Therefore, we widened our focus, and visited wineries from Prosser to Tri-Cities. We even stopped at one winery in Hood River, OR en route to Portland for the weekend. In general, the wineries offered many more wines than listed below; I tended to pick and choose wines to taste on the spur of the moment. As you will see below, I even tasted some Chardonnay, but eschewed Merlot.
Prosser
Prosser is really starting to boom. Several new winery facilities have been completed since we last visited in September ’05, and more construction is underway.
- Dessert Wind: This beautiful new facility, overlooking the Yakima River, was our first stop, and our tastings officially started with their Bare Naked unoaked white wines. The 2005 Bare Naked Chardonnay ($15) delivers apple and lemon aromas, and finishes with nice crisp fruit and acidity. It is a very appealing white wine, which my wife liked quite a bit. The 2006 Bare Naked Viognier ($15) has a most interesting aroma of peach and orange blossoms, followed by delicious fruit and a bit of softness on the palate. However, its high alcohol content (14.5% ABV) leaves a bit of a burn on the tongue. I was disappointed in the 2005 Semillon ($15) because their use of oak distracts from the otherwise nice lemony flavors. Their 2004 Ruah Red Wine ($15) was my personal favorite at this winery. This blend of Merlot (44%), Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) and Cabernet Franc (16%) has nicely concentrated dark fruit in a well-balanced wine with a good finish. This was the only winery we visited offering a 2005 Barbera ($20), which they blended with tiny amounts of Sangiovese, Syrah and Cabernet Franc. The result is a very appealing red wine with bright fruit, moderate tannin, and enough acid to make it a nice food match. The final wine we tasted was the 2004 Syrah ($35), which has rich dark aromas and nice fruit; however, it just did not grab me as being worthy of that price.
Willow Crest: This relatively new facility sits on the west side of town, in a busy section of winery construction. It also features one of the state’s youngest winemakers, Victor Palencia, who at age 22 has already spent six years in the winemaking business. Their 2005 Pinot Gris ($10) has a nice apple aroma, but tastes somewhat sharp. The 2005 Viognier ($12) also has a very nice bouquet, but is rather tart and sharp tasting. The 2003 Cabernet Franc ($15) has a nice varietal bouquet and fruit, a pretty good finish and good acid, but it is less refined than I like. Their 2004 Grenache ($15, on sale for $10) has an interestingly spicy aroma; unfortunately, it is also rather sharp tasting and not appealing to me. People raved about their 2004 XIII ($28 ), a Chateauneuf-du-Pape knockoff. The name reflects the fact that up to 13 different grapes can be used in the production of CdP. This blend contains four of them: Grenache (32%), Mouvedre (32%), Syrah (32%) and Viognier (4%). It has a very nice bouquet and generally tastes pretty good, but there is some grapefruit-like tartness lurking in there that I did not like. The winemaker said it likely comes from the Mouvedre, and may simply age away; I guess only time will tell. The wine I liked best at this stop was the 2003 Collina Bella ($24), a Super Tuscan blend consisting of Sangiovese (82%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (18%). I found it to be bold tasting with really good body. The last wine tasted here was the 2003 Syrah ($16), which has nice dark aromas and good flavor, with a medium-light body; good for the price.
