WTN: Woodward Canyon, Goose Ridge, Bunchgrass, Portteus

[Jenise]

We tried this quartet of Washington wines over the last week or so:

2007 Goose Ridge 'Vireo', Columbia Valley: Blackcherry, blackberry and plum fruit mix well in this concentrated cabernet-syrah blend from Goose Ridge. This is the plush, sweeter, toasty oak cocktail wine style that gets good ratings from the Wine Spectator. And for that it's very well-made, in fact impressive quality at under/around $20/bottle.

2003 Bunchgrass Winery 'Founders Blend': I can't recall if this was Columbia Valley or Walla Walla fruit, but I do remember that the grapes were a blend of 62 % Cabernet Franc with the rest in Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Excellent, with blackberry fruit, tobacco, herbs, dust and bits of leather only barely starting to show. Does not show it's age, nor is one reminded in any way that this wine is from the hottest vintage of the last decade here. Thanks Susan B for opening this. For anyone lucky enough to be holding this wine, it should comfortably cellar well for another 5-10 years. Wish I had some of this in my cellar!

2004 Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla: Oh wow. A great example of why so many of us just love Woodward Canyon cabernets. All blackberry and black plum with graphite, forest and cedar notes, it has the palate presence and long finish of nobility, which in Washingon it is. Even sitting around in the dark by the fire pit with friends pouring one wine after another, when this wine got poured everyone knew it was special. Outstanding.

2008 Portteus Cabernet Sauvignon, Rattlesnake Hills: Bob, who gets poured blind when it's just the two of us, couldn't place this. It's a wine left here by a guest, so we had no prior experience with it. His first guess was Rhone, which was an attempt to make sense out of the raspberry fruit and exceptional dryness. Relatively light bodied, it was dusty and green--more like a Bordeaux Superior from the Haut-Medoc than any wine we've ever had from Washington state. To it's credit there was none of the dill/pine stuff from American Oak, which I'm aware this winery uses, it just seemed more underipeness and dilution. And since we like Haut-Medoc wines we found it very drinkable and even an unexpectedly good match for the red-chile enchilada pie I served for dinner, but it's so opposite the Goose Ridge Vireo above that I have to think it's a tough sell to the average Washington wine customer.

Portteous has always been a headscratcher for me. I used to go taste there every time I was in WA, but haven't visited for at least five years. They seemed to have some nice material, and other people made some interesting wines from their grapes, and they could occasionally offer something nice, but the unpredictability of quality there was very discomforting.

Woodward Canyon often starts out for me to have far too much oak (and American oak in particular), but they do certainly improve with some age. But I still wish they would tone down the Amercian oak in many of their reds...

[Jenise]

John, I'm the same. Several friends hereabouts seem to buy their wines such that we've been treated to a number of their bottles, but none either singly or in aggregate explain to me their fandom. The flavors are generally on the rustic/simplistic side, and in body/texture the wines have ranged from porty to the dilute of this weekend's bottle. Elegance or above average quality as I would define either just hasn't been there, and the American oak generally stands out quite a bit. Speaking of porty vs. dilute, I noticed as I put the bottle in the recycle bin yesterday that the alcohol came in at a surprising 12.9%. I have never seen a modern made WA red with alcohol that low, and it reminded me of a winemaker friend talking about the winemaking class he and his wife took wherein they were instructed to add water to the must to cure various things, high alcohol being one of them. Now I tend to doubt that anything like 15% alcohol was a problem in this wine, but they might have done it to take the edge off the green flavors. Or maybe they didn't do it, but considering the uncharacteristically light body plus that abnormally low alcohol, one has to wonder.

We tried this quartet of Washington wines over the last week or so:

2007 Goose Ridge 'Vireo', Columbia Valley: Blackcherry, blackberry and plum fruit mix well in this concentrated cabernet-syrah blend from Goose Ridge. This is the plush, sweeter, toasty oak cocktail wine style that gets good ratings from the Wine Spectator. And for that it's very well-made, in fact impressive quality at under/around $20/bottle.

