So Bob and I left early Friday morning for Spring Release Weekend in Walla Walla. We drove our compact little RV, Fritz, and had plans to attend two parties at Reynvaan and Rasa as well as visit a short list of other wineries/tasting rooms including Gramercy, Buty, Maison Bleue, and Kerloo.
The night before, as a palate calibrator, we opened a Washington state syrah made by one of Washington's more European styled producers.
2009 Doyenne Aix
The name tells you everything you need to know about the aspirations of this GS or GSM type wine from Woodinville's Delillle winery, though they've branded this line separate from the Bordeaux style of their namesake wines. Anyway, the wine: initial pine resin nose shouts American oak though I'm not aware of Delille using any. Burly syrah flavors rumble on the tongue, and tannins strip a little paint before the heat kicks in. This wine's all boy and needs time to grow up--he's not ready now. I knew it would read young, but 09's a friendly vintage and tasted this wine at the winery where it was definitely more well-mannered.
So Friday morning, off we went, and the first 140 miles were uneventful. But about four miles short of the Snoqualmie Summit that literally divides Eastern Washington from Western Washington, Fritz's turbo charger quit and we limped agonizingly slowly up the last few miles to the summit exit, during which time I was able to contact an RV mechanic ahead and explain what we were seeing. His stern advice, "Go back!" The parts and talent needed to address any of the possible causes were at dealerships in Seattle, Mercedes dealerships where $200 parts cost $600 and anything associated with a word like turbo is doomed to be a $$$$ fix, but it was help nonetheless and only 40 miles behind us. On most of it, we'd coast, but the phrase "It's all downhill from here" was true on some other levels too, and not so good.
Once we got Fritz checked in at the dealership, we got ourselves Courtesy Shuttled into Seattle for lunch at one of Seattle's newest restaurants, The London Plane, where we had a soothing glass of Muscadet from a producer I've never heard of, and which blind I might have mistaken for a fruity Chablis, with our soups and salads. (Just think, a restaurant in which one of the two whites available by the glass is a Muscadet!) It was a great repast but, of course, under the circumstances, quite the pity party. Not only might we not end up in Walla Walla, we could be stuck in Seattle for a few days. And so we laughed out loud when, after lunch, we found this tableau just a few store fronts away from the restaurant.
Afterward, we decided to get some exercise and just walk back to the dealership, and that took us past Salumi, Armandino Batali's humble little eatery with cured meats from the Gods. They were just about to close, but I put on my best "you can't say no to me!" face and talked them into slicing us a pound of mixed salumi--their choice, whatever end pieces it was convenient to get rid of, I love it all and wanted them to be happy they didn't slam the door in my face. Armandino himself handled my sale. Back at the dealership, my open satchel of a purse reeking of the garlicky packages inside, we retired to the busy waiting room where I spent the next two hours making instant friends with the yippy toy-sized dogs the average Mercedes owner apparently owns and takes with them everywhere, including one who drank coffee. "But he only likes Starbucks," his owner cautioned. Are we in Seattle or what? Everybody commented about how all the dogs were so drawn to me; I did not tell them about my secret sausages.
By 6:00 we got a verdict and a bill: they had no idea what caused the problem, and $450 for an air filter. One thing was certain, though, we couldn't risk getting stuck on the other side of that Summit, and a truly great wine store called Esquin was only a few blocks away. So we picked up a few bottles from some of the producers we'd planned to visit and headed up the coast to Camano Island for a restful night glamping at a rustic waterfront state park.
Unfortunately, it was pouring and almost dark by the time we got there which had taken longer than anticipated--it always does--the grilled steak plan gave way to an indoor picnic. Thank god for the salumi. Although a red would have been best with the bold flavors (like the marinated whole artichoke I'd made and brought from home), we went for immediate gratification and opened this chardonnay.
2012 Maison Bleue 'Au Contraire' French Creek Vineyard Chardonnay
It's very much chardonnay, but more burgundian in approach than WA-typical (light touch with the oak, as would be expected from this house) amped up by some youthful brightness. Multi-faceted, it throws a little firework of flavors in your mouth that all kind of go off at once in your first sip. Some minerals, very European and delightful. $20. Mind you, the only other reporter on Cellar Tracker to address this wine had an entirely different reaction. He said, "Not varietally representative of Chard. Full bodied, this wine is very fruity and has a rhone feel to it. Tropical fruit. Hint of chemical. Medium minus on acid. Disappointing as a chard, but I'm sure some may like it as a white wine." HUH?
The wine didn't last quite as long as needed for full wind-down, so we also opened this other Esquin purchase which was a bit off-topic but a winery whose products I've been curious about:
2012 Failla Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
Unmistakably Californian. Bright yellow in color with aromas of green apple, lemon, butter and mild spice. On the palate, those with a creamy viscosity from untethered malolactic--this wine followed a different and quite excellent chardonnay from WA state no malo at all, so it was the elephant in the room. Was a bit better knit together the next day when we finished the bottle, but no less the California girl it started out as. $35, and deemed not worth it by both of us after the more intriguing Maison Bleue.
We pulled into our own driveway later in the day. While I prepared dinner we sipped on the rest of the Failla, and afterward we opened another Esquin purchase and member of the weekend's targetted wineries to go with beef ravioli prepared in a quick reduction sauce made from beef consomme, basil pesto and cream, a match that could not have been better for the syrah.
2010 Gramercy Syrah, Walla Walla
Decanted for two hours, time that was honestly needed to reveal this wine's true Northern Rhone personality and direction. Nose of black raspberry, tar, nicoise olives and minor hints of green bell pepper (understandable, '10 was a very cool vintage). The palate adds notes of beef boullion, fennel and tapenade. Finish is a bit clipped but will fill out with time. Excellent plus: this is among the most old school, savory Washington syrahs I've ever had, and there's some real Chave-iness going here. $57. Impressive!
Tonight: the 2010 Gramercy Cabernet Sauvignon. Stay tuned.
) Okay, to put it another way, the Rasa boys craft their wine with the same uncompromising focus that Steve Edmunds does; how's that? Steve makes his wines with the long term in mind, so that the wine is continually reflecting where it is at that moment, but promising that there will be more development in the next bottle in the case, because it will continue its slow development.