate, is so close to Burgundy.

One of the wines we tasted underlined his point, albeit in a roundabout way. Wind Gap are an eclectic producer from California; their Nellessen Vineyard Syrah ($42; ✪✪✪✪), which we tasted blind, was from a cooler area of Sonoma. Fermented in whole clusters it smelt very carbonic, that's to say bubblegum and strawberries. If I hadn't known it was Syrah, I would have guessed the wine to have been from Beaujolais, a region which has the same granite soils as the northern Rhône and a similar climate - and I've read old nineteenth-century textbooks that group Beaujolais and the northern Rhône together. It may be that we should be thinking about the connections between Syrah and Gamay, or the northern Rhône and Beaujolais, much more - even if it takes US producers to point out those connections.

The Rocks District

The template wine was called Lagniappe and made by Gramercy ($55; ✪✪✪✪) from Red Willow, one of Washington's first and still leading vineyards. Another of the blind wines, The Psycheledic by Sleight of Hand ($60; ✪✪✪✪), was also from Washington, from the recently-established AVA, The Rocks District of Milton-Freeman, one of the many Washington regions which excels in Syrah. The two wines highlighted the differences that come from a winemaker's philosophy as well as Washington's terroir: Gramercy's wine was noticeably restrained in comparison to the smoky, meaty qualities of the other wine.

The final wine was the 2014 Côte-Rôtie by Saint-Cosme ($65; ✪✪✪✪✪), a tannic, dry, subdued wine which reminded me of just how French French wine is, showing how expressively Syrah reflects where it comes from.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Willow Vineyard

I often find it hard to write anything interesting about Cabernet Sauvignon, but this was a refreshing line-up. The template was the 2013 Père de Famille from Betz Family Estate ($75; ✪✪✪✪✪), which showed just how well Cabernet works in Washington. The wine has the tannic structure expected of Cabernet, with the ripe black fruits that come in a fairly warm New World climate - a combination which summarises Washington red wine. Another of the blind wines was again from Washington (that was the one predictable aspect of the tasting). The 2014 Cabernet from Abeja, an established producer, tasted like it was from Coonawarra in Australia, minty and herbal ($52; ✪✪✪✪). Napa was featured as a comparison too, the 2012 from Forman was dusty and massively tannic ($115; ✪✪✪✪) - Washington wines are much more approachable when young. Finally, there was a wine from Margaux. It's not often I get to taste expensive Bordeaux, and I certainly wasn't expecting to do so at a Washington tasting. The best Bordeaux needs to be tasted with some age, and the 2009 from Château Rauzan-Ségla ($155; ✪✪✪✪✪✪) was evolving wonderfully, with mature leather aromas, but with fresh acidity and black fruits.

Can the best of Washington age as well as the best of Bordeaux and other established regions? Maybe that could be the subject for another tasting. 

Syrah

Someone recently commented to me that no grape changes from region to region as much as Syrah. I countered with Pinot Noir, but he had a point. Whereas a wine made from Pinot Noir can vary according to vineyard, wines from Syrah can differ radically according to the region in which the grapes are grown. Climate, altitude, soil, and aspect all influence the style of the wine, and the way in which a wine is produced also causes great differences. Which other grapes Syrah is blended with also results in different styles of wine. I have recently tasted three wines made exclusively from Syrah which have highlighted the wonderful, expressive variability of the grape.

Côte Rôtie

The "roasted slope," called so because the sun beats down on the steep hillside vineyards enabling Syrah to ripen fully. Just south of the city of Lyon, this is as far north in France that Syrah will reliably ripen. The struggle that Syrah undergoes on the rocky soils produces intense wines full of pepper and dark berries with big, gripping tannins. The tradition has been to add a little Viognier to the blend to soften that intensity, a practice which has become quite fashionable in Australia. As in neighbouring appellations such as Hermitage, there's a pull between traditional winemaking methods of using old oak and no destemming and the more contemporary use of new oak and greater extraction of fruit and colour. 

From a vineyard with particularly steep slopes and rocky schist soils, Pierre Gaillard Les Viallières 2007 (bought for $72) is a wine made for the US market, and has a contemporary, international taste with ripe, voluptuous fruits on the nose. It follows the tradition of adding Viognier (as much as 20% in this case), which adds attractive floral aromas. There's a wonderful cross between the modern - spicy new oak - and the old, with coarse, drying, yet integrated tannins. That combination of fruit, flowers, spices, oak, and old-fashioned tannins makes for a truly sensational wine and one of the best I've had in some time. ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪

Washington State

I wrote recently about the quality of Washington's Syrah - the state is producing consistently the highest quality Syrah in the States. The warm, sunny days and cool nights in the desert-like conditions lead to a complex combination of ripe black fruits, enlivening acidity, and firm tannins. Owen Roe are one of my favourite producers; the name comes from a 17th-century Irish soldier, while the winemaker and co-owner is called David O'Reilley. Their Syrahs, particularly the stunning Chapel Block ($55) made from a steeply sloping vineyard in Yakima Valley's Red Willow, have a ripe, fruity, tannic seriousness. The Ex Umbris 2013 ($21) is less tannic, more immediate and friendly, fruity, forward, and very drinkable. ✪✪✪✪

Victoria, Australia 

Here's an unusual wine: a Shiraz that calls itself Syrah. I again wrote not too long ago about how Australia's historic association with Shiraz is leading to wines of increased sophistication. Grapes are being sourced from cooler sites and there's less emphasis on fruit-driven wines. Jamsheed Harem's La Syrah 2013 ($25) comes from two cool regions in Victoria: Upper Goulburn, high up between two mountain ranges, and Yarra Valley, a cool, historic region which not only produces great, refined Syrah but also Australia's best Pinot Noir. The wine is a very good example of site-driven winemaking, with ripe but restrained black fruits, an uplifting acidity from the cooler climates, and a smoky, peppery structure. ✪✪✪✪

Washington's Syrah

The last time I wrote about Washington, I concluded that it was best for the state's winemakers to focus on the many varied AVAs to promote their wines rather than seeking a signature grape variety. I still think that's true; from cool, wet Columbia Gorge, to small, warm, and extraordinarily high quality Red Mountain, to the geologically distinct Rocks District, Washington - and Oregon, which shares some of the AVAs - offer a diverse range of climates, soils, and geography to produce wines that reflect, often wonderfully, their location. Trying to focus solely on one variety as an expression of Washington takes away from that local sense of place.