2003 Bunchgrass Winery 'Founders Blend': I can't recall if this was Columbia Valley or Walla Walla fruit, but I do remember that the grapes were a blend of 62 % Cabernet Franc with the rest in Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Excellent, with blackberry fruit, tobacco, herbs, dust and bits of leather only barely starting to show. Does not show it's age, nor is one reminded in any way that this wine is from the hottest vintage of the last decade here. Thanks Susan B for opening this. For anyone lucky enough to be holding this wine, it should comfortably cellar well for another 5-10 years. Wish I had some of this in my cellar!

2004 Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla: Oh wow. A great example of why so many of us just love Woodward Canyon cabernets. All blackberry and black plum with graphite, forest and cedar notes, it has the palate presence and long finish of nobility, which in Washingon it is. Even sitting around in the dark by the fire pit with friends pouring one wine after another, when this wine got poured everyone knew it was special. Outstanding.

2008 Portteus Cabernet Sauvignon, Rattlesnake Hills: Bob, who gets poured blind when it's just the two of us, couldn't place this. It's a wine left here by a guest, so we had no prior experience with it. His first guess was Rhone, which was an attempt to make sense out of the raspberry fruit and exceptional dryness. Relatively light bodied, it was dusty and green--more like a Bordeaux Superior from the Haut-Medoc than any wine we've ever had from Washington state. To it's credit there was none of the dill/pine stuff from American Oak, which I'm aware this winery uses, it just seemed more underipeness and dilution. And since we like Haut-Medoc wines we found it very drinkable and even an unexpectedly good match for the red-chile enchilada pie I served for dinner, but it's so opposite the Goose Ridge Vireo above that I have to think it's a tough sell to the average Washington wine customer.

We used to carry the Woodward Canyon cab in our store years ago and I drank a lot of it but for some reason we don't sell it anymore. I must find out what happened. Loved that wine.

[Jenise]

Woodward Canyon often starts out for me to have far too much oak (and American oak in particular), but they do certainly improve with some age. But I still wish they would tone down the Amercian oak in many of their reds...

Btw, meant to address this: the Artists Series and up (Dedication Series, or Old Vine) are all put in French Oak. Not sure if that's ALWAYS been the case--you have a much longer history with this winery than I do--but I did just verify that it certainly applies to the 04 described above.

[Jenise]

Woodward Canyon often starts out for me to have far too much oak (and American oak in particular), but they do certainly improve with some age. But I still wish they would tone down the Amercian oak in many of their reds...

Btw, meant to address this: the Artists Series and up (Dedication Series, or Old Vine) are all put in French Oak. Not sure if that's ALWAYS been the case--you have a much longer history with this winery than I do--but I did just verify that it certainly applies to the 04 described above.

And Lou--we've bonded on these wines before. Don't you have some old Ded Series in your cellar?

Jenise - I've found Portteus really hit and miss. I still have a couple of bottles from the 1990s (have I poured any for you?) that were quite good, but haven't followed them in recent years.

[Jenise]

Jenise - I've found Portteus really hit and miss. I still have a couple of bottles from the 1990s (have I poured any for you?) that were quite good, but haven't followed them in recent years.

No, you haven't poured any for me. (And I'm not pouting about it, either, just answering the question. )

Do understand though, all of the wines I've had have been entirely serviceable. But that's the problem, they've been more "serviceable" than good. None that I can remember, save perhaps a zinfandel which I remember more fondly than any of the cabs I've had from them, suggest a winery I should visit or seek out considering what else is available in the state. And atypically hit or miss, as you and John have said, for a winery that grows it's own fruit.

No, you haven't poured any for me. (And I'm not pouting about it, either, just answering the question. )

Hey, I'm not the one having a Woodie without the other one there (as it were)....

[Jenise]

Hey, I'm not the one having a Woodie without the other one there (as it were)....

GROANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!