Washington (the North Bank)
If you plan an overnight stay in this area, try the Lyle Hotel, a small restored 10-room railroad hotel with a very good restaurant offering a substantial selection of Pacific Northwest wines.
- Syncline: This brand new facility outside Lyle was our first stop, about 220 miles from home, and our primary reason for visiting this area. We started with 2006 Subduction White ($18, 13.7% ABV), a tasty blend of 59% Viognier and 41% Chardonnay. It has an interesting vanilla-spice aroma and a long finish, and happily, the Chardonnay does not ruin this blend. The 2006 Viognier Columbia Valley ($20, 14.2% ABV) was next. Beautifully fragrant with some orange crème on the nose, it is crisp with good lingering fruit, including some grapefruit. The 2006 Roussanne Alder Ridge Horse Heaven Hills ($22, 14.2% ABV) followed with noticeably lighter aroma. It is softer and has less fruit, and ends with a bit of caramel on the finish. I was saddened to learn that their Rosé was completely sold out, and moved on to the 2005 Syrah McKinley Springs Horse Heaven Hills ($30, 14.3% ABV). This is very dark with lots of black fruit (but not jammy), and a nice balance of acid and tannin; very nice, indeed. The 2005 Syrah Columbia Valley ($22, 13.8% ABV) is also very appealing, with a nice spicy aroma, more red fruit and a wonderful finish. The 2006 Late Harvest Viognier ($18, 13.2% ABV) was the final wine we tasted here. It has a captivating aroma and lovely gold color; the taste is very nice, but it is cloyingly sweet, even for a dessert wine. We lucked out at dinner, because the Lyle Hotel restaurant had one bottle on hand of the 2006 Columbia Valley Rosé ($23 restaurant price, $14 winery price, 13.8% ABV). This rich pink blend of 68% Grenache, 25% Mourvédre and 7% Cinsault is crisp and refreshing with flavors of strawberries and watermelon. Someone at the distributor confirmed that none of this wine is left; we’ll just have to savor the memory of this lovely Rosé until we can get some next year.
Cor Cellars: This is another new facility just down the road from Syncline. The 2006 Riesling Lonesome Spring Ranch ($16, 13% ABV) is totally dry, with crisp, snappy fruit; it is just missing the bouquet I expect to find with this varietal. The 2005 Sauvignon Blanc Milbrandt Vineyard Wahluke Slope (~$18, ?? ABV) was a disappointment. It is hugely acidic and, unfortunately, aged in 75% new oak (… when are they going to learn?). Their 2006 Alba Cor Celilo Vineyard White Wine ($16, 13% ABV) is a unique blend of 65% Pinot Gris and 35% Gewurztraminer, and it is the first retail bottle I’ve seen with a glass stopper. The muted fruit blend has a bit of spice and a bit of residual sugar. I like both of these varietals by themselves, but I’m not sold on how well they work together as a blend. Since my wife Eileen liked the wine, we bought two bottles, so I will have the opportunity to try it again later in the summer. This winemaker produces an interesting red blend, 2005 Momentum Horse Heaven Hills Red Wine ($18, 14% ABV). The blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Syrah and 16% Cabernet Franc delivers a nice dark wine with rich aroma, and flavors of blackberry and chocolate. There is a slight amount of sour acidity on the finish.
Klickitat Canyon: This nearby winery looked very run down and generally unkempt, and there did not appear to be anyone around. My wife commented that she would not want to taste anything made at this place, so we left.
Maryhill: We recently purchased a bottle of their (2007 Seattle Wine Awards) Gold Medal winning 2006 Viognier Columbia Valley ($16, 13.1% ABV). It has a lovely aroma and delivers tastes of ripe peaches and apricots, but with a significant amount of residual sugar. Based on this experience, we decided to skip this winery.
Cascade Cliffs: This winery is further east along the Columbia River, sitting between the water and the towering basalt cliffs … a very striking location; they are also in the process of expanding their winery building. Their 2005 Nebbiolo McKinley Springs Horse Heaven Hills ($15, 14% ABV) was surprisingly nice. It has a medium red color and good aroma, followed by rich flavors of fruit with a very little bit of tar and licorice on the finish. I tried their unreleased 2005 Estate Grown Nebbiolo ($tbd, ~ 14% ABV) and did not enjoy it as much; it simply came across as lighter and with less aroma and flavors. The 2005 Barbera Estate Grown ($25, 14% ABV) is dark and rich tasting with flavors of blackberry and marionberry; it’s not exactly the way a Barbera d’Alba tastes, but it is very appealing nonetheless. (Note that winehounds.com is selling this wine at a significant discount.) The final wine tasted here was the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown ($20, 14% ABV). It is dark with rich aroma and dark cherry flavors, nicely integrated, and feels smooth and balanced.