Having said that, there is one grape variety which distinguishes Washington from other winemaking regions in the US and which may help concentrate drinkers' opinion of the wines. Syrah is grown in California, but it is not a grape that winemakers have taken to and nor have consumers. Cooler Sonoma Coast has the potential to produce peppery Syrah, but these are still hard to find. Even Paso Robles, which excels in Rhône blends, takes better to Grenache and Mourvèdre than it does to Syrah, which I find is often best as part of a blend (as in the southern Rhône, where on its own it can become too chocolatey). This lack of competition gives Washington an opportunity to stake its claim as the US's premium Syrah producer.

I just attended a tasting of Washington wine in San Francisco, which confirmed just how exciting and appealing the wines are overall. The Cabernet Sauvignons are lighter and less aggressive than Napa's; the Viogniers are attractive and maintain their acidity; but it was the Syrahs that really stood out, particularly from Walla Walla and its sub-AVA The Rocks District, but also from Red Mountain. What I particularly liked about the range of Syrahs I tried was the variety, from spicy to fruity to tannic, sometimes immediate and fresh, other times closed and demanding further time in the bottle. This in part depends on the ambitions of the winery, but it's also about location. The Rocks District produces complex, structured, individual wines, with restrained fruit and a herbal, spicy backdrop; the surrounding Walla Walla AVA wines are a little more forward; while Red Mountain's wines have wonderful concentration, with a floral, perfumed nose coming from the higher slopes.

standout wines

Betz Family Boushey Vineyard La Serenne Syrah 2013 ($55)

Grower Dick Boushey was one of the first to plant Syrah in Washington; Washington writer Paul Gregutt describes the Syrah wines from the Yakima vineyard as having "a compelling underlayer of game, toasted almond, herb and earth that is distinctive and unique." This Syrah is a perfect example of that description, with pepper, nuts, chocolate, red and black fruits, and slightly dusty tannins. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

Buty Rockgarden Estate Redivivia of the Stones 2012 ($60)

An unusual wine, in that it's blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre. There's also no new oak used to age the wine, showing that Syrah from The Rocks District is capable of expressing its own qualities without the addition of oak flavours. An attractive floral nose, with blackberries, and ripe tannins, and a dark, smoky intensity coming from the other two grapes in the blend. ✪✪✪✪✪

Force Majeure Syrah 2013 ($70)

This may be my favourite Washington producer at the moment: a gorgeous Viognier and a supple Cabernet come from their vineyards on Red Mountain, as well as their stunning Syrah. The vines are planted on steep slopes on the top of the mountain, retaining acidity and producing ripe but complex fruit. It's a vibrant, compelling wine that's only going to get better and better with time, as its drying tannins soften to reveal attractive, integrated black fruits.  ✪✪✪✪✪✪

Reynvaan In the Hills Syrah 2014 ($70)

Another young winery - founded in just 2008 - this wine was a revelation. Very herbal, with pronounced tarragon aromas, and peppery, with ripe black fruits. Extremely attractive right now at a young age, it has enough acidity, tannin, and fruit to develop over a long period. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

There are plenty of great wines being made from other varieties - Cabernet Franc (Andrew Will's Champoux Vineyard Bordeaux Blend 2011 is 64% and irresistible), Grenache (Brady Cellars' 2013 has characteristic liquorice, raspberry qualities), and Rhône blends (Avennia's Justine is spicy and gripping) - but Syrah perhaps demonstrates most consistently the best of what Washington has to offer: attractive but not overripe fruits, with firm, gripping, structured tannins, and an invigorating acidity, all representing the particular area the wine comes from. 

Savage Grace

On my last trip to Washington in March, I visited many of the state's AVAs and tasted many great wines, with the further good fortune of meeting the makers of those wines. One winemaker in particular stood out, for his wines seemed both typical and atypical of Washington. The wines of Savage Grace have astonishingly high acidity - a characteristic I associate with the cool nights of Washington - but their fruit profile is much more restrained and reserved than much of the other wine I've tasted from the state. In March, I tasted his Sauvignon Blanc - which has an acidity I've rarely tasted outside the Loire Valley - Chardonnay, and Cabernet Franc - the latter two wines being among the highlights of the trip. So when last weekend I returned to Seattle to visit my good friend Matt Hemeyer of @drinkaddition, I made sure that I visited winemaker Michael Savage in his tasting room in Woodinville.

Woodinville

With hazy smoke drifting from Washington's forest fires on a warm Saturday afternoon, the atmosphere was warm and oppressive. I was also slightly hungover, the clanging in my head augmented by an outdoor pub-punk-metal band playing a block away from Woodinville's tasting rooms. These rooms are on an industrial estate, with dozens and dozens of sandwich boards pointing hopefully from the car park to a series of anonymous units. In the car park, there was a tour bus and a limousine, out of which staggered a high-heeled bachelorette party, as if they'd taken a very bad wrong turn from Napa. We wandered through the estate looking for a sandwich board to point us in the right direction, until we finally found Savage Grace, the estate's very last tasting room.

the tasting room experience

I really wasn't expecting to find Michael Savage, quiet and diffident, in the middle of an industrial estate visited by tour buses and bachelorette parties. Even though he's at the end of the estate, one of each came in while we were there, and he dealt with them nervously but efficiently. The tasting room is small, an industrial unit very tastefully converted into an intimate, stylish area.

Woodinville serves as a base for many wineries who source their grapes from distant, desolate eastern Washington. Like many other industrial tasting rooms, the wine is made on site, a tiny 'cellar' right next to the tasting experience. Michael took us into the cellar to show us the Sauvignon Blanc that had just been picked two days previously. He was ready to pour cultivated yeast into the tank - he described how he had experimented with native yeasts for Sauvignon Blanc and believed it made an inferior wine - and gave my friend Matt the opportunity to do it for himself. We all await with baited breath to see how the 2015 Sauvignon turns out: Michael thinks it will be bottled in February.