Alexandria Nicole: The winery is located in out-of-the-way Patterson, and most of their wines are made with estate grown grapes from their sizable (240 acre) Destiny Ridge Vineyard in the south part of Horse Heaven Hills. Last year, they opened a new tasting room in the Port of Prosser on the east side of town; it should definitely be on everyone’s list of wine tasting stops. We met winemaker Jarrod Boyle almost a year ago, at a private tasting where he was pouring his wines. We liked him and his wines right away, and were anxious to check out the new tasting room. We were not disappointed. Well almost … the 2005 Cabernet Franc Rosé ($14) is disappointingly sweet … but other than that, read on. The 2005 Shepherd’s Mark ($20) is a brilliant blend of Roussanne (72%), Viognier (16%) and Marsanne (12%). It has a complex and enticing bouquet, and is lush tasting with nice acid and a wonderful finish. They were down to their last 10-20 bottles of this beauty; highly recommended, if you can find it. The 2006 Viognier Columbia Valley ($18 ) is another lovely wine with a pretty bouquet and lush fruit that sparkles on the palate. We hit the reds with the 2004 Quarry Butte ($20), a very tasty and well-made blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (54%), Merlot (33%), Cabernet Franc (6%), Syrah (6%) and Malbec (1%). The 2003 Syrah ($25) is a very good, solid Syrah that is both juicy and spicy. It was simply a prelude, however, to the 2004 Block 17 Syrah ($35, 270 cases). Blended with Roussanne (7%) and Viognier (4%), this is a huge wine with concentrated aromas and flavors, and a really long finish. No other Syrah tasted during this trip came close to this wine … except that some were equivalently priced. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) is blended with very small amounts of Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc to produce a very nice, dark wine with good flavor complexity and manageable tannins. The king of this ridge, however, is the 2004 Destiny Red Table Wine ($45, 220 cases), an outstanding blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (59%), Merlot (17%), Petit Verdot (15%), Malbec (8%) and Cabernet Franc (3%). This wine has an awesomely deep aroma with concentrated, yet elegant, fruit and a great finish. I tasted this once from a new bottle and once from a bottle opened 2-3 days earlier (stored overnight under gas). Be sure to find this wine before it disappears.
Chinook Winery: We fell in love with Chinook when we first visited in September ‘05, and have been strong advocates of their wines ever since. We also ran into winemaker Kay Simon at our local wine shop last year, and renewed our acquaintance. That paid off, because she welcomed us into their tasting room last week during their (November-April) closed period. We both loved the beautiful bouquet of the 2005 Sauvignon Blanc ($17), which starts on the palate with lush up-front fruit and ends with a long finish of herbs. Partially barrel-aged in neutral oak, this is one of my favorite domestic Sauv Blanc’s. Next in line was the 2005 Semillon ($14), which also has a beautiful bouquet and nice complex flavors of lemon zest and minerals. The blend in their NV Yakima Valley Red Wine ($14) changes every year; this new release is Cabernet Sauvignon (72%) and Merlot (28%). A somewhat softer style wine that is drinkable now, with very tasty fruit and good acid, this is one of the nicest Cab-Merlot blends you will find at this price. Finally, Kay opened their 2005 Cabernet Franc ($22), made with 45% estate-grown grapes. I was very anxious to try this wine, and was not disappointed; we really loved its captivating fruit and floral bouquet. The up-front fruit is quite vibrant, almost sweet tasting, yet the wine comes across as elegant and refined. We hoped to pick up some of their Cabernet Franc Rosé on this trip, but it had not been bottled yet. Oh well, we’ll just have to order some from our local wine shop … as we did last year.
Benton City
Home of the miniscule Red Mountain AVA, this little town is also booming with new winery construction. Be aware that there are no hotels in Benton City, and I don’t recall seeing any restaurants, either.
- Chandler Reach: The estate grapes at this brand new facility, just west of town, are not included in the Red Mountain AVA. The NV 36 Red ($14) is a tasty Cab-Merlot blend (80%-20%). It is a good wine for the price, but seems to have a bit of a hot finish (13.8% ABV). We had previously tasted the 2004 Corella ($16), a medium-light bodied, yummy blend of Sangiovese (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%) and Syrah (5%), but that did not stop us from tasting it again. The 2004 Monte Regalo ($22) delivers more body, along with aromas and tastes of dark cherry. It is a relatively easy-drinking blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (20%), Cabernet Franc (13%) and Syrah (7%) … very nice. Their 2002 Parris Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc ($38, on sale at a 25% discount) is another wine we tasted previously. It is a dark and concentrated style of Cabernet Franc, with rich blackberry flavors. This winery offers a nice 15% discount on a ½ case purchase.
