WTN: Mannucci Droandi, Mt. Baker, Reilly's

[Jenise]

With a plate of pate, pickles and olives, we opened this 2005 Mt. Baker Vineyards Reserve Viognier (Yakima Valley) that was more or less forced on me by a local wine seller who understands that I am notoriously not a Viognier fan and have not cared for Mt. Baker's viognier in the past (too ripe, too much RS). Well, this is a seriously different wine, dare I say a conneuisseur's viognier. Very pale straw color. Very concentrated canned pear and lychee flavors with a sharp ginger snap and sandalwood. None of the "dead old lady" floral arrangements I've complained about in the past, but recognizably of it's grape. Structured and not at all over the top, with a sweet impression on the midpalate that vanishes into the finish which has that pleasant bitterness viognier can have. Good acidity and tannins keep it from being overly feminine. In short, it has the complexity and heft of a world class, special occasion wine and it's worth every penny of it's $27 price tag. Also, very good with our food but, of note, absolutely smashing with the briney green olives that were jarred with olive oil and herbs--not an intuitive match to my mind, but something to pay attention to and capitalize on in the future. I'll definitely buy more.

Saturday lunch was to be a rustic sandwich of flat Georgian wheat bread stuffed with a little cotto ham, proscuitto, mozz, red onions and red oak lettuce leaves, so I pulled a 2001 Mannucci Droandi Chianti. Bought a six pack at a Garagiste Garage Sale a few years ago and have waited till now to try one. Perfect choice. It doesn't get any more old style, rustic, paisano than this. Rusted red color with expressive nose of tin can, prunes, cognac (without the alcohol), and funk. Tastes of cherries, prunes and raisins and the upholstery in my grandmother's '57 Chevy Bel Air. This would send fans of modernity running out of the room screaming, but I loved it.

Later, friends invited us over for some fantastic homemade Indian food and so I took this 2003 Reilly's Clare Valley Riesling along. After the super funkalicious Droandi earlier in the day the cleanliness of the Aussie riesling seemed a little neurotic, but it was a good match for the complex spice of Mary's food with lime, apricot, grapefruit and mango flavors. Lacked the piercing acidity of the German style, but it did develop that petrol thing rieslings can do so well in the glass and with time it will be a better wine than it is now.

... I am notoriously not a Viognier fan and have not cared for Mt. Baker's viognier in the past (too ripe, too much RS).

I've never been a viognier fan either, having been introduced to it via some of the MANY Washington wineries' efforts. Like you said, too tropical, too sweet. I had my mind changed though when someone poured me a 2005 Domaine Astruc Viognier Vin de Pays d'Oc. Ripe fruit, but not smelling or tasting of Carmen Miranda's hat, this wine has fresh acidity and balance, and it's fantastic QPR at $8 too. I'll certainly keep my eyes open for a chance to taste Randy's viognier, but Domaine Astruc is setting the bar pretty darned high.

2001 Mannucci Droandi Chianti. Bought a six pack at a Garagiste Garage Sale a few years ago and have waited till now to try one. Perfect choice. It doesn't get any more old style, rustic, paisano than this.

I've loved Mannuci Droandi Chianti, and I was lucky to get a case of the 2000 Riserva Ceppeto at closeout price when the distributor dropped it. I still have six. There seems to be a lot of cork trouble on the '00s anyway, as we got back 15 or 20% of them corked, but the bottles that were OK were very good indeed! Kind of makes a modern-style Chianti taste like Welches in comparison. Anyway, Manucci Droandi is back in the market now with a new distributor, but unfortunately not so cheap. They also make an olive oil that I haven't tasted, but I've heard great things about.

Dave

Jenise, I'm curious how far back those too sweet/overrripe Mt. Baker Viogniers were. My first (and only) Mt. Baker Viognier came at a special meal at the Inn at Langley a couple of years back. I'm not sure of the vintage but I'm guessing it would have been 2003 and my impression was that it was very restrained and an excellent food wine, more in line with your description of the 2005. It made a memorable match that night with the asparagus flan we had for a first course. It's also possible that I was only impressed because of my thin experience with Viognier. My main frame of reference at the time was Sierra Foothills Viogniers, which were always so near-sticky that I wondered where they would work in a meal except by themselves, for dessert.

