Washington Wine Scene
James and I traveled to Seattle in March to dive deep into the thriving wine scene in Washington State after years of talking about making the trip and pulling the corks. It was a busy trip with close to 600 wines tasted, as well as dozens of interviews and tastings with winemakers. We also tasted dozens of back vintages of wines and most aged very well.
These experiences left us both with the impression that the wine scene is imbued with a handy mix of momentum and opportunity. There’s little in the way of winemaking tradition to adhere to, as there is an army of talented winemakers curious to explore new possibilities. They are capitalizing Washington’s exceptional terroirs and micro-climates that seem to allow quality from just about any grape type — although syrah and malbec shine the brightest.
By far the most interesting wines are those whose styles are driven by cleverly played winemaker interpretation. It’s symptomatic of any younger or emerging winegrowing region that the voice of terroir is still being tuned, and this is a common thread in many Washington cellars where things are more work in progress than a finished masterpiece. But there’s also a generation of producers busily coloring the map of possibilities with vineyard-specific styles; to name a few: Leonetti Cellar, Andrew Will Winery and Betz Family Winery. They have been making serious wines for two or three decades now.
Syrah, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and cabernet franc all performed well in the tastings, where red wines clearly dominate the scene in terms of volume and quality. The blended reds showed well across the board and were exciting to taste. Chris Upchurch from DeLille Cellars is a big believer in their merit. “They bring the opportunity to deliver greater style possibilities, defining the sense of place in deeper detail rather than a single language,” he says.
Washington State has gained a reputation for its excellent selection of merlot, and this particular one from Leonetti Cellar is a great example.
Recent Vintages
The most featured vintages, 2014 and 2015, showed two very different faces of possibility across multiple styles. The 2014 season was initially coming in warmer before the brakes went on as the weather cooled off. Some people were wedded to chasing riper styles and then struggled to meet their desired mark, while those that are agiler in their vineyards delivered some neat freshness. Balance is the key to finding good 2014s as it’s the kind of vintage that rewards good vineyard management.
Season 2015 started out early and warm, and it was a trend that continued right through to harvest. On the whole, producers read the year well. The wines are strong on immediate drinkable appeal and still carry a sense of freshness in a warmer year. It is a strong vintage delivering quality up and down the price scale and across a wide range of styles and varietals. Whereas, the 2016 vintage lands somewhere between these two with a warm spring and hot start to summer, tapering into a gentler cooler finish, as well as a long, even ripening that delivers tannin maturity and freshness.
The key to quality in Washington is really governed by producer more than any other variable and even then, most producers will admit they are still very much in a discovery phase, particularly for the top wines. But the signs are good, as there are many opportunities many and the early results are strong. Brennan Leighton of K Vintners thinks wine quality is more about producer and vineyard manager than anything else. “The quality of the vineyard manager still trumps terroir,” he says. The Charles Smith collection of wines he presides over impressed across the board, and their impressive cellar and tasting room set-up in Jet City Seattle reflects the cool confidence of their wines.
This Savage Grace Côt Yakima Valley Boushey Vineyard 2016 is an excellent example of malbec from Washington.
Frenchman Christophe Baron is a proponent of organic and biodynamic farming who has a strong position on Washington wine styles. Many of his projects showed exceptionally well in our tastings and this includes Cayuse, Horsepower, No Girls and God Only Knows. These wines received most of our top ratings. Baron is headstrong and confident in his attitudes to all things wine (and beyond!) and has produced a number of convincingly expressive wines; notably, from biodynamically farmed syrah, grenache and tempranillo. His uncompromising approach equates to often great wine.
Favoring the use of whole cluster fermentation, Baron seeks additional freshness from stalks and his wines are picked for freshness. He eschews ripeness on the basis that “they all taste the same.” His Cayuse Bionic Frog Syrah is fragrant, ethereal and lacy; in other words, a far cry from the more regular dark, bold and ripe styles of syrah, as well as one of the most exciting wines we tasted. It is hard not to draw a favorable Northern Rhône comparison.
Talented and Curious Winemakers
There’s a pioneering generation of sorts, and they are all still very much involved. Namely, Bob Betz, and his eponymous Betz Family Winery label is now under new ownership, but he is wisely still retained. Moreover, there’s also Chris Camarda’s Andrew Will project with its utopian Vachon Island headquarters. Chris Upchurch’s Red Mountain-focused DeLille Cellars showed prowess in back vintages and current release bottles and Leonetti also showed very well.
James and our contributing editor Nick Stock reviewed some of the wines in a blind tasting.
Columbia Crest winemaker Juan Muñoz-Oca brings much to the region’s highest-profile commercial offering, drawing inspiration from his native Argentina. We believe malbec is a grape to watch in Washington. Some awesomeness there. “The Cascades to Washington are like the Andes to Mendoza,” he says, “we get similar rainfall and we both take river water to irrigate. The major difference is the elevation is higher in Mendoza, so the UV energy is different and also that Washington gets almost all its rainfall in winter.”
Having worked first as a winemaker in his native Argentina, Muñoz-Oca has malbec in his DNA and the more experimental angles he pursues, such as the 2016 Intrinsic red blend, are as fascinating as they are delicious and relatively well-priced, too. “I tinker with malbec,” he says, “I don’t think there’s a single tank of malbec that we don’t do something funky to. We co-ferment it with cabernet franc and I think the combination is angelic,” he offers, pitching two quite different grapes in ying yang-like combination.
In between intense tasting sessions, the JamesSuckling.com takes the time to appreciate the scenic surrounds that the wine takes us to. Here is a stunning shot taken by James on the way to Vashon Island, where Andrew Will Winery is situated.
Muñoz-Oca’s driving enthusiasm and precision in winemaking highlight the prowess of his boss, the Château Ste. Michelle group, which accounts for more than half of all Washington wines made. It’s hard to think of another large US wine group with a higher average quality of wine in the bottle at all price points. This is a big strength for the state of Washington along with all the exceptional terroirs, and a growing number of dynamic winemakers — particularly the 30 to 40 something —are pushing the boundaries with precision viticulture and winemaking.
The innate possibilities for wine in Washington are compelling. There’s a huge buzz around the wine scene, from abundant talent and intelligence to artfulness and collaborative spirit. In addition, there’s the uber-cool Seattle and the feel-good, modern, natural and young vibe of the state. Good things are happening here. You need to know these wines, just like we do! We will definitely be spending more time tasting and drinking wine from Washington. — Contributing Editor Nick Stock