Michael Savage

Nervous, shy, and awkward, Michael Savage is not dissimilar to a quieter Woody Allen. Every question is received with a long pause as he considers the several different answers he could give. The answer he eventually decides to share is not likely to be the one expected, and it can take a while to follow his train of thought. Each answer takes a certain direction, however: his very particular take on how he thinks wine should be made and how he makes it.

Acidity is absolutely important. He picks his grapes earlier than anyone else does in the same vineyard, resulting not only in high acidity but wines with a very subtle, less fruity nature. He also chooses vineyards and growing regions that are cool, particularly Columbia Gorge, a wet AVA that straddles Washington and Oregon. The wines are generally released very young, giving the wines a raw just out of the barrel feel. This gives consumers the rare chance to taste quality, young wine near the beginning of its life. Although Michael is only into his fifth vintage with Savage Grace, the acidity and complexity of the wines offer definite ageing potential. Michael says he doesn't care when people drink his wines, though, just as long as they drink them.

the wines

just-picked Sauvignon Blanc

Having tasted eleven of his wines over the weekend, I just want to highlight some of my favourites.

Grüner Veltliner 2014 ($20)

Grüner Veltliner is a late-ripening grape with naturally high acidity (the grapes were picked in early and then late October), not always suited to the warmer climates of the US. Like many of the Savage Grace wines, the grapes come from Columbia Gorge's Underwood vineyard, the cool climate allowing a slow ripening of the grapes. This Grüner has typically floral and spicy notes of jasmine, ginger, and white pepper, with lightly tropical fruits. ✪✪✪✪✪

Chardonnay 2013 ($30)

I have written about this wine before, and I still think it's an exceptional example of a cool-climate Chardonnay not often found in the US. It's again from Columbia Gorge, though from Celilo vineyard, considered one of Washington's finest for Chardonnay. Grapes picked from the higher part of the vineyard give the wine its bracing acidity and are aged in tank, while those from the lower part are picked earlier, are aged in neutral barrel, and lend the wine its lightly spicy, cinnamon, and lime flavours. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

Cabernet Franc 2014 ($26)

Another wine I have written about before, and the one that I think is truly outstanding. To taste a red wine this young yet complex is very rare, with firm tannins, red fruits, and green, padrone pepper, rhubarb aromas. Michael told me that he accidentally aged a couple of the bottles in the warm back of his car for a couple of months. On opening the bottles, the wines tasted just as good but as if they were a year older, convincing him that this Cabernet Franc has great ageing potential. I suggested he should make a Madeira out of the grape in the future. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

From Red Willow vineyard - one of Washington's greatest - this Cabernet has only just been bottled. It may seem a surprise that Michael should be making wine from a grape as bold as Cabernet, but the wine is quite different from most. Despite being so young, there are gamey, animal aromas, with intense black fruits and gripping but not dominant tannins. This is a restrained, yet intense Cabernet Sauvignon that's difficult to classify - its experimental nature is emphasised further as it's made from a new clone planted in the vineyard. ✪✪✪✪✪

Riesling 2013

The Seattle Times named this Riesling as the best Washington white of the year, and it's sadly already sold out. Michael described the wine as having a magical quality that he couldn't define. The grapes hung longer than they normally do, but still had a higher than usual acidity which is able to balance the residual sugar in the wine (29g/L). There's a wonderful complexity, with smoke, petrol, mineral aromas, together with lemon, lime, and orange blossom, given further depth by a honeyed sweetness. Once again, the grapes are from Underwood vineyard, where late ripening can cause issues: the terraces are so steep that the seventy-something vineyard owner can't access them on his tractor come wet November. He even once overturned the tractor trying to do so. Even Michael Savage's search for perfectionism falls short of asking the grower to do that again. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is one of the least understood of the major French grapes. It comes in a variety of styles - sparkling, rosé, light and young, serious and oaky - and is grown in both cool and  moderate climates. It takes on the green, herbaceous aromas that producers often don't like in the other, more famous Cabernet, Sauvignon. Its fruits are redder and generally lighter, and it's often used as a small part in a blend, which can make it easy to dismiss. Single-varietal versions appeal more to wine geeks who like to argue about how best to pronounce Bourgueil than to the general consumer who takes one look at the word Bourgueil and moves on. Nevertheless, its herbaceous expressiveness makes single-varietal examples remarkably distinctive and unpredictable.

where it's grown

Cabernet Franc's home is Bordeaux, where it's also called Bouchy and where at some point it mated with Sauvignon Blanc to produce Cabernet Sauvignon. There, Cabernet Franc is generally used as a blending grape (Cheval Blanc, one of the world's most prestigious wines, is a notable exception). In the wines of St-Emilion, Pomerol, and around, it replaces Cabernet Sauvignon as it's a more reliable ripener, giving aromas of red fruits, tannins, and pencil shavings to contrast Merlot's lush fruit. It's these wines that producers around the world try to emulate, rather than the more difficult, green wines of the Loire.

Under the instructions of Cardinal Richelieu in the seventeenth century, the variety was planted in the Loire (by an Abbé Breton, which is still a local synonym). It's grown in Anjou-Saumur and Touraine to make rosés, sparkling wines, and reds. The best rosés are Cabernet d'Anjou, medium sweet but with high acidity. Cabernet Franc is one of the grapes allowed in Crémant de Loire and is the main grape for Saumur's pink sparkling wines - again, the grape's naturally high acidity in the cool climate proves ideal.

cellars dug out of tuffeau

In Bourgueil and neighbouring St-Nicholas-de-Bourgeuil (the Loire has so many appellations it's hard to keep track of them), the red wines are medium bodied, perfumed with red fruits and gripping tannins; St-Nicholas wines are softer and more fragrant than the surprisingly tannic wines from the chalky, tuffeau soils of Bourgueil. These can be exceptionally beautiful wines, as concentrated as red wine can get in a climate as cool as the Loire's. Chinon is just to the south of these two appellations. Near the river, the sandy soils produce elegant, light-bodied wines similar to St-Nicholas, while on the limestone hills the wines are fuller bodied and longer lived. Anjou-Villages is another appellation for intense reds, while Saumur Rouge wines are lighter bodied and fruitier.

