|
| |
MORE WASHINGTON STATE WINES
 McCREA
CELLARS
Doug McCrea was a music teacher here in the Bay Area so it's not surprising
he makes harmonious wines of note.
McCrea was a home winemaker and this project has really gotten out of hand! The
winery is now located in Rainier, Washington, having had to relocate after local
government bureaucrats wouldn't allow the McCrea's to expand their winemaking facility.
The new place was ready in 1994.
Somewhat of a visionary, this fellow started making "Rhne" varieties well
before these became fashionable (and shockingly expensive!).
His first foray into the Rhne area was a Grenache/Syrah blend called Tierra del Sol.
Viognier and Chardonnay fill out the roster, though Syrah has been the wine which
seems to grab the most attention.
We have a 1998 "Yakima Valley" designated Syrah. This is big, deep in
color and has some spicy and gamey notes which remind a bit of Rhne Valley wines.
However, there's a brightness to the fruit which is unique.
The 1999 vintage is also impressive, showing amazing vitality and fruit with an underlying
spice note.
I'd say these are the most Rhne-like, though, of any of the Washington State Syrahs,
thus far.
Another name to watch for in the future is Cayuse, a small Syrah and Viognier producer in
Walla Walla. - Currently in stock:
1999 McCrea "Yakima Valley" Syrah Sold Out
TAMARACK CELLARS Ron Coleman is a former Bay Area resident who emigrated (some say he was
deported) to Washington. He worked at Walla Walla's Waterbrook winery, as well as
Canoe Ridge. In 1998 he and Mrs. Coleman jumped in with both feet, starting their
own winery, Tamarack Cellars. We are big fans of the fruit character of Merlot from
Walla Walla and find the 1999 vintage of the Colemans' to have those plummy, rich, ripe
elements of Woodward Canyon and L'Ecole 41. French and American oak
contribute a note of cedar and vanillin, without overpowering. Despite its youth,
this is delicious now and ought to remain in good shape for three to five years, if you
can resist the temptation to open it now.- Currently in stock: 1999 Tamarack Cellars Columbia Valley Merlot
Sold Out
-
QUILCEDA CREEK VINTNERS I'd guess
not many people have even heard of Quilceda Creek and probably even fewer have ever tasted
the wine made by the Golitzin family. Yet most of America's wine writers have sung
the praises of this little winery for many years. The Golitzin's started in 1978,
encouraged by Alex's uncle, the famous BV winemaker, Andre Tchelistcheff. Golitzin
worked for a paper company before becoming one of the least-known, best Cabernet makers in
the country.
The winery is just a short drive, depending upon traffic, outside of Seattle.
Vineyard sources, however, are in the Columbia Valley. Golitzin uses French oak,
though, apparently they used American cooperage to a degree a few years ago. I
believe they blend a small amount of Merlot into their Cabernet.
We have had a few vintages of their Cabernets in the shop. These are lovely
wines, showing
medium-intensity cassis notes and some cedary, oaky fragrances. The tannins are
balanced though intense. You will really need to hold onto these
if you want to drink them when the tannins resolve themselves a bit.
Interestingly, these did not get much attention from customers when they
were displayed in a bin here at the shop. Then, suddenly the phone is
ringing off the hook with people we've never heard from demanding bottles of
the 2003 Quilceda Creek Cabernet. It seems the wine received a
numerical score of 100 points from