Terra Blanca: Located at the very base of the Red Mountain AVA, this winery recently opened an impressive new visitor facility … WOW. The 2005 Viognier ($15) has a beautiful aroma and nice crisp fruit, but with a bit of sharpness on the finish. The 2005 Sauvignon Blanc ($14) has a sweet fruit aroma with peach flavors on a long finish; not really the profile I was expecting, but pleasant nonetheless. I finally got to taste plain Roussanne here, with their 2005 Reserve Roussanne ($20). It is quite aromatic and somewhat similar to Viognier, but with more body and spice; I detected a wisp of smoke, too. The final dry white I tasted was the 2003 Estate Block 5 Chardonnay ($20). It has some smokiness, but not overpoweringly so, and tastes of sour apples and butter, with a nice long finish. They pulled out a big gun next, the 2002 ONYX ($45), their Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (64%), Merlot (30%), Malbec (4%), Cabernet Franc (1%) and Petit Verdot (1%). This was a very lovely wine with dark cherry aroma, complex flavors, and very good balance of acid and tannin. [Not as good as the Alexandria Nicole Destiny at the same price, however.] Next up was the 2001 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($32), which features bright flavors with a nice long finish. Their 2001 Syrah ($20) contains 2% Viognier, and is a very good wine. Of course, they followed this with the 2002 Estate Reserve Block 8 Syrah ($38 ), which comes across as bigger and more concentrated in all dimensions, but not as the blockbuster it should be for this price. Many tasters there loved their 2003 Malbec ($24), which had juicy flavors, medium body and nice acid. To me, however, it seemed somewhat overpriced compared to some nice Argentine Malbec I tasted recently. I finished with the dessert wines, limiting myself to only two tastes. The 2005 Late Harvest Chenin Blanc Cherry Hill Vineyard ($14, 750ml) has only 13% ABV and 7.8% RS. I loved its fruit and honey aromas, as well as its pleasant balance of luscious fruit and sweetness. The 2003 Chenin Blanc Ice Wine ($40, 375ml) delivers very concentrated flavors of fruit and honey. However, the 30% RS makes it terribly sweet, easily overpowering the flavors in the wine.
Tri-Cities
We stayed at a hotel in Kennewick; next time we’ll likely stay in Richland, which is closer to where we tasted. In addition, we ended up driving into Richland for dinner every evening.
- Badger Mountain: Located near the top of a rather large hill (not really a mountain) on the west side of Kennewick, the wines are made from grapes grown in their certified organic vineyards. They actually have two product lines here: regular organic wines, and NSA (no sulfites added) organic wines, which tend to be quite young. The 2006 Chardonnay NSA ($10) has crisp aromas of fruit, spice and a bit of vanilla, with apple flavors coming through. In comparison, the 2005 Estate Series Chardonnay ($10) is also crisp with a lemony finish, and an altogether more refined mouth feel. Their white blend called 2006 Sevé ($9), made from Chenin Blanc (60+%), Semillon (30+%) and Riesling (2+%), is light bodied, crisp, dry and fruity. Chill this for a nice quaffer on a warm day. The 2005 Rosé of Cabernet ($9) is 100% Cabernet Franc. Its upfront fruit is almost sweet tasting, with strawberry and rose petals, and a touch of grapefruit on the finish. The 2006 Riesling NSA ($9) is slightly off dry, has lovely tropical aromas, crisp apple and fruit flavors, and a clean finish. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon NSA ($15) has rather muted aromas, with flavors of currant and blackberry. They also have a 2003 Cabernet-Merlot ($13), which is a 67%-24% blend with 9% Cabernet Franc added. It has nice dark aromas, medium body, and comes across as a good every day blend. For dessert, they offer the 2003 Port NSA ($17), a ruby-style port made from Cabernet Franc and brandy; it felt a bit too sharp and tannic for my tastes. My general impression was that the wines here were all pretty good quality (i.e., nice tasting with no bad flaws) at an affordable price.
