2012 Three Rivers Winery Merlot Columbia Valley
Burly black and blue fruit, gritty tannins that came across like coffee grounds, low(er) acidity. For me, in a six-wine tasting, last place but for an Italian valpolicella that oxidized somewhat in the glass. But to be fair: it was the big winner among the other tasters (who generally prefer low acidity).
2010 Fidelitas Merlot Columbia Valley
With five years' bottle age, this has progressed to a very nice plateau. Pretty, black WA merlot fruit with all the chocolate and espresso notes, integrated oak and silky tannins.
2012 Colene Clemens Pinot Noir 'Margo' Chehalem Mountains
Big and tannic. A bottle opened Friday and finished Sunday showed very little evolution. Will be great in a few years but it's rough-going now.
2013 Paul Cluver Chardonnay Elgin South Africa
An exceptional chardonnay much closer in style to Puligny Montrachet than Sonoma. Very pale yellow color with bracing acidity and the kind of multi-faceted flavors one rarely finds outside of Burgundy. Sweet fruit with 1er Cru body, spice, nuttiness, mild toast--it's built for the long-haul though for the acid tolerant (like me) it's irresistable here. I'm only giving it 94 points, but for my particular tastes it's perfection, flawless.
2013 Markstone Pinot Noir 'Los Carneros'
Outstanding value. Typically Californian (red fruit, tomato leaf and tomato skin), in fact flavors more central California coast vs. Carneros though the back label confirms that the 'Los Carneros' on it's front label is THE Carneros. All that aside, it's prime for current drinking and can compete with pinots at the $20-30 level--but it only cost $11. STEAL. At Trader Joe's.
2014 Honig Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
Balanced and fresh but dilute, lacks the intensity that usually distinguishes Honig's Sauv Blancs. Disappointing.
2012 Cameron Hughes Zinfandel Lot 438 Russian River Valley
A very nice wine for $12; modern, spicy zinfandel with some elegance.
2012 Thurston Wolfe Zinfandel Howling Wolfe Zephyr Ridge Vineyard Columbia Valley
Medium color and body. Pleasant and tasty, easy to drink without being a mass-production style wine, but it's just red wine and missing that wild brambly essential zinfandel character. It fails to make a case for growing zinfandel in a cool climate like Washington.
2012 Ridge Lytton SpringsDry Creek Valley Zinfandel Blend
Rich black fruit on the nose, vibrant on the palate. Reaffirms itself as one of the best young LS's I've ever tasted. But--everything closes down a bit on the second glass, suggesting the wine is getting ready for a long nap. I'll let the rest sleep and will look to 2018 to wake them up again.
2014 Cooper Mountain Vineyards Pinot Gris Cooper Hill Willamette Valley
Solid PG fruit core, dry finish with bracing acidity and minerality. A terrific value at $15--I went back for half a dozen.
2014 Lorelle Pinot Grigio Horse Heaven Hills Washington
Oregon winery, Washington fruit, amazing value at $10. Fruit is from A-list winery Long Shadows' property in Horse Heaven Hills, and it's vinified in a style more pinot gris to my eye than pinot grigio in that I've never seen an Italian PG that sported the pink-gray skin color of the grape. Dry with white flower nose and stone fruit palate--unusually good character for WA pinot gris/grigio.
2014 Sauvignon Republic Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Two Cellartracker reviewers already gave this wine 86 and 70 points respectively, so I'll throw in the deciding vote: 86 points. It's a medium-bodied bundle of tangerine, grapefruit and goosberry fruits with a little Sancerre-like herbaciousness. Great value at $8 at Trader Joe's. I went back for more.
2005 Château Margüi Côteaux Varois Red Blend
Soft and devoid of tannins. Maturing but not old flavors, pleasantly drinkable but not especially interesting with little typicity from it's two components, cabernet sauv and syrah. In fact, could be any old nero d'avola.