by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

We tasted last week (3/1/06) Some WashingtonState Rhones:

1. JMCllrs Viognier ColumbiaVlly (14.1%; www.JMCellars.com) 2004: Light gold color; fragrant peachy/pineapply/perfumed dusty slight toasty/oak bit earthy/minerally nose; slight peachy/ Viognier rather bitter/metallic/earthy flavor; med. bitter/metallic finish; pleasant enough nose but not very attractive on the palate. $20.00
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2. Wilridge Viognier ElephantMtnVnyd/YakimaVlly (13.3%; www.WilridgeWinery.com) 2004: Med.
gold color; bit reduced/cabbagy/H2S nose that clears some the light floral/peachy/pear/Viognier slight minerally nose; quite sweet soft/lush pineapply/peachy/Viognier simple flavor; short peachy/pineapply bit bitter flavor; bit too soft & sweet for my palate.$16.00
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3. Harlequin Viognier CliftonVnyd/WahlukeSlope/ColumbiaVlly (14.5%; 200 cs;
www.HerlequinWine.com) RobertGoodfriend/ElizabethCook 2004: Med.gold color; beautiful
honeysuckle/floral/pear/peach/Viognier some minerally quite spicy bit nutmeg lovely nose;
very rich/lush intense floral/peach/lychee/GWT-like/honeysuckle very spicy slight mineral
flavor; very long/lingering ripe/lush peachy/lychee/floral/honeysuckle spich slight mineral finish; almost like a Z-H GWT than Condrieu or Viognier; terrific wine at a great price. $20.00
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5. AndrewRichVintners Vin de TablaRasa ColumbiaVlly (13.8%; 50% Syrah, 26% Counoise,
13% Mourvedre, 11% Grenache) 2003: Med.dark color; lovely earthy/dusty/minerally some
CdP/dusty light srawberry/Grenache/blackberry interesting/complex nose; bit hard/tannic
dusty/earthy light strawberry/blackberry slight toasty/oak attractive flavor; med.long
light toasty/oak some strawberry/blackberry/cherry somewhat earthy/dusty finish w/ hard/
rough tannins; needs some age; more old/rustic/CdP-like than most Rhone blends; quite
interesting blend at a very good price. $17.00
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6. Latitude 46 N CliftonCuvee RW ColumbiaVlly (14.5%; 76% Syrah, 24% Grenache;
www.Latitude46.com) VinamisVentures/Touchet 2004: Very dark color; some toasty/charred/
oak rather earthy/dusty somewhat smokey/bacon fat/roasted rather black cherry/strawberry
complex nose; soft bit tannic quite lush/black cherry/strawberry somewhat smokey/earthy/
spicy/roasted some toasty/oak flavor; long lush/black cherry/strawberry some toasty/
roasted light earthy/dusty finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; a terrific/
interesting fairly CdP-like blend at a great price. $18.00
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7. Penner-Ash Syrah Columbia&RogueRiver vllys/OR (14.5%; www.PennerAsh.com) 2003: Dark color; bit volatile/perfumed some blackberry/Syrah rather toasty/oak pleasant nose; soft bit
tannic plummy/blackberry/Syrah somewhat toasty/oak bit dusty flavor; med. bit hard/tannic
blackberry/Syrah fairly toasty/oak finish; pleasant enough Syrah but a bit underwhelming.
$29.00
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8. Harlequin Syrah MinickVnyd/YakimaVlly (14.6%; 225 cs) 2003: Dark color; beautiful roasted/
bacon fat/smokey/gun flint/minerally very blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry complex nose; rich/
lush spicy/blackberry/Syrah bright/tart some toasty/oak/roasted/mocha lovely flavor; very
long lush/ripe/blackberry/Syrah/plummy/boysenberry bit roasted/toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; beautiful nose of NorthernRhone but more a Calif Syrah on the
palate; terrific Syrah for the $25.00.
