huevos con vino

As one of the members of the Domaine Drouhin (DDO) Direct club, I receive four shipments a year.  Each shipment contains three bottles of wine, which works out well because DDO only release four different wines.  Now, I joined the club to get my hands on the Louise Pinot Noir release.  The only way to get this wine is through the DDO Direct club.  But I also enjoy the other DDO releases, of course, although until recently I had never paid much attention to their Chardonnay.

That was a mistake.

The 2006 vintage marks the 11th release of Arthur, which was only renamed Arthur (after Veronique Drouhin’s son) in 2002.  At $30/bottle, the price has been steadily increasing over the past few years, particularly as Arthur begins to sell out just 1-2 months after each new release.  The 2005 vintage sold out fairly rapidly, selling out by November according to the DDO mailer.  They produced 1,700 cases of the 2005 Arthur; production has increased slightly to 2,200 cases for the 2006 vintage.  Those numbers are both up from 450 cases in 1996 and 750 cases in 2000, although in 2001 they made 1,600 cases and in 2002 they made 1,850 cases.  As usual, half-bottles of the 2006 are available…and if you’re really feeling frisky you can plunk down $65 and get a magnum of Arthur Chardonnay.  Very cool!

I like the DDO Arthur Chardonnay.  I have tried it a couple of times over the last few years, and in my opinion they keep improving this wine year after year.  The last time I tried Arthur, I had the 2002 release.  My mom had stashed a half-bottle of the 2002 in the fridge for quite some time, but the wine was preserved quite well and it tasted delicious, with lots of peach and citrus notes.  The official winery tasting notes cite the same peach aroma, but also mention honey and a couple of other notes to the bouquet that probably would have showed up had I allowed the wine to warm up a little before I tasted it.

The 2006 Arthur features an interesting winemaking methodology.  They pressed the 100% Dijon clone, Estate-grown grapes in whole clusters.  I like this approach even though it is more labor-intensive for the winery; whole-cluster pressing apparently yields better quality juice, although I do not have any quantitative proof on the subject.  Anyway, after pressing the grapes, the winemakers at DDO segregated the resulting juice into two equal batches.  Half the juice wound up in French oak barrels, the other half went into stainless steel.  Eight months later, they combined these two batches of juice and bottled the result. 

In the past I used my allocation of Arthur Chardonnay as presents for people who like white wine.  This time around, I may just keep all of it for those nights when I make seared scallops.  It’s a great wine and at $30/bottle it’s worth a try.  If you’re not that into Chardonnay, you might like the $15 half-bottle price even better!

This week has been a little hectic, coupled with a few periods of intense boredom.  A strange combination indeed.  Anyway, I thought it was time to crack open some of my purchases from earlier this year, and there’s no better place to start than Williams Selyem!

A few months ago, I made my first purchase through THE LIST at Williams Selyem.  It was quite an honor to send them hundreds of dollars; I have loved the other Williams Selyem wines I’ve had, and I look forward to drinking many more in the future.  Their Pinot Noirs are quite good if you believe the wine media.  I have had only two Williams Selyem Pinot Noirs in the past, but both were terrific and, of course, entirely different from one another.

This time around, I decided to open one of my three bottles of 2005 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.  The wine is a six-vineyard blend; you can find many more technical details at the link in the previous sentence.  Suffice it to say the good people at Williams Selyem provide lots of neat technical content on their wines, such as the toast levels of their barrels.  I love that sort of thing.  At 13.9% alcohol, this wine should be a nice, slightly subdued expression of the cherry bonanza that is often reflected in Russian River Pinot Noir wines.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the cellar.  I opened the bottle, which looked fine (the cork looked fine, etc.).  I poured myself a glass (I used a Royal Doulton Pinot glass, BTW) and…uhh, hmm.  I wasn’t impressed.  I was depressed, in fact.  Read on:

• Aroma: Subdued at first, hints of red cherry and red plum; opened up into a kirsch, chocolate, and leather bouquet.  A bit strange for a Pinot Noir, but not bad…although a lot of alcohol was detectable in addition to the other aroma elements.
• Flavor: Slightly sweet at the start, red cherries and acidity dominate the quick finish.  Somewhat thin and flaccid, not what I was expecting.
• General impression: Either I opened this bottle too early in its life, or this wine isn’t too thrilling.  Or it’s an off bottle.  In any case, I’m disappointed.

So what gives?  I am not entirely sure.  I don’t think the bottle is off, although that’s a possibility.  I do think I need to try some more of this wine again after I’ve kept it in my fridge using my WineKeeper Keeper for a while.  But I was pretty shocked at the total lack of balance and clarity of this wine.  I’m going to chalk it up to a weird experience and keep trying with the RRV release.  After all, I have two more bottles of it.