Powers: This operation belongs to the same people, who own Badger Mountain. In fact, you taste these wines simultaneously with those above, providing a good opportunity to taste the difference between these three lines. Note that grapes for Powers wines are sourced from other (non-organic) vineyards. The 2005 Chardonnay ($12) is rounder and with more vibrant fruit flavors than its organic cousins; it has some oak to it. The 2001 Pinot Grigio ($12) has a pineapple aroma, and it is very fruity, almost sweet tasting. The 2004 Riesling ($12) has a much different aroma than the organic version, perhaps the start of some plastic or diesel scents in the background. It has good complex flavors and is slightly off dry, and pleasant. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon ($13) has nice black cherry aroma, good flavor and body, and comes across as a darn good wine for the price. The 2004 Cabernet-Merlot ($12) is a 51%-49% blend with a very nice bouquet, good fruit, and long finish; it is also a very nice wine for the price. The 2004 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) is quite a step up in both price and quality. It has dark concentrated aromas, lush fruit flavors of dark cherry and other berries, and some spice on its long finish. I was not surprised to learn this wine is made with grapes from the Champoux Vineyard. Years ago I tasted Powers Parallel 46, a predecessor to the 2002 Meritage ($30); I liked it then and I still like this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (50%), Merlot (25%) and Cabernet Franc (25%). It has beautifully deep aromas, very nice body, and a good fruit-acid-tannin balance. They were re-releasing their 1999 Meritage ($30), which has a slightly different 60%-20%-20% blend. Dark, with a different bouquet than the 2002, it is smoother on the palate, and is aging gracefully. The 2006 Muscat Canelli ($12) is a very aromatic wine with a lovely floral bouquet. It is light and crisp, with a nice tartness on the finish, in contrast to its pleasant residual sugars. Personally, I would love to see this wine made frizzante, like a nice Moscato d’Asti. The 1999 Port ($17, 500ml) is a ruby-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Lemberger, with some brandy mixed in. It is sweet and dark, not my style of wine.
Tagaris: Kay Simon (from Chinook) suggested stopping at Tagaris in Richland, but my palate was burned out before we could get there. However, after resting a while, we ate dinner at Taverna Tagaris, where I tasted two of their wines. We simply had to try the 2005 Arete Vineyard Counoise ($18 ) with our appetizer, because we were completely unfamiliar with this varietal. It is a lighter red wine with flavors of raspberry and spice, very pleasant. The (vintage unknown) Sauvignon Blanc ($14) has decent bouquet and crisp flavors, both of which were, unfortunately, dulled by over-chilling. It paired well with my Paella, made with a generous dose of smoked paprika.
Columbia Gorge
After leaving Tri-Cities, we followed the Columbia River west to Portland. Along the way, we decided to make one winery stop in Hood River.
- Cathedral Ridge: I saw the billboard for this winery along I84 and recalled reading that Wine Press Northwest recently named it Oregon Winery of the Year 2007. How can you resist this? It is a small and quaint looking facility resembling a cottage, nestled on a hillside among private residences and farms. Much to my surprise, I learned that Michael Sebastiani (of Viansa fame in Sonoma) became their winemaker in 2003. Wanting to limit myself to six tastings, I had to carefully pick and choose amongst their 15 offerings. Their 2005 Pinot Gris ($16) contains 6% Chardonnay, has lovely apricot aromas, with very crisp fruit and some citrus on its long finish. I detected some hotness on the tongue, but with only 12.5% ABV I don’t know why. I really enjoyed the 2005 Dry Riesling ($18 ) with its lovely fruit and floral bouquet, crisp fruit flavors of peaches and lemons, and nice dry, long finish … YUM. This was my favorite of the wines I tasted here. The 2005 Cabernet-Merlot ($18 ) has decent aroma, tasty blackberry flavor, medium body, and vanilla on the finish. They have a strangely named wine called 2005 Bordheauxd Red ($26). Pronounced “board head” in recognition of Hood River’s prominent role in windsurfing, it is a unique blend of Syrah (53%), Merlot (27%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%). It is juicy and flavorful with the Syrah jamminess coming through; it also ends with vanilla on the finish. Their 2005 Bangsund Estate Pinot Noir Reserve ($42) did not appeal to me; it has minimal aroma and rather sweet-tasting fruit. The last wine I tasted here was the 2004 Syrah ($38 ), a blend with 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. Despite its very nice aroma, good combination of flavors, and nice finish, this wine does not justify its asking price. [See earlier notes re: Alexandria Nicole Block 17 Syrah.] I definitely think the white wines are this winery’s strength right now.
I hope you enjoyed these tasting notes.
-- Clark