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9. HurricaneRidge Wash Syrah (13.5%) BobbyAndrake/Winemaker 2003: Black color; very fumey /EA/volatile some dusty bit blackberry/Syrah hot nose; soft very hot/fumey/volatile bitSyrah/ blackberry flavor; med.short hot/fumey some blackberry/Syrah finish; you can dig out some
good Syrah character but way too hot/volatile/fumey. No bargin at $21.00
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10. ExUmbris OwenRoe Syrah ColumbiaVlly SlideMtnVnyd/WesternYakima+LewisVnyd/Dalles+
ElerdingVnyd/Alderdale (14.1%; www.OwenRoe.com) 2004: Black color; quite dusty some toasty/
oak/roasted quite blackberry/Syrah slight walnutty complex nose; big toasty/oak/charredsome roasted/espresso strong blackberry/Syrah pungent bit rustic/dusty flavor; long rough/tannic very toasty/oak/charred pungent/roasted rather strong blackberry/Syrah finish; needs 3-6 yrs; loads of toasty/oak but lots of blackberry/Syrah therein; a big rough-hewn Syrah.$28.00
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11. WalterDacon Syrah ColumbiaVlly C'EstSyrahBelle (14.5%; French Oak;
www.WalterDaconWines.com; 67% DestinyRidgeVnyd/HorseHeavenHills, 28% Elephant MtnVnyd/ Yakima, 5% KionaVnyd/RedMtn; 370 cs) 2003: Med.dark color; dusty/earthy some roasted/ smokey/toasty rather strong blackberry/Syrah/plummy quite spicy/fragrant nose; tart/elegant/ balanced bright/spicy/blackberry/Syrah/bit alpine strawberry lovely/elegant flavor; long tart quite spicy bright/blackberry/Syrah light tannic very balanced/elegant finish; needs several yrs; elegant/balanced/well-crafted Syrah. $28.00
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12. WalterDacon Syrah ColumbiaVlly C'EstSyrahBeaux (14.5%; American oakl; 33% Destiny RidgeVnyd, 33% ElephantMtnVnyd, 22% KionaVnyd, 12% BousheyVnyd/Yakima; 170 cs) 2003: Dark color; strong vanilla/AmOak some toasted/oak/coconutty/ZagNut Bar rather blackberry/ spicy/Syrah complex nose; tart bit lean elegant/balanced very vanilla/oak/coconutty/ toasty attractive blackberry/spicy/Syrah slight dusty flavor; long very coconutty/vanilla/oak spicy/blackberry/Syrah bit dusty elegant/balanced finish; much the same style but the vanilla/oak seems to dominate the fruit here; a lovely/elegant/balanced Syrah. $35.00
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13. BaselCllrs Syrah WallaWallaVlly (14.9%; PheasantRunEstate& Powerline vnyds; 300 cs)
2003: Black color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some roasted/mocha/toasty/oak
complex bit dusty nose; tart very rich smokey/toasty/oak/roasted intense loads of fruit/
blackberry/boysenberry/plummy bit spicy/peppery flavor; very long intense blackberry/
boysenberry/plummy/Syrah some roasted/mocha/toasty finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-5
yrs; terrific/interesting Syrah w/ loads of intense fruit; powerful but structured.$42.00
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14. BaselCllrs Syrah ColumbiaVlly (14.9%; Lewis&Portteus vnyds/YakimaVlly, PepperBridge&
SpoffordStation vnyds/WallaWallaVlly; 18 brls) 2002: Black color; less intense but more
roasted/Rhonish/cracked black pepper very Rhonish strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy complex
nose; tart very smokey/pungent/roasted/toasty/espresso quite Rhonish strong blackberry/
Syrah/peppery flavor; very long/lingering tart very roasted/toasty/charred/oak/espresso
strong blackberry/Syrah bit peppery finish w/ some tannins; still needs several yrs.$48.00
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15. CayuseVnyds Syrah CoccinellaVnyd/WallaWallaVlly (15%; U/U) 2003: Black color; stunning
roasted/charred/smokey/espresso/mocha very NorthernRhone strong blackberry/Syrah/peppery
complex nose; tart very roasted/espresso/smokey/pungent rather charred/toasty/oak very
Rhonish very strong blackberry/pepper/Syrah flavor; very long/lingering charred/roasted/
toasty/espresso pretty tannic strong cracked pepper/blackberry/Syrah finish; needs 3-10
yrs; very/very NorthernRhone Syrah; too bad about the price. $75.00
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16. Dom. de la Janasse Chaupin CdP (14.5%) Aime Sabon 2003: Med.dark color; slight Rhonish/
earthy loads of strawberry/Grenache/fruity very fragrant/perfumed almost too sweetish nose; soft/fat loads of Grenache/strawberry/fruit slight smokey/toasty/oak clean very Calif-like flavor; long soft/rich/ripe intense strawberry/Grenache slight toasty finishw/ modest tannins; woopee... they can make Calif Grenache, the ultimate achievement, in Chateauneuf; so sad at a stupid price. Larry's mystery to retry a previous corked btl. $60.00
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17. SaviahCllrs RedMountain/WallaWalla Syrah (14.9%; www.saviahcellars.com) 2003: Black
color; intense blackberry/black cherry/Syrah bit spicy/peppery rather toasty/smokey/oak
interesting nose; tart rich strong toasty/oak very strong black cherry/blackberry/bing
cherry/spicy slight tannic flavor; very long rather toasty/charred/oak very strong spicy/
bing-black cherry/Syrah/blackberry finish w/ some tannins; needs a few yrs yet; very
interesting Syrah from a total unknown (to me). $28.00

And the ol' BloodyPulpit:
1. HarlequinViognier: We bought a bunch of the '03 Viognier over a yr ago after we tasted it.
I thought it was about the best USofA Viognier I've tasted, w/ a minerality that you
seldom find in US Viogniers. This '04 version struch me as a richer, more lush/opulent
Viognier w/ a bit less minerality than the '03, a bit more Calif in style. Still, a pretty
terrific US Viognier and hopefully 4 cs will be headed our way.