POSTSCRIPT: I tried more of the wine from this bottle a couple of days after writing my review.  The wine tasted better, but still not quite as balanced or rich as I would expect.  But there was some improvement, so perhaps I simply opened the first bottle too soon!

I’ve been going to doctor’s offices with some frequency lately.  Not for any personal reason, mind you.  I just like to go and leaf through the year-old magazines.  I find that dentists’ offices feature the best mix of smooth jazz and Sports Illustrated 2006 NFL Preview issues.  Sweet.

So when I found myself in a gastroenterology waiting room today, I noticed a relatively recent copy of Seattle magazine.  They were featuring their (2nd) annual review of Washington wines, winemakers, vineyards, and so forth.  Their overall winner?  The 2003 Long Shadows Feather release, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon blend made with fruit from three distinguished Washington vineyards.  At $55, it has long since sold out (unless you look at Wine-Searcher.com), but I was intrigued by the Long Shadows winery as I haven’t seen their name anywhere yet.  Of course, I’m not really looking for Washington wine news all that often, but still…a top wine such as the 2003 Feather should have caught my eye sooner.

The other night I was at a bookstore when I saw the latest issue of Wine & Spirits, which is one of my favorite wine publications that I never buy or read much.  They mentioned Poco Wine Room in a review of Seattle wine hotspots, which to my knowledge was the first time Poco had received such national coverage.  Very cool!  I hope the place doesn’t get overrun with Wine & Spirits devotees.

And of course, the thing that spurred my roundup of personally-encountered Washington wine coverage was WBW #34.  A great job by the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman led me to read all of the other bloggers’ entries and their WA wine experiences.  Very entertaining stuff.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, there’s nothing wrong with me physically…I wasn’t at the gastroenterologist because of my personal health.  Although after that reheated Panang curry tonight, I am considering a return trip.  I should get a punchcard or something.

I should warn you right now.  There are two things you need to know before you read the bulk of this blog entry.

First, I am not a fan of Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon.  But I feel that my disappointing previous experiences represent a string of bad luck rather than anything wrong with the wines or the wineries.  Too much acidity and a dry, conflicted flavor suggests to me that I am drinking wines far too young.  So I’m excited about WBW #34 because I have been searching for the right WA Cab Sauv to make me forget that Hestan I drank two years ago.  And that Silver Oak…and that one Harlan Estate….

Second, if you are interested in wine, but you are less than familiar with Walla Walla Valley wines from Washington State, I recommend a quick look at the official Walla Walla Valley Alliance Web site.  If you’ve only ever heard of Walla Walla onions, you’ll be surprised by the history of this wine-growing region of the country.  If I were you, I’d check Wikipedia for more information on the town of Walla Walla itself, which was famously namechecked by Bugs Bunny, among other cartoon characters.

If you’re too lazy to visit those links, let me provide a little history.  Over the past 20 years, the Walla Walla area has distinguished itself among Washington State AVAs.  The Cabernet Sauvignon that comes from this AVA is regarded as superb, although Merlot, Chardonnay, and Syrah are stars as well.  Now, I live in the Seattle area, so it’s relatively easy for me to find many of the wines from the 60+ wineries in the Walla Walla AVA.  Some wineries are obscure even in the state of Washington, though, which is why I’m glad the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman asked everyone to look beyond Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Crest, two of the massive Washington wineries with which most people are familiar.

One of the higher-end Walla Walla wineries that you might have heard of is Reininger.  The Reininger winery has been around since 1997, and it is an impressive family affair.  Judging by the history page on the Reininger Web site, no less than six family members work at the winery.  The “Helix” brand, a more economically-priced line of Reininger wines produced from Columbia Valley fruit, takes its name in part from the town where one of the winery owner’s grandparents used to have a farm.  The word “Helix” also represents the name of the taster’s choice in escargot, apparently.  The Helix line of wines features some interesting new options, such as Sangiovese and a Merlot Rosé.  Every good winery needs a gimmick, and the Helix wines provide that marketing focus for Reininger.

But the portfolio at Reininger really shines when you look at the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot releases made from Walla Walla Valley fruit.  The first Reininger releases in 1997 were Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, all of which featured varying levels of each of these varietals in the blends.  In 1999, Reininger folded some Syrah into their offerings, with a 100% Carmenère release close behind.  Lately they have also released a Chardonnay/Pinot Gris blend named “Helix Aspersa,” one of the specific species of escargot that we all enjoy.  Seriously.  I love escargot.

