WTN: Back to the PNW: Northstar and Poplar Grove

[Jenise]

2003 Poplar Grove Chardonnay Reserve, British Columbia
If I've ever had a yellower chardonnay, I can't remember it. A steroidal deep yellow color hints at the extracted flavors to come, and there are also yellow fruits and butternut squash. Perhaps more surprising than the color is that the wine was absent the cheesy nose that plagues--or if you like it, enhances--superripe white wines from the Okanagan Valley. Didn't hate it, but I'm not a fan of the style.

2003 Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot, Washington
Perhaps the most brilliant Washington Merlot I've had yet. Spectacular tangy reddish black fruit like boysenberry and huckleberry and some extra beguiling something that I couldn't put a name to. Intense and concentrated, but with so much horsepower that it's not the least bit ponderous. A bit of chocolate and coffee appear on the finish. Winemaker is California's Jed Steele.

Thanks, Jenise, for the note. This is the first positive review I've had of Northstar 2003. Maybe I didn't make a mistake!

[Jenise]

Brian, do you own it, or have you had it?

It was on sale at BevMo for a really good price. The bottle is sitting on my desk at home. Maybe I'll open it soon!

Semi-Off-Topic

I have already become skeptical about reviews, but my experience this weekend makes me wonder how fundamentally different my palette is from many reviewers?? For example, the Vine Cliff Cabernet Sauvignon I tried this weekend was described by many reviewers as huge and juicy and fruity and, it sounded a typical overblown Napa Cab. Maybe it was just this bottle, or the fact that it was not the first wine sampled (palette fatigue-although I was pacing myself with small samples) but it was not as described at all. It was actually pretty light, restrained, secondary, and elegant. Sure there was fruit, but this was no Staglin or Balducci. There's not a single review out there that would have led me to expect that! Just a wine manager with a good palette, I guess.

[Jenise]

Ah, I see. I think you'll like it--you and I seem to enjoy the same kind of wines. This one's intense without being thick, if that makes any sense, which many of the higher end merlots here are. Btw, there's a Walla Walla version too, which has a black label. The one I had was the white label Columbia Valley, which even if they were equally priced (it's $20 cheaper than the WW) I'd probably prefer. They tend to be more structured.

Structure is GOOD!

Jenise,

Thanks for the post. I travel often to the BC area and as such get a chance to try their wines. I have a Popular Grove (cab though) sitting a home and will have to try it soon.

This last time there, I with a colleague tasted through a number of wines from the Okanagan. I've posted on some in the past but this time included brands that I've not tasted before. They included last night

See Ya Later
Gray Monk
Blasted Churches
Quail's Gate
Mission Hill
Inniskillin
Osoyoo Larose
In'mip (SP?)

and a few others. While no notes were taken, I was pretty impressed by the wines. I can imagine what another 15 years of experience in this ara may bring.

Jenise - Did you find the Northstar around town?

Michael - it is Nk Mip, I think.

I haven't had enough Okanagan wines to really have a good feel for them yet. I've much preferred their whites, especially the Pinot Gris and Riesling, over the red wines. I guess there are a few very good pinot noirs I've tried, but they seem very expensive.

Marc

[Jenise]

Marc, yes, bought it at the Blaine Cost Cutter (a wretched, last-resort-stop kind of store, but sometimes one gets lucky) a few months ago. Only bottle they had, and I was rounding up WA merlots for our neighborhood tasting. Picked it up for myself based on a recent recco by Bucko.

Yes, I think it is Nk'mip. Pronounced in-ka-meep, if I recall right. Never had any of their wines, ditto See Ya Later.

Marc, I tend to agree with you, the whites are particularly impressive. I'm also in love with the Blue Mountain Stripe Label Pinot Noir, which for $35 is fair value.

Michael, which Osoyoos Larose did you try? Would be interested in your impressions. I've set aside seveal 02 and 03s just to see what happens, but opened none yet. I've had mixed reactions to most of the other wines on your list, some quite good and some merely decent. I'd say the best wines I've had came from Blue Mountain, La Frenz, Burrowing Owl, Sandhill and Nota Bene. Look out for any of those. Also, last week we had lunch with the winemaker of a new face on the Naramata Bench, Black Widow. Up til now the winemaker/grower has been selling his fruit to Kettle Valley, but he's now got his own label and will be building a tasting room soon. I can only think of two I'd say avoid at all costs, though there are surely others I'm not remembering: Red Rooster (bland, high Rs wines) and Adora (purposefully oxidized).

Jenise

I can't remember which of the Ooysoo Larose that I tried. It was a long night.. I agree with you in that the ones listed were not necessarily the ones that I liked most from the okanagan but they were the ones that were available to try that night. Having said that I remember least liking the blasted churches and liked most the Nk'mip the most.

Will be going into the area on a bit of a trip later in the autumn with an enthusiast from the area. Hope to have more then.

[Jenise]

Michael, I remember stopping at Blasted Churches and tasting through their lineup, but I didn't buy anything. Best I 'member, they are kind of an extracted big fruit style. Too, I'd just come from Blue Mountain whose wines couold make all other wines seem big and extracted by comparison.

Another possible indication of palate differences and preference differences: I had the 2002 (not the 2003) Columbia Valley Northstar Merlot at an Old World Wines vs. New World Wines tasting and did not like it. Found it too jammy and oak influenced. Probably my two main complaints about Washington wines are too much oak influence and price (although there are still some reasonably priced wines to be found).

JC: That was my fear, too, based on the reviews. But, I also trust Jenise's palatte, too.

Another example of a somewhat pricey wine bought speculatively (on sale!) that I should have avoided. Still-sometimes I guess right (Vine Cliff!)

Solution: I am going to a Cinco de Mayo Party Saturday, and as I don't really like tequilla, I was going to bring some wine. I'll open this at the party, as there are fruit lovers present. (Although the tequilla-blasted palettes of many attendees may not appreciate it