wines

Domaine du Bel Air Clos Nouveau Bourgueil 2009 ($40)

A very good example of Cabernet Franc as it matures, with a pleasingly dirty nose of game, leather, mushrooms, figs, and prunes. The wine is still fresh, however, with strawberries and firm, gripping tannins. ✪✪✪✪✪

Russiz Superiore Collio 2012 ($30)

French grapes are grown throughout northern Italy; Cabernet Franc is grown in Fruili near the Slovenian border where the wines, with cooling breezes from the Adriatic and the Alps, resemble the Loire. This wine is a good example of Cabernet Franc, but certainly exaggerates its green, underripe qualities. It's perfumed, floral, with red fruits (cranberry, redcurrant), and soft but gripping tannins. ✪✪✪✪

Pulenta Gran Cabernet Franc Mendoza (Luján de Cuyo) 2011 ($42)

From the heights of Luján de Cuyo (around 1,000m above sea level), this may be the greenest red wine I have ever tasted, and gives a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc a run for its money in its vegetal aromas: green beans, peas, and asparagus are aromas I generally associate with Sauvignon Blanc. Tasting a wine like this, it's no wonder that the two grapes got it on. The wine is like a cooked vegetable salad, not something I'm entirely sure I want in a wine. ✪✪✪

Lang & Reed Two-Fourteen Napa Valley 2012 ($48)

Once again, the most expensive wine on the list is from a Napa producer. It's a very well made wine: red fruit, floral, perfumed, and herbaceous. On the palate, there are firm, gripping tannins, rich and luscious. Very Napa. ✪✪✪✪

Easton Monarch Mine Vineyard Sierra Foothills 2012 ($23)

Cabernet Franc certainly encourages the winemaker to do their own thing. I really like the potential of Sierra Foothills, which is three hours' drive inland from Napa, as it has the altitude to create a cool enough climate in an otherwise very hot region. With winemakers' hippy-laden tendencies, it's also far removed from Napa. This wine goes a bit too far though, with a stinky nose of caramel and sweet coffee, followed by a palate of smoke, coffee, and caramel. ✪✪✪

Savage Grace Cabernet Franc Rattlesnake Hills 2014 ($22)

From Washington, a wine that has a Beaujolais feel that's also characteristic of Chinon: a green bubblegum nose that gives way to herbaceous aromas, with sweet spices, firm but light tannins, bananas and rhubarbs, and red fruits (strawberries, raspberries). It's almost like a white, red, and rosé combined. Deliberately underripe, young, and very Cabernet Franc: this may just get better in the bottle. Astonishing that this is 2014, a vintage only just passed. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

Owen Roe Rosa Mystica 2010 ($32)

A very different expression of Washington Cabernet Franc: richer, oakier, fruitier, and riper. This could feel too full, but the tannins are soft and forgiving and the acidity lifts the wine. ✪✪✪✪✪

Hermanuspietersfontein Swartskaap 2010 ($25)

With a name like that, this wine can only be South African. The winery is located in the cool coastal climate of Walker Bay. This proximity to the ocean produces a serious wine with drying tannins and restrained red fruits without being too green. ✪✪✪✪✪

One thing these wines have in common is price: all between $20 and $50, they represent good value for money. Many of them also demonstrate Cabernet Franc's green, herbaceous character, although not all of them do so successfully by integrating it with the red fruits and firm tannins. Perhaps this is why Cabernet Franc has generally formed part of blends - it takes real mastery of the grape to make balanced, high quality single-varietal versions. However, when the winemaker has that mastery, individual wines expressive of their place result.

Malbec

When I started drinking wine, I had a European sensibility: place names meant more to me than grape varieties. I didn't know which grapes went into Châteauneuf-du-Pape, St-Emilion, or Rioja, but I knew those wines. That was the 1990s and times have changed: now drinkers, including myself, want to know the precise percentage of each grape variety in a blend or buy wines solely on the variety.

Cahors

On a trip through south-west France several years ago, I passed through Cahors. It's a pretty, relaxed town situated next to the Lot river, with one of the most famous bridges in France. The land is rugged and off-beat, south of the Dordogne on the way to nowhere, quietly doing its own thing as much of France does. I was stuck for something to eat and dared to walk into a dingy bar that had a surprisingly good menu advertised outside. Asking to eat, the barman gestured me to the back past some beaded curtains. I warily stepped through them into an large, tastefully decorated restaurant. Satisfied that the meal was going to be as good as advertised outside the bar, I ordered a local wine and fell in love with it, determined always to drink Cahors whenever I found it in the future. The fruits were black, the oak grainy, the supple yet appealingly rustic texture inviting another sip.

I had no idea the wine was from Malbec, a grape I only heard of later in the context of Argentina. The wine spoke of its place - warm, rural, and timeless - not solely of its grape. Yet everyone now knows the name Malbec, and if anyone knows the place Cahors it is because of Malbec - even though in Cahors it's actually called Auxerrois.

Malbec in France

Malbec was little known until its sudden Argentinian emergence because it never succeeded in France outside of Cahors. It is a Bordeaux grape, but conditions in the moderate maritime climate are difficult: it's susceptible to spring frost and it ripens late and not always successfully. In 1956, spring frost killed off the Malbec vines in both Bordeaux and Cahors. Bordeaux growers simply did not bother replanting, Merlot replacing it as the preferred blending grape (and plantings of Malbec had long been in decline anyway). Now only the Côtes de Blaye consistently adds Malbec to blends. Cahors growers, however, decided to stick with Malbec and replanted it, rewarded with appellation status in 1970, still the only AC in France dedicated to the grape.

Malbec is also grown in the Loire Valley, where it's often called Côt. The wines in this cooler climate are much lighter, with more red fruits than black, and not dissimilar to the Gamay also grown in the region.

Malbec in Argentina

In the late 1980s, the Argentinian economy stabilised for the first time since before the Great Crash of 1929. Up to that point, the wine industry had been focused entirely on the cheap domestic market in a country that had record levels of consumption - 100 litres of wine per person a year in the 1970s. Such had been the neglect of quality grapes in Argentina, Malbec had been pulled up throughout the 1980s, reducing plantings from 50,000ha to 10,000ha (it's now back to over 20,000ha). With the recovery of the economy, more ambitious winemakers decided to focus on exports. Malbec, brought into Argentina by French winemakers fleeing the ravages of phylloxera in the mid to late nineteenth century, was the grape that defined the new era of Argentinian wine. 