Back to the Cabernet Sauvignon.  In my opinion, this is Reininger’s big gun, so to speak.  Although their other wines (particularly their Merlot) regularly receive awards and industry tasting scores of 90+, it was their 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon release that put them on the map with a 90-point score in Wine Spectator and a couple of gold and double gold awards from local wine competitions.  The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon hit 93 points in Wine & Spirits, while the 2000 release earned 4 stars from Decanter.  Wine & Spirits gave the 2001 93 points yet again, while the 2002 earned 91 points from that source and 90 points from Wine Advocate.  Clearly, the national wine media pay attention when Reininger releases a Cabernet Sauvignon.

The 2002 vintage is the wine that I decided to try for this Wine Blogging Wednesday tasting.  The 2002 is 14.2% alcohol and features a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon gathered from three Walla Walla vineyards: Ash Hollow, Pepper Bridge, and Seven Hills.  The remainder of the blend is comprised of 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Carmenère.  No Merlot to be found.  That might make all the difference, as it turns out.

In terms of cooperage and aging, the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon uses a small percentage (4%) of Russian oak to go with the primarily French oak, in which the wine resides for just under 2 years.  The barrels are split almost evenly between used and new wood, with slightly more used than new.  I like this approach because the balance of used oak softens the flavors a little in contrast with the new oak.  I’m not sure what sort of toast they use at Reininger; frankly, that’s the sort of absurd trainspotter detail that I find interesting mostly because I like barrels.  Strange, I know.  If you are interested in the toasting process, here’s a decent article explaining why Chardonnay had such a backlash recently.

Okay, enough about toast.  What about the wine?  Will it live up to my high, seemingly California-centric standards?  Have I finally found the Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon that makes me want to come back for more?  Or will I be disappointed again by a mouthful of acid and bitterness?  Read on for my notes on this 2002 Reininger Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon:

• Aroma: A complex medley of blackberry, cassis, black cherry, smoky leather, dark chocolate nibs, and coffee.  Very enticing, rich aroma that filled the room when I opened the bottle.  Impressive start.
• Flavor: Lush blackberry jam, black currant, and blueberry notes with supple tannins and firm but accessible acidity.  A well-balanced wine right out of the bottle, surprisingly enough.  Over time I got more of the wild strawberry essence that was promised on the winery Web site; I think this flavor is caused by the acidity peeking through the black fruit curtains, so to speak.
• General impression: Eureka!  A Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon that speaks my language.  I’m impressed.

The verdict?  We have a winner!  The 2002 Reininger is wonderful, and well worth the $37 I paid.  It’s a serious wine, weighty but accessibly light and fruity without the need for decanting.  Now that was shocking to me; I have become accustomed to decanting young wines.  But this one is ready to go once you pop the cork.  I like that.  I also like the fact that this wine features primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and no Merlot.  Most of the other Washington Cab blends I’ve had featured Merlot, sometimes in significant quantities.  Perhaps Washington Cabernet Sauvignon grapes simply blend better with Cabernet Franc and Carmenère?  I assume that smoky leather aroma came from that dash of Carmenère; it’s quite a nice addition to the bouquet.

So as Wine Blogging Wednesday #34 winds down for me, I must say that my faith in Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon has been restored.  And I didn’t need to spend $100 to restore my faith, either.  All I had to do was try a little harder to find a wine that I liked.  For me, Reininger fit the bill!

Edition #34 of the famous Wine Blogging Wednesday is nearly here, and I have finally found a wine to try.  I decided to head back to European Vine Selections and see which Washington State Cabernet Sauvignons they had sitting around.  Although the selection at EVS is focused on French wines, they do have some local wines as well, just not as many.

After consultation with the store owner, I decided on a particular wine for two reasons:

• It was the oldest Washington Cab in the store (2002)
• It comes from the Walla Walla Valley, which was something I considered important to this challenge both because of the identity of the blogger who is hosting WBW #34, and because most of the WA Cabs I’ve had before were not specifically from the Walla Walla Valley

So, which wine did I choose?  I decided in favor of the 2002 Reininger Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  I will provide full details for this wine on Wednesday, but I can at least provide this link if you want to cheat and read about the wine now.  The bottle cost $37 at EVS, which is decent but a bit high, although the wine is apparently a library release now since the 2003 vintage is on the market.  CellarTracker reviews peg the 2002 at about 89-91 points, but there are only 3 reviews so far.  I plan to add to that total soon.

Finally, I asked the owner of EVS his opinion of Quilceda Creek and their wines.  He told me he liked them a lot, but that their wines need at least 10 years of age on them before you should drink them.  He also said that as their success has climbed in recent years, they have shifted to a style of winemaking whereby higher alcohol content and drinkable young wines are the norm.  Apparently the long-time customers of Quilceda Creek aren’t all that excited about this perceived shift, but that’s best left for another post.