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2. Harlequin: This is the wnry owned by Robert Goodfriend and Elizabeth Cook. I've pretty
much followed Robert from the very start...when he ran the e.k.mas restaurant in SantaFe...
and had a bit more hair than now!! The Harlequin WebSite is under construction...has been
for several yrs.. not likely soon. They have a young son, Alexander, who is one of the
cutest little kids you'd ever want to meet. And twins on the way. So life is going to
be a bit complicated for Robert&Elizabeth.
The Harlequin wines (as are some of the others we tasted) are available from his
Wines of Washington tasting room, just on the North edge (Post Street) of the PikeMarket
in Seattle. It's a very neat tasting room w/ lots of small winery stuff to taste.
WinesofWashington.com (no www.) is their WebSite.
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3. WalterDacon: A new wnry run by Lloyd Anderson and named after his grandfather. I was
steered towards these wines by posts by MarshallManning and Bucko. Great advice, as
usual. I liked the wines quite a bit, preferring the Fr oaked version. The didn't have
the deep bass notes many WashState Syrahs display, more bright fruit than most, and
a polished elegance and balance to them that I found very/very attractive. Lloyd also
makes a Sangiovese (sold-out) that I'd be interested in trying when the next release
comes. Another WashState wnry to keep your eyes upon.
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4. BaselCellars: Trey Busch started a few months ago posting quite a bit on WCWN and so
I casually to a look-see at the WebSite in his sig (www.BaselCellars.com). The Site
looked interesting and so I thought I'd take a few of his wines for a test drive. The
Cabs (not yet tasted) didn't excite me, but the Syrahs were what grabbed my attention.
Both Syrahs were impressive. Loads of extracted fruit, but very well-structured for
the long haul and not the least bit oafish or coarse. They reminded me a bit of the
K-Vintners of any that I've had. Yoikes...yet another Syrah producer to follow.
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5. WashState Rhones: Absolutely friggin' amazing the progress the Rhones from WashState
(and, to a lesser degree, Oregon) have made in just 10 yrs. When I first tasted David
Lakes Syrahs waaaay back when with him, it reminded me a lot of that first Syrah
experience w/ Gary Eberle in 1978. Not world-class, lots of pretty fragrance, and just
a hint of the greatness that would come down the road. Over the last few yrs, the
WashState Syrahs have shown themselves to be truly world-class... as good as any in the
world. Furthermore, I find the lower-end Syrahs from there consistently more interesting
than the low-end Syrahs from Calif. These WashState Syrahs consistently produce as great
of Syrahs of anyplace, including NorthernRhone), except maybe SantaBarbaraCnty.
The other Rhone varieties seem to be a few yrs behind the Syrahs in achieving greatness.
Many of the whites seem to display an earthiness to them that I'm having trouble getting
my arms around. The Harlequin Viognier is easily the best I've yet had from up there.
Grenache & Mourvedre is too small/too early to tell much about. But they, by and large,
sow a degree of terroir that makes me think they all, too, will achieve greatness.
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6. NorthernRhone character: The Syrahs of the NorthernRhone have a very distinct character,
probably that terroir thing that all the geeks pontificate about, that I really like.
The roasted/espresso/cracked pepper/smokey/green olive character. You hit it from time-to-
time in Calif and WashState Syrahs. Sometimes it is an authentic expression of terroir,
sometimes it seems to come from monkeying around w/ the oak treatment. In some cases of
the latter, the Rhonish character can only be described as ersatz-Rhone. In other cases, like
the Neyers Cuvee d'Honneur, the Copains, the Cayuse; it's a very authentic rendition
of Rhone. In others, it's very artificial in character. Many of the NapaVlly Syrahs, made
like a cult Cabernet, have this very artificial Rhone character. Toasty/charred oak does not
a NorthernRhone Syrah make.
Alas, I'm seing a trend in NorthernRhone Syrahs to greater ripeness that seems to
supress that NorthernRhone roasted character; make them more Calif in style. Maybe it's
just because of the '03 vintage, I don't know. But striving to make ripe/extracted
Syrah in the NorthernRhone that sends certain Monktown attourneys ape-$hit (Kansas
colloquialism) strikes me a throwing out the baby w/ the bathwater. Maybe Johnathan
Nossiter was onto something!!
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7. SaviahCllrs: This was a new one to me, a mystery wine from Gary & Charlotte. Winemaker
is Richard Funk. I was pretty impressed w/ the wine. Jeez.. another one to follow??
TomHill