PSMIOFF 1.04: Rhoning in Washington

A quick refresher - the Pasadena Society for Millennials Interested in Observations on Fermented Fruit is a wine tasting group I started simply as a place to enjoy great company, evaluate wines in a variety of categories, and mix those things together in a monthly meeting that has proven to be loads of fun. Another reminder, ever since my trip to Walla Walla for the Wine Blogger's Conference in 2010 I am a huge advocate and generally in love with Washington wine. I love the obviously New World fruit, with the distinctly Washington sense of acidity when the fruit is carefully grown on the East side of the beautiful Cascade mountains. Washington built its reputation on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and has done extraordinarily well with Riesling as well. But the momentum more recently has been in Syrah, and possibly in other Rhone varietals. For this reason, and because the slip of paper pulled out of the hat at the end of PSMIOFF 1.03 said so, we spent this month exploring the Rhone bottles from Washington.

The results were not mixed, although some bottles were better than others. Generally speaking each wine had its merit, each wine showed a rather good value, and each wine continued my excitement towards what Washington has to offer. I encourage an exploration of Washington Rhones through any of these wines, presented here in my order of preference:

Dunham Cellars Syrah 2006 - Cherry pie, flowers and a hint of smoke on the nose lead to a juicy, peppery, and downright beautiful palate. The acid does not disappoint and lends an elegance to this full-bodied beauty that made it the wine of the night for me.

Maison Bleue Petite Joie Marsanne 2010 - Possibly unfair in that this was the only white wine present, this wine is spectacular. Quince, pear and marzipan make up the downright awesome nose. The palate is crisp, with citrus, pineapple and white flowers presenting one of the most delicious whites I have had in months. I raved about Maison Bleue before, and there ability to impress continues.

Owen Roe Sinister Hand 2009 - Mostly grenache, with a dollop of syrah and traces of counoise and mourvedre, this wine had blueberries and potpurri Christmas spices on the nose. Sweet vanilla and grapey juice up front lead to a nicely structure finish with some tart cranberries. Possibly because this wine was distinct from the syrah dominated tasting, and partly because the spice and cranberry were both appealing and refreshing, this wine was one of my favorites.

A tie for 4th between Doyenne Syrah 2007 and Board Track Racer Cellars 2008 Cab/Syrah blend 'The Vincent' The Doyenne had a chalky, dusty, sweet nose of blackberry liquer, and a rich palate of coffee, ripe berry cobler, and a hint of cough syrup. This wine settled down throughout the night and while remaining rich and ripe was delicious and fairly indicative of the good syrahs I have tasted from Washington. The Board Track 'The Vincent' was more red fruit focused and had some bramble, pepper, and a great earthiness. The finish was spicy, with bright acid to hold it all together.

Next up, and we are still in very good territory here albeit my fifth favorite wine - K Vintners Motor City Kitty 2008 Syrah. Charles Smith is pretty well known for his rock star syrahs, and while a bit heavy on the juicy grappiness for me here, the floral and earth aspects were appealing. This wine also calmed down a bit after a few hours and was lovely to drink, also a great price point for getting to try K Vintners legendary stuff.

Last, and yes in this case least, someone snuck in a bottle of Columbia Crest 2007 Syrah. It is amazing to taste this large production stuff in the middle of all of these careful, small lot, well sourced wines. This wine, in this context, was smokey and sulphury, and tasted simply of slightly alcoholic blueberry juice. I am a fan of a lot of what Columbia Crest does, but this was not very pleasant.

A great tour through some upcoming and established Washington Rhone stars, only cements the region in my mind as on of the U.S. greatest success in winemaking. While I imagine it will be a long time before the Wine Blogger's Conference returns, I am still excited by what is happening in Eastern Washington and encourage you to encourage your local wine stores to stock more Washington Rhones.