By the way, that meal was also memorable for serving as my introduction to another winery - St. Innocent. We started with the Mt. Baker Viognier, then followed with a bottle of the 2002 St. Innocent Seven Springs Pinot. Wow.

[Jenise]

Mark, I've had every vintage available of Mt. Baker's viognier during the three years that I've lived here, probably starting with 02. The first couple were better than last year's which was sooperdooper tropical, but it still seemed like just a hot year, riper version of the previous years' wines. This one seems to come from another mindset, as if the winemaker went to France and came home with a whole new plan. The fact that they put this in a Reserve bottling (which I am unaware of them doing before) and added $10 to the price suggests that they know exactly how special it is. I've not had anything like it in an American viognier. The Inn at Langley--in BC, or is there a Langley WA I'm unfamiliar with?

Dave, the only Washington Viognier I've had (of the admittedly few I've had) was the Whitman, which was good enough to almost change my mind about viognier. It's a more demure style, more Catherine Deneuve than the Mt. Baker's bold Fanny Ardant. I'll keep an eye out for the Astruc. And I'm so glad to have comments on the Droandi. I'd never seen it before or since (you explained, somewhat, why) and figured this TN would expire lifeless. What's "not so cheap"? I paid just $5, but at the Garagiste sale which could mean street price of $10-15.

Oh, and say, what do you have down there for Barbarescos? I'm doing a tasting of same this month for our neighborhood wine group and will need to shop out of town. You can email me.

The Inn at Langley--in BC, or is there a Langley WA I'm unfamiliar with?

Langley, WA is the main outpost of civilization on the southern lobe of Whidbey Island, a cute little false-fronted town on the water with a handful of boutiques and galleries, the biggest man-made tourist draw on Whidbey. It's home to the Inn at Langley, a woodsy/Northwest-y hotel owned by Paul Schell, who is better known for being mayor of Seattle during the WTO riots. It's relativley swank ($250 a night or so) hostelry that offers an $80 price fixe menu - just the three weekend nights, one seating each night. Hotel guests are primarily Seattle types on weekend getaways, almost everyone in the restaurant are hotel guests. The chef (and Inn general manager) is Matt Costello, ex-Dahlia Lounge and the food is very good but at that price, we won't be going often. Depending on where you're seated (there are only a couple dozen seats), it's a sort of demonstration kind of thing, with Chef Costello explaining the ingredients and so forth. My wife and I were there after finding an occasion to use a gift certificate we were given. Between the menu price, two bottles of wine, tax and mandatory/"voluntary" 19% gratuity, the gift certificate givers would have been shocked at how far $100 didn't go.

[Jenise]

I have driven the length of Whidby, I thought, but maybe I got off before we got to Langley--I have no memory of it! Thanks for the explanation. The Inn sounds like a cool place, but of course your gift cert description makes me laugh--I've had a few like that, which is not to demean the gift. But it's amusing later to realize it was more a subsidy than a free pass.

Jenise,

Nice to even see a Western WA winery talked about!!! Having grown up in Bellevue, I know the terroir well! A bone to pick...why do the western WA wineries get praise for grapes grown on the eastern side of the Cascades?? I would be more impressed if they had grown the Viognier themselves in their mountain valley. Being a "terroirist", I believe wineries should make wines from grapes they grow themselves in their own vineyards. That way they are forced to focus on what grows best in their region. I would be willing to bet that a Muscat Ottonel from their valley would be a better wine! Floral to the max, but a cool climate early ripening grape capable of inducing wonder and delight, and from their OWN soil!

Jim Lester
Wyncroft, LLC

[Jenise]

James, if you buy Yakima grapes and the label says it's Yakima fruit, then does it matter if you drive the grapes to Olympia or Bellingham to make the wine? Has terroir been trumped? I personally don't think so. In fact, you should give Mt. Baker Winery particular credit because unlike Quilceda Creek and a number of other Western Washington Wineries who have no vineyards of their own, Mt. Baker actually does grow Sieggeurebe, Madeline Angevine and Pinot Noir at their property which is located in one of the cooler areas in this cool climate at the actual base of that mountain. It's so cool there that the winery is surrounded by Christmas tree farms.

But man does not live on Madeline alone, so to both remain financially viable and also provide local wine that the locals want to drink like big red wines, they have to buy fruit from elsewhere. I really don't have a problem with the practice, it's either that or no Mt. Baker winery at all really.