Oregon (the South Bank)
When you visit this area, be sure to stop at the Baldwin Saloon for lunch in The Dalles. This restored saloon has lots of warm wood décor and an extensive collection of original oil paintings dating back as far as the beginning of the 1900’s. We had delicious sandwiches made with thick-sliced homemade bread; even the lemonade was homemade.
- Erin Glenn: They are located along the main drag of The Dalles in the old Mint Building, and offer a large selection of wines. You get four tastes free, and they are substantial pours; it you visit with a spouse or close friend, you can easily get eight adequate tastes out of this stop. They had two different Viognier offerings, and I could not resist comparing them. The 2006 Viognier Chukar Ridge ($18, 13.6% ABV) has a lovely aroma and nice fruit, but is negated by oak aging (too bad). The 2006 Viognier Chateau LeBeau Willamette Valley ($22, 13% ABV) is aged in stainless steel, has a fabulous aroma, but contains some residual sugar. They also make some fun wines here, especially the 2006 Velvet Ass Rosé - Columbia Valley Rosé of Barbera ($18, 12.5% ABV), which is named for an illustrious businesswoman of the Gold Rush days … Velvet Ass Rose. This is an easy drinking dry wine with great color, and nice strawberry aroma and flavor; it is simple, has nice acid and is altogether pleasant. They also have a very popular non-vintage blend called Tantrum Red ($19, 14% ABV), which is reportedly named in recognition of the fact that the winemaker has four daughters. It is an indistinctive blend of Pinot Noir, Merlot and Barbera that is smooth and simple with a good acid-tannin balance. The final wine tasted here (we were on a very tight schedule) was the 2005 Syrah Power Block Columbia Valley ($26, 14% ABV). This is dark with rich aroma; it has good red fruit (with a bit of grapefruit hidden in there?) and a nice spicy finish.
Dry Hollow: Located high up the ridge amongst the orchards above The Dalles, this is definitely a winery worth watching. (Note that they plan to relocate to the Washington side of the river in mid-2008.) The 2006 Vin Blanc de Table ($14, 12.8% ABV) captivated me. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc grapes from two vineyards, it is crisp with peaches and grass, plus good acid and finish. Their 2006 Chardonnay ($14, 12.8% ABV) is unoaked, with lively aroma and flavors; it is nice and crisp and appealing to even a non-Chardonnay drinker like me. I tried the 2005 Estate Merlot ($18, 13.5% ABV) just to be nice, and found it to have medium body with lovely aroma and flavors, with even a bit of cedar in there. Because we were running out of time, I skipped right to the recently released 2005 Estate Syrah ($26, 14% ABV). This is very dark with distinctive black pepper aroma; the flavors are intense without being jammy … a wonderful wine.
The Pines 1852: We actually did not stop at this winery, located near The Dalles, because I met the winemaker and tasted many of his wines at our local wine shop the previous week. The 2006 Pinot Gris ($18, 13.2% ABV) has a fabulous aroma and nice fruit flavors, but with some residual sugar. The 2006 Satin ($17, 13.5% ABV) is a blend of 50% Pinot Gris and 50% Gewurztraminer; it is very floral and also contains some residual sugar. As mentioned above, I am not convinced these two grapes make a very appealing blend, but am withholding judgment for a while. The 2006 Viognier ($18, 13.6% ABV) has good acidity and finish, but it does not come across as a compelling buy at this price. Enter 2005 Big Red ($20, 14.8% ABV), a blend of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 24% Syrah, 14% Zinfandel and 4% Grenache that delivers an interesting wine. It has lush aroma with dark fruit flavors, matched with nice tannin and acid. The big gun, however, was the 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel ($35, 15.8% ABV). The grapes come from vines planted in the late 1800's, making this one of the oldest vineyards in the Northwest. This is a big wine with concentrated aroma and complex flavors. Who knew you could get a big Zinfandel like this in Oregon?
I hope you enjoyed these tasting notes.
-- Clark