Since the first plantings in Argentina in the 1550s, the best sites have been identified in the Andean heights above Mendoza. These sites are particularly suited to Malbec because there is no spring frost. Furthermore, the high altitude, with hot days and cool nights, ensures a long growing season which retains the acidity in the grape but enables full ripening. Nowhere else does the ripening of Malbec's sugars and aromas happen so harmoniously - though I do think that Washington state with its day/night temperature variations has great potential.

wines

 

Buoncristiani Napa Valley Malbec 2012 (c.$60)

Malbec is grown a surprisingly great deal around Napa Valley, though usually as an ingredient in Bordeaux blends. My problem with Napa wines is that although they have varietal character, they all taste too similar: high alcohol, aggressive tannins, and intense fruit and oak aromas.

This wine, a rare single-varietal Napa Malbec, suffers from this problem. Even though the grapes are grown on hillside vineyards, the alcohol is too high (15%) and the acidity not quite high enough. The grapes have ripened fully - Malbec does not have the same problem in Napa that it does in Bordeaux - so there are lots of ripe blackberries and cherries. A great wine to go with steak, but it's impossible to justify the price. ✪✪✪✪

Maryhill Clifton Bluff Vineyard Wahluke Slope Malbec 2012 ($25)

A defining characteristic of Washington reds is their acidity: the cool nights throughout the growing season keep it refreshingly high. In this wine from Wahluke Slope, that acidity lifts the drying tannins and smoky oak. The hot days, meanwhile, produce fruity wines and there is plenty of ripe blackberry, blueberry, and mulberry - all typical of Malbec. ✪✪✪✪

Perdriel Colección Malbec 2009 ($20)

The best wine of the four, this shows why Mendoza does Malbec so well. Very good value, and with immediate, fun, yet complex aromas of roasted almonds and hazelnuts, cedar and smoke, and chocolate and coffee, with ripe tannins and high alcohol, held together by good acidity. ✪✪✪✪✪

Leval Malbec 2013 ($9.99) 

I couldn't find a Cahors wine at the last minute, so I had to settle for a Malbec from the Languedoc. This wine was so appalling it's best not to describe it: I've been reluctant to use it even as cooking wine. French wines like this one are not going to compete with Argentinian Malbec. ✪ 

*If I find a Cahors wine soon, I shall add it to the blog as a more meaningful comparison to Argentina.*

*Update 12 July 2015*

Château Haut-Monplaisir Cahors 2012 ($14.99)

Even in K&L, one of San Francisco's most international wine stores, there were only three wines from Cahors available. For the price, this is a very well integrated wine, with a nice intensity of ripe, almost jammy, black and blue fruits and a good structure from the dry, gripping tannins and high acidity. This wine is evidence that Cahors is responding to the international demand for fruity, forward Malbecs, while retaining a rustic, regional identity. It's certainly a pity that the wines aren't more readily available: if you're going to drink French Malbec, it really should come from Cahors. ✪✪✪✪

For all the romance of European place names, Malbec is successful because of single-varietal wines from Argentina. And this is where grape and place come together. Mendoza is so ideal for Malbec that the two are now synonymous. Just as Cahors expresses its remote rusticity through its Malbec wines, so too does Mendoza its sense of place: hot days and cold nights, high mountains, and beef steak, all in a bottle of wine.

Washington Wine Trip

I've written about Washington wine before, but this week I had the opportunity to explore the state's wine further with an exhaustive trip through the many AVAs. Washington wine is at an exciting stage right now, as ambitious winemakers and grape-growers match varieties with the best sites. I came into Washington hoping to discover which grape variety expresses the state, but left convinced that Washington, like the greatest regions of France, is best understood through the distinctive terroirs of each AVA. This makes understanding Washington wine complicated, but it's well worth it as this is a fascinating and very varied wine region.

ignore Puget Sound: most of Washington's grapes are grown in Columbia Valley

the climate

Over 99% of Washington's wine is produced in Columbia Valley, a large, all-encompassing AVA in arid eastern Washington. In the growing season, the days are hot and long - Washington receives 8 days more sunshine a year than California - but the nights are cold with temperatures falling as low as 10 degrees. This wide diurnal variation prolongs the growing season, allowing the grapes to ripen fully while retaining high acidity. This acidity is a defining characteristic of both whites and reds, giving the wines a vibrancy not always present in warm regions.

the soils

the basalt soils beneath Seven Hills Vineyard in Walla Walla. Some soils are so deep and rocky that wells dig 400m down before finding water.

Washington is a geologist's paradise, with a huge amount of different soils within vineyards let alone across the state. 13,000 years ago, the Missoula floods swept across eastern Washington depositing a variety of soils that otherwise wouldn't be there. At high altitudes, the original volcanic soils still remain. Changing from site to site, these soils are the reason that Washington has such a varied terroir. Furthermore, these difficult soils, combined with very low winter temperatures (winter freeze is a problem), mean that Washington remains phylloxera-free, all the vines planted on their own roots.

the grapes

In the 1990s, Merlot was the state's signature grape variety but fashion has seen it overtaken by Cabernet Sauvignon. I feel Washington's greatest wines are from Syrah, a variety which for some reason is a difficult sell throughout the USA. I was also extremely impressed with the Malbecs I tasted: like Mendoza, the diurnal temperature variation allows the grape to ripen slowly and fully, bringing out all its phenolic qualities. Whatever the variety, Washington's reds share an aromatic florality, ripe red and black fruits, firm tannins, and high acidity. There's an Old World-New World overlap in the wines: fruit forward, but delicate, and with an enlivening acidity.

the many grapes planted in Red Willow vineyard over the years

The whites are less consistent. Riesling used to be the most planted grape because its natural high acidity suits the climate, but it rarely demonstrates sufficient complexity. It's been surpassed by Chardonnay, which for some time producers were making in imitation of big, oaky California examples. Chardonnay is beginning to be planted on more suitable, high altitude sites, leading to more restrained wines with better acidity, but I don't think it best represents the terroir of Washington. Sauvignon Blanc perhaps does this most successfully, with a full body, floral aromas, and a dry, mineral finish, while Viognier, which is often flabby in warm regions, retains sufficient acidity alongside its characteristic floral and stone fruit aromas.

the AVAs

For a region that is little known outside the state, Washington has an excessive number of AVAs (13). Even more confusingly, three of them spread into Oregon and a "fourteenth," The Rocks District, is entirely within Oregon. However, having visited many of the AVAs, it's clear that each one has its own distinct identity. It may take some time and a great deal of consumer education, but Washington is best understood by breaking it down into its different areas rather than by grape variety.

Walla Walla Valley

Seven Hills Vineyard, Walla Walla

Perhaps Washington's best known AVA due to an impressive marketing campaign, Walla Walla is in actual fact quite small, with just over 500ha planted even though the AVA stretches into Oregon. The best vineyard is Seven Hills, which takes in several small, windswept hills at the southern end of the valley. It receives 300mm of rain annually and growers have had to drill a well over 300m deep to find 10,000-year-old water to irrigate the site.

Stand-out wine: L'Ecole No. 41 Estate Perigee 2012 ($49) ✪✪✪✪✪
A Bordeaux blend with beautiful ripe, perfumed fruits, and herbal, menthol, bitter chocolate, and mocha aromas. The tannins are firm but integrated, giving the wine great structure.

The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater

a typical rocky vineyard in The Rocks District

This new AVA is entirely in Oregon, but within the Washington Walla Walla AVA. This is extremely confusing, but makes some kind of sense. The soils of Washington do not stop at the political boundary and it will need continued co-operation between the Washington and Oregon wine boards to spread knowledge of the region's different wines. The name of the AVA is clumsy but again makes sense: the soils are extremely rocky (unlike the rest of Walla Walla). The Syrahs here are particularly interesting: floral, perfumed, almost hedonistic, yet with restrained fruits.

Stand-out wine: Delmas 2012 (92.5% Syrah, 7.5% Viognier) $65 ✪✪✪✪✪✪
From the driving force behind the creation of The Rocks District AVA, this Syrah/Viognier blend has a dark, intense complexity, with coffee, truffles, dark chocolate, and liquorice, all lightened with floral and herbal aromas of lavender, myrrh, ginger, and orange peel. Also worth mentioning are Proper's Estate Syrah ($42) from both 2012 and 2013 (both ✪✪✪✪✪) and Balboa's 2012 Malbec ($34; ✪✪✪✪✪).

Horse Heaven Hills

Horse Heaven Hills, overlooking the Columbia river and Oregon

A high, undulating plateau taking in over 4,000ha of vines, Horse Heaven Hills includes one of Washington's greatest vineyards, Champoux. This vast AVA (it covers a total of 228,000ha) is windswept and bleak, reminding me of the Yorkshire moors without the rain. 24 different black grape varieties are planted, but Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate.

Stand-out wine: Andrew Will Sorella 2009 ($85) ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪
One of the US's great red wines, the Sorella is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, varying with each vintage. This is a prime expression of the Champoux vineyard, first planted in 1972. As with Washington's best wines, the Sorella has firm, drying tannins which give the wine a gripping mouthfeel, lifted by a vibrant acidity. The fruits are soft and ripe, yet delicate, elegant, and restrained. This is a serious wine with long ageing potential. A year and a half ago, I visited the Andrew Will winery on Vashon Island near Seattle, which is one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had.

Red Mountain

steep Viognier vines at the top of Red Mountain

The smallest AVA is where the Washington story began, with Jim Holmes and John Williams planting vines in 1972. Jim Holmes claims they didn't know what they were doing, but there may be some false modesty at play. The small mountain, so barren it had never been planted with any crop before, has a varied, rugged topography that results in outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. This is the AVA that may push Washington on to the international map: Duckhorn of Napa have recently planted here, and Aquilani of Canada have bought over 250 of the AVA's potential 1,600ha.

Stand-out wine: Force Majeure Estate Syrah ($65) ✪✪✪✪✪✪
A rich, lush nose of red and black fruits, with a peppery spiciness, but floral, perfumed, and balanced - a typical Red Mountain combination.

 

Yakima Valley

Syrah vines leading up to Red Willow's chapel

The biggest AVA besides Columbia Valley, the quality and style of Yakima wine fluctuates. Its best and most historic vineyard is Red Willow, first planted by the Sawyer farming family in the early 1970s. Once again Cabernet and Syrah excel - the Syrah grown on the steep south-facing slope below the chapel looks and tastes French.

Stand-out wine: Owen Roe Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 ($72) ✪✪✪✪✪✪
From the original 1973 plantings on the Red Willow vineyard, this is another perfumed Cabernet, with cedar, oak, pencil lead, cocoa, chocolate, and black tea. Gripping tannins and a full mouthfeel belie a long, subtle finish. 

Columbia Gorge

With just over 150ha, Columbia Gorge is the most unusual of Washington's AVAs. It again extends into Oregon and its wine culture is closer to Portland than Seattle. Rainfall varies from 250 to 1,700mm, depending on location - like the other AVAs, topography, climate, and soils vary remarkably. Due to the cooler, wetter climate, white grapes dominate, particularly Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Chardonnay.

Stand-out wine: Savage Grace Chardonnay 2013 ($26) ✪✪✪✪✪✪
From Celilo vineyard, which is considered the finest in the AVA. On a mountainside with volcanic soils, the climate is maritime, receiving up to 1,250mm of rain each year. This cool, wet climate results in light, acidic wines such as this Chardonnay from up-and-coming winemaker Michael Savage. This wine stands comparison with the best Chablis: citrus, mineral aromas, with light cream and baking apples on the palate, with a crisp acidity.

Columbia Valley

Many wineries source grapes from individual vineyards all over the state, which will be labelled Columbia Valley. It's difficult to generalise about these wines, which will vary according to site, blend, variety, and the winemaker.

