WTN: Four TamarackCllrs Reds...(short/boring)

We tasted last night (1/27/17) at Pig+Fig a few reds of Tamarack Cllrs:
1. TamarackCllrs Counoise Ciel du Cheval/RedMtn (14.1%; www.TamarackCellars.com) Walla 2013: Med.color; rather
earthy/loamy light strawberry/blueberry/slight licorice slight floral/peppery bit rustic nose; quite tart/
tangy rather earthy/loamy bit coarse/rough light strawberry/blueberry fairly typical Counoise flavor w/ light
rough tannins; very long light strawberry/blueberry/licorice rather earthy/loamy finish w/ light rough tannins;
not a lot of high-toned fruit and typical Counoise character; a quite pleasant/interesting rough/rustic red. $30.00
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2. TamarackCllrs Syrah ColumbiaVlly (14.5%) 2012: Very dark/near black color; very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah
slight earthy/licorice/pungent some toasty/oak lovely nose; bit soft very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/
spicy structured slight peppery/pungent flavor w/ some ripe/hard tannins; very long slightly soft very strong
blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light toasty/oak quite structured finish w/ some ripe/hard tannins; loads of
blackberry Syrah fruit and quite structured; needs 2-6 yrs of age I suspect; very well-priced at $25.00
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3. TamarackCllrs Syrah Ciel du ChevalVnyd/RedMtn (14.8%; TablasCreek + ENTAV 174 clones) 2012: Very dark/black color;
very intense Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry/spicy/peppery light toasty/oak slight earthy bit licorice/pungent beautiful
nose; fairly tart very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/ripe/peppery slight earthy/licorice/pungent light
toasty/oak quite structured flavor w/ strong hard tannins; very long very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/ripe/
spicy/peppery slight licorice/pungent/smokey very structured slight Rhonish/roasted/smoked meats finish w/ some
hard tannins; very strong Syrah fruit and quite structured; needs 3-8 yrs of age; one of the better WashState
Syrahs at a very good price. $28.00
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4. TamarackCllrs Nebbiolo Ciel du ChevalVnyd/RedMtn (14.0%) 2013: Rather light color; very strong quite floral/Nebb/
lilacs/violets very elegant fairly complex nose; very tart rather tannic very strong floral/lilacs/Nebb very slight
pungent/road tar bit earthy/dusty flavor w/ ample hard/edgy tannins; very long quite floral/Nebb/lilacs/violets
slight earthy/pungent/road tar quite tart some complex finish w/ light hard/edgy tannins; a classic crunchy Nebbiolo
w/ a lot of the floral/perfumed side of Nebb; reminds me a bit of PeterDow's/Cavatappi Nebbs but much more light
on its feet and not as heavy-handed; a very good expression of Nebbiolo. $45.00
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Stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. TamarackCllrs: Run by Ron Coleman and his wife, Jamie, who is an Ophthamoligist in WallaWalla. Founded
in 1998. This was a wnry I'd heard of but had never tried their wines. I became interested in Tamarack when
I found out they were producing Nebbiolo and wanted to include them in our NEB group.
So I ordered a few other of his red wines to try. We are hoping Ron/Jamie will come out and do a Tamarack
winemaker at Pig+Fig here in LosAlamos and we took them for a test drive there last night. I was pretty
impressed by them. I find WashState Syrahs can often be on the soft side. These two were very structured and should
be good for the long haul. They reminded me a lot of DougMcCrea's Syrahs but w/ much less oak and more structure.
The Nebbiolo was also quite good w/ the emphasis in the perfumed/floral side of Nebb. It was as good as any we've
tried in our NEB get-togethers. I very much look forward to trying the other Tamarack wines sometime in the future,
hopefully at Pig+Fig.
Tom

Tom, I've followed them from the very start! (Not really, but I always wanted to write this.) I've visited their tasting room on several occasions and met Ron Coleman, who struck me as a great guy. That being said, their winemaking style is too heavy on new oak for my preference, at least of the wines I've tasted, and especially in comparison to some of the newer Walla Walla winemakers. But I had no idea they bottled a Counoise or Nebbiolo; in the past, they specialized in Bordeaux grapes. So perhaps well worth another look.

Tom, I've followed them from the very start! (Not really, but I always wanted to write this.) I've visited their tasting room on several occasions and met Ron Coleman, who struck me as a great guy. That being said, their winemaking style is too heavy on new oak for my preference, at least of the wines I've tasted, and especially in comparison to some of the newer Walla Walla winemakers. But I had no idea they bottled a Counoise or Nebbiolo; in the past, they specialized in Bordeaux grapes. So perhaps well worth another look.

Hmmmm, Bruce....I didn't feel the oak treatment on these four was particularly heavy. Maybe it is
on their Cab, though.
Tom

[Jenise]

Like Bruce, I've always found too much oak on Tamarack wines. It was very very evident on the Cab Franc I sampled a few months ago for a Cab Franc tasting. The toasty-vanilla oak thing blunted everything otherwise varietally correct and desirable about that grape and confirmed for me, taken in context with other Tamaracks I've had over the years, that this is their house style. In my experience your Nebbiolo is the exception, not the rule.