DeLille Cellars, September 12, 2014

Tasting Room - 4 / Wines - 5
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Ideal outdoor tasting for good weather.  Rhone and Bordeaux style wines.
www.delillecellars.com

My first stop today was supposed to be DeLille Cellars.  According to my research on the web, the tasting room was at the northern end of “winery row” in Woodinville, and the satellite photos suggested the operations were in a warehouse building.  When I arrived, I had to hunt a little for the winery’s office, which had not yet opened.  (It was 10:50am.)  I peeked in through a window and saw a disappointing tasting bar set up inside.  So, I decided to go on to the second stop and come back later in the day.  While trying to park at lunchtime, I made a wrong turn and ended up in the parking lot of the actual DeLille tasting room, which was much nicer than the shabby warehouse office.  So, after lunch, I knew precisely where to go.  After all, I had been told good things about this place and was reluctant to omit it from my trip, so I was happy to have found it.

The entrance to DeLille Cellars' tasting room

The DeLille tasting room is modest, both from the street and from within.  The outside resembles a tidy ranch home that has been well kept, with nice landscaping surrounding the butter-yellow exterior of the home.  A double door welcomes visitors inside, where a long, narrow salon has been set up for tasting and sales.  The floor is done in a darker hardwood with rich variations in color, while the walls carry the exterior butter color inside.  A small tasting bar on the left of the room serves customers during disagreeable weather.  In contrast to the simple tasting room is the ample patio area where they pour wine in the good weather.  This being Seattle, I don’t image the patio gets used nearly as much as it would in Northern California.  But, we were in luck because some of the season’s best weather was taking place during our visit.  There are some covers for the patio area, suggesting it can continue to be used during light rain.

Inside the DeLille tasting room

Visiting DeLille during mid-September means we missed out on some of their wines which have already sold out and the next vintages were not yet available.  Because of this, our tasting flight was limited to three wines.  We started our tasting with the 2012 Doyenne Métier (a Rhone-style blend).  This was followed by the 2011 DeLille Four Flags (a Meritage blend).  The flight ended with the 2013 DeLille Chaleur Estate Blanc.  Of these three wines, I enjoyed the 2012 Métier better than the other two, but I found the style of all the wines to be fruit-restrained and very dry.  I wonder if the wines that were sold out tasted better than these three.

Based on this experience, I would rate the winery a 4 and the wines poured a 5.

September 18, 2014 – Two Shafer Reds

On two adjacent nights, I opened two Shafer half-bottles: a Cabernet and a Merlot.  One of these two surprised me.  The other lives in the shadows of superior vintages, like the younger brother of an over-achiever going through the same schooling.

2006 Shafer One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine was the surprise, and for two reasons.  First, I thought that I was buying the last three half-bottles of the 2007 vintage of this wine.  I even recorded it that way.  Two years later I was looking for one of my last 2005 Merlots and discovered this bottle of 2006.  I scrambled to count the 2007’s and found only two.  So, it would seem I grabbed the last two 2007’s and the last 2006.  Ordinarily I would not have bought a 2006 vintage Cabernet without tasting it first, so I was shocked to find this bottle.  Upon opening the bottle, I was both relieved and impressed with the wine.  While lacking the depth and body of many 2007’s, this 2006 has become silky and very well balanced, with delicious flavors of red cherry, cranberry, pomegranate, subtle tobacco and minerals.

2008 Shafer Merlot

This wine is nice in its own right, but pales in comparison to the 2004, 2005, and 2007 vintages.  That is the problem with over-achieving older siblings.  (Except for in sports, I was fortunate to be more scholastically inclined than my older siblings ... but my poor younger brother.)  This wine is medium bodied and fairly smooth, featuring darker fruit and complexities, but probably a year or two off from its potential.  I noted flavors of pomegranate, dark cherry, tea, graphite, and leather.  Luckily, I still have three half-bottles of the 2007 vintage waiting to mature.

Chateau Ste. Michelle, September 12, 2014

Tasting Room - 7 / Wines - 5
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Gorgeous sprawling estate with room for concerts and weddings.  Most grape varietals vinted.
www.ste-michelle.com

I was in Seattle with my mom for a few days so she could explore glass-blowing and Native American art.  So that there was something in it for me, we dedicated part of Friday to wine-tasting.  Lacking the time to travel to the Columbia Valley, we visited the main winery neighborhood just to the north-east of Seattle called “Woodinville”.  Here, you will find winery operations condensed into a short two or three mile stretch of road, with Chateau Ste. Michelle anchoring the end of the main road.  I decided to start off my visit here for a few reasons.  First off, since we would be tasting just before lunch, I wanted a place close to dining so we would be just a short drive away from lunch.  Secondly, Chateau Ste. Michelle is one of the larger producers in Washington, much like Beringer Wines in Napa Valley.  The spectacular grounds were simply a happy bonus that I had not planned for.  Unlike most winery operations, Chateau Ste. Michelle is set up for much more than just wine tasting.  The grounds include an outdoor amphitheater for concerts as well as a few buildings large enough to hold corporate meetings, receptions, holiday parties, and so forth.  If you could schedule nice weather like I had during my visit, you might even consider an outdoor wedding at this beautiful campus.