Stand-out wine: Avennia Justine Red Rhône Blend 2012 ($40) ✪✪✪✪✪✪
Although Syrah emerged as my favourite Washington grape, a handful of winemakers are also making wine from other Rhône varieties. Maryhill of Columbia Gorge make an excellent Mourvèdre ($45; ✪✪✪✪✪✪), demonstrating how exciting that grape can be in the right hands. The Justine from Avennia is 49% Mourvèdre, 28% Grenache, and 23% Syrah. Dark, earthy, and floral, this is voluptuous, immediate, and powerful: Washington wine in a nutshell.

Washington State

On a very wet afternoon, I visited three wineries in Woodinville, an area north west of Seattle where some of Washington state's major producers are based. As the cold, wet weather in mid-July suggested, this is not vine-growing country; instead, producers buy grapes from eastern Washington and make the wine closer to the crowds of drinkers of Seattle.

where?

The contrast between Seattle and eastern Washington could not be greater. Seattle is a green, hilly city surrounded by mountains and water, with active volcanoes just 90 miles away. Average rainfall is 45-50 inches a year, meaning that serious viticulture is all but impossible. East of Seattle are the Cascade mountains, a bleak, rocky range which break up the rain from the Pacific and create a very different environment beyond the mountains. Eastern Washington is arid, hot, and almost desert like, with rainfall as little as 4-8 inches a year.

Washington's wine industry has expanded hugely over the last twenty years; from 12 wineries in 1980 to 60 ten years later to over 700 today. It's now the second largest wine-producing state in the US, although California produces over 90% of the country's wine. There are eleven, and arguably too many, AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) for such a young wine region: the entire wine area is Colombia Valley AVA, within which the most important AVAs are Yakima Valley and Walla Walla Valley.

grapes

Washington produces wine from a huge variety of grapes, which is both to its advantage and disadvantage. Unlike Oregon and its Pinot Noir, Washington lacks a signature grape which consumers can identify the state with; at the same time, this allows winemakers a freer range of possibilities.

During the 1990s, Washington was most strongly associated with Merlot. In June 1991, the Washington Wine Commission met to discuss how best to promote the state's growing wine industry. They briefly discussed Cabernet Sauvignon before realising the futility of competing with Napa Valley, settling on Merlot, a grape little planted and largely unknown in the States at that time. Coincidentally, in November 1991 60 Minutes broadcast a documentary, "The French Paradox," which claimed that drinking red wine had health benefits. This led to the fashion for Merlot, which Washington was well positioned to take advantage of.

Despite its notorious fall from grace, Merlot is still the third most sold varietal wine in the US and Washington would arguably do well to reclaim its status as the best state by far for the grape, giving the state a stronger identity than it currently has. Washington Merlot at its best has ripe, rich red and black fruits, with a high acidity, and a coffee toastiness from the use of new oak.

The other black grapes that thrive in Washington are Cabernet Sauvignon and, increasingly, Syrah; there is great potential for Sangiovese and Tempranillo, though the American market remains addicted to French varieties. The most planted grape in the state, perhaps surprisingly for such a warm climate, is Riesling: astonishingly, Chateau Ste. Michelle is the largest producer of Riesling in the world (and that doesn't include the other brands it owns). Washington Riesling is made in a whole variety of styles of sweetness, but is recognisable for its stone and tropical fruits. Chardonnays are beginning to become less oaky and more balanced, while Washington's best whites are perhaps from less fashionable Sauvignon Blanc-Sémillon blends.

Tempranillo in véraison

wineries

Betz Family Winery

Bob Betz worked for Chateau Ste. Michelle from 1974, until establishing his own winery in the late 1990s. In the meantime, he became one of the most important exponents of Washington wine, both in promoting the wine outside the state and in defining the most suitable areas for planting. He's now the only Master of Wine in the US actually making wine. At 5,000 cases a year, production is small and focused on high-end Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

My visit focused on two vintages from two single-vineyard Syrahs, La Serenne from Boushey vineyard in Yakima and La Côte Rousse from Ciel du Cheval in Red Mountain. La Serenne 2010 was subtle and elegant, with juicy blackberries, light pepper, and a slightly dusty finish: just beginning to open up now, but with lots of ageing potential still. The 2012, which will be released in September, was too young but still indicative of the warmer vintage - earthier, thornier, with darker fruits. La Côte Rousse is a richer, warmer wine, from a hotter, sandier vineyard (though just 20 miles away). The 2010 was far more pungent than La Serenne, its smokiness almost peaty, with tobacco leaves, ripe blackcurrants, and sweet spices. Again, the 2012 is a little too young, but showing an additional, engaging floral character.

Delille Cellars

Just a four minute drive away are Delille Cellars, established in 1992. Many of their grapes are sourced from Red Mountain AVA, particularly from Ciel du Cheval and Grand Ciel vineyards, the latter established by the winery in 2001. Highlights included the Ciel du Cheval 2013 Roussanne, a complex yet immediate and refreshing wine - nutty and yeasty, with stone and tropical fruits. This is part of the "Doyenne" series, focusing on Rhône style wines, but it's Bordeaux blends the winery specialises in. The D2, named for the road which goes through the Médoc in Bordeaux, is their best-selling wine and is a good example of a Merlot-based wine from Washington, with black fruits, cedar, and a nice spicy finish. The flagship wine is the Cabernet Sauvignon dominated Harrison Hill from Snipes Mountain AVA. Complex, maturing flavours of tar and leather, smoke, black tea, and figs, as well as cassis and brambles, though with a subdued finish. A very good wine, but at a hefty $85. My favourite wine, though, was a white, the Chaleur Estate 2013 - a blend of 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Sémillon. Cellared in the last three White House administrations, this is a complex wine that shows all the best of Bordeaux blends - oaky and creamy, smoky and toasty, with lemon, spices, and brioche, and a barnyard feel.

Brian Carter Cellars

Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to meet winemaker Brian Carter, described to me as "the librarian of Washington wine," and didn't get the full story to his winemaking philosophy. All of his wines are blends, often quite unusual, taking advantage of the number of varieties grown in Washington, as well as growers' and winemakers' increased understanding of how to get the best out of the different varieties.

I did get to taste six of his wines. Oriana is a unique blend of Viognier (53%), Roussanne (32%), and Riesling (15%), which was aromatic, nutty, with a spicy finish. Together with the peach and nectarine aromas, this was a wine expressing, yet integrating, all three of the varieties. Tuttorosso 2009 is a super Tuscan blend, which seems to be how Sangiovese is most used in Washington. I was looking forward to this, but found it a little simple with smoky red cherries and light spices. The most interesting was the Corrida, a blend, which I can only assume is unique, of Tempranillo (62%), Graciano (12%), Merlot (11%), Cabernet Sauvignon (9%), and Garnacha (6%). Evocative of grilled sausages, with a peppery finish and dry tannins, this is a wine definitely doing its own thing, and no Rioja clone.

These are just three of Washington's 700+ wineries, but which give a good indication of the range and style of the state's wines. I hope to be back before long to taste more, but for now I'm off to California to explore the Golden State.

Go West!

American wine is wonderfully diverse and unpredictable - unsurprisingly, given it's made in each of the fifty states - but for most there's only one place that comes to mind when thinking of American wine: California. The state produces 90% of the country's wine, but this dominance can do both the state and the country a disservice. Stereotypes of Californian wine as big, bold, and fruity persist, overlooking the range of styles across the state, and the high quality wines coming from Washington and Oregon, and to a lesser degree New York and Virginia, get overlooked. This is why it was so exciting to see the very different states of California, Oregon, and Washington get together to offer a joint trade tasting in London - so exciting, in fact, that I travelled down to the unreal city itself to partake. Here is a selection of the wines I tasted.

California

two of the great Santa Barbara wineries: Au Bon Climat and Qupé

 

Au Bon Climat

The AVAs to the south of San Francisco in Santa Barbara County are quite different from the classical Californian regions to the north of the city. Although the first grapes were planted more than two hundred years ago, it's only in the last thirty years or so that serious wine has been made there. The area is cooled significantly by ocean winds and fogs - the nearer to the ocean, the cooler the region. This makes it ideal territory for the Burgundy grapes, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Au Bon Climat's French name (it means "well-exposed vineyard") provides a clue about the style of wine: although these wines are true to California, they are hugely influenced by France and do the most to challenge preconceptions of Californian wine. The wines oscillate between Burgundian and Californian, so it was great to taste the wines back to back and directly compare the different expressions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (though I was disappointed the incomparable Hildegaard - a unique blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Aligoté - was missing). The Wild Boy Chardonnay remains, despite its ludicrous label, my favourite high-quality affordable Chardonnay, but the two wines which stood out in this tasting were the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Sanford & Benedict vineyard in Santa Rita AVA, the coolest of the area's regions. I'd love to taste these two wines blind alongside some Burgundy.

 

Seghesio

The day brought home to me just how good Zinfandel can be when made well with proper attention and the Zinfandels from Seghesio, based in Sonoma County with vineyards in Anderson and Russian River Valleys, may just have been the best of the show. The 2011 Sonoma Old Vine Zinfandel had an exceptional balance of oak and fruit, but I thought the 2011 Rockpile Zinfandel surpassed it for complexity. Rockpile is a new sub-AVA in northern Sonoma; to qualify for the AVA, vineyards must be higher than 800ft, free from the fog that doesn't rise above that level. It was interesting to learn of an AVA independent of, rather than dependent on, the state's famous fog. Unusually, Seghesio also produce wine from two Italian grapes: Arneis, a Piemonte white grape, and Sangiovese, the great Tuscan black grape. I've tasted the Arneis before and it's an excellent wine, though it takes a while to open up. The 2010 Anderson Valley Sangiovese is made from vines that are descended from plantings from the turn of the last century: Prohibition pretty much killed off plantings of the grape, so these vines are unique. The wine's expensive and I'm not sure it compares with Tuscan wines of the same price; at the same time, it was hard to fault. 

Oregon

Adelsheim are one of the oldest wineries in the state and their wines are finally tiptoeing their wine into the UK. The 2012 Willamette Valley Chardonnay is subtle and balanced, especially compared to some of the mammoth Californian Chardonnays I tasted. It's Pinot Noir that they specialise in, though; here I found myself preferring the less expensive wine - the grainy earthiness of the 2011 Willamette Valley over the lighter but more textured 2011 Elizabeth's Reserve.

Adelsheim

Perhaps the best white of the day was the Trisaetum 2012 Ribbon Ridge Riesling. Riesling's a grape which should do very well in Oregon but has never taken off: Pinot Noir dominates and perceptions in the States of Riesling are shaped by sweeter, inexpensive wines from Washington. This Riesling demonstrates exactly what the grape is capable of in Oregon in the right hands. 

Washington

Washington suffers from making wines of all levels of quality from far too many grapes. I also think that high-quality wineries have spent too long targeting the rest of the US market; an obvious target, but one which involves navigating the complex and prohibitive three-tier distribution system. The UK and Northern Europe markets are much more suitable areas for Washington to demonstrate its quality. 

For this reason, I was delighted to see Betz Family Winery at the trade show. One of many wineries unavailable in the UK, I'd wanted to visit them when I was in Seattle last September but they are closed to the public. Speaking to their new owner, Steve Griessel, in London, it was clear he had realised that Northern Europe presents a more profitable and accessible market than other US states (he was off to Sweden the next day). The wines, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah based, are expensive but worth the price and I'm looking forward to seeing them in the UK. 

Washington red wines at their best can be characterised as being European in style but with fuller fruit flavours, quite different from their Californian equivalents. This is true of the Betz wines and also of one my favourite wineries anywhere, Andrew Will. The 2010 Two Blondes is an exceptional wine, full of fruit flavours but backed up with real structure. 2010 was a cool year and the wine is just 12.8%; drinking well now, it's still got a few years left in it. Two Blondes is a vineyard which winemaker Chris Camarda planted in 2000 and the wines are proving extremely popular. I wonder if they're replacing in importance the wines from the Ciel du Cheval vineyard; still a very good wine, the 2009 didn't have the immediacy of the Two Blondes nor the sophistication of Sorella from the same vintage. Always Cabernet Sauvignon heavy and always serious, the 2009 expression of Sorella is just beginning to open up and has ten to fifteen years left in it at the very least. From the best vineyard for Cabernet in the state (Champoux), if you wonder whether Washington wine can compete with Bordeaux or, for that matter, Napa Valley, then here's your answer.