The entrance to the Ste. Michelle tasting room

Just like the biggest wineries in Napa Valley, Chateau Ste. Michelle attracts visitors by the bus-load.  And, while the tasting room was built to accommodate a great many people, they had to scale back the “shine” to do so.  The exteriors of all the buildings have a definite European (French) architectural influence.  The walls are off-white with taupe shutters and steep rooflines.  The tasting room is rather inconveniently located toward the back of the campus, so you walk past a number of offices and reception halls along the way.  Inside, the tasting room is done in an industrial-strength rustic feel, again with a nod toward Europe, though for some reason it felt a little more Italian than French.  The walls are a creamy off-white, the floors are simply polished concrete, and the tasting counter and ceiling are finished in a warm-toned wood.  What caught me off guard was the amount of merchandise for sale in the large tasting room.  You really get the feeling that you are in a tourist mecca here.

Inside the Ste. Michelle tasting room

I opted for a red tasting flight at the stand-up wine bar.  (There is also a tour and tasting option, as well as the Col Solare sit-down option.)  Our flight consisted of four red wines, starting with the 2011 Austral Red Wine (a Rhone-style blend), followed by the 2009 Canoe Ridge Syrah and the 2011 Canoe Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon.  But I quickly learned that Washington is best for making Merlots, as the Canoe Ridge Merlot was my favorite of the flight.  The fellow tending to us then offered us a pour of the (off-the-menu) 2010 Artist Series Meritage, which showed not only that 2010 was a better vintage, but that there is a big difference in the winemaking style of their Artist Series wines.  This wine was my favorite from this visit.  As I was flying home the next day, buying wine at the winery was not a convenient option for me.

My favorite curiosity for sale inside Ste. Michelle's tasting room

Based on this experience, I would rate the winery a 7 and the wines poured a 5.

September 6, 2014 – Block Party wines

Each year, toward the end of summer, the neighbors on my block organize a block party, where we bring an offering of food to share and enjoy each other’s company.  I brought freshly-baked chocolate-chip cookies, and of course, wine.  It was the perfect opportunity to rid myself of a Rose Malbec that I never wanted, and to share a few of my better wine values from the cellar.  Here is what I opened:

2013 Provenance Malbec Rose
2010 Uppercut Cabernet Sauvignon
2010 Angel’s Secret Petite Sirah
2010 Artezin Mendocino Zinfandel

The Angel’s Secret was everyone’s favorite, and the least expensive of the bunch.  And I found some people who adored the Rose.

October 7, 2014 – Fall color will arrive early this year

Today I spent the day in Napa Valley.  Everything I have been reading in the vintners’ blog posts says this is an early harvest season, with great quality in the grapes.  And from what I have seen, the fall color will likely arrive similarly early.  In late vintages, the fall color will peak around the week of Thanksgiving, which suggests that the usual peak arrives around November 10^th.  If the harvest is two weeks early, then I think it would be fair to guess that the autumn color peak will come two weeks earlier as well.  Today’s trip supports that theory as a number of fields have already begun to develop a golden cast to their foliage.  I noticed this driving in along the newly widened Highway 29 through American Canyon all the way up to northern Saint Helena.  Of course, if I can enjoy beautiful fall colors with today’s excellent weather, then I must be in paradise (or very close to it).

The 2014 fall color arrives early; seen from Saint Clement Vineyards

Elizabeth Spencer Wines, August 11, 2014

www.elizabethspencerwines.com

My second stop of the day was Elizabeth Spencer.  The main reason for my visit here was to pick up my friend’s wine club shipment.  Luckily, they checked the status of his account first and determined that his credit card information needed to be updated.  My friend was tied up for the next thirty minutes, so I decided to take advantage of the fact that Elizabeth Spencer stays open until 6:00pm during the summer months and rescheduled my stop here.  Off I flew to my next winery so I could return later, allowing my friend to make arrangements for his billing in the meantime.  I returned after visiting the next two wineries on my agenda and enjoyed a relaxing tasting here.  Aside from the wines and the charming architecture of this place, the late hours are another big reason I like Elizabeth Spencer.  When something goes wrong with your timetable, it’s nice to have the flexibility to rearrange a few visits.

The wine-rack wall inside Elizabeth Spencer's tasting room

After the generosity of pours at the previous two wineries I visited, I needed to scale back my wine tasting at Elizabeth Spencer.  I opted for just two pours, but ended up with three.  I started with the 2011 Russian River Chardonnay, which has a nice minerality to it.  Next, I asked for two red recommendations and was poured their top two Cabernets:  the 2010 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2010 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon.  Of these three wines, the Rutherford Cabernet was my favorite, but even with the wine-club discount, it is just beyond my financial reach.  (Maybe I’ll try to get an invite when my friend opens his bottle.)

A full review was written already about Elizabeth Spencer Wines during my visit on November 2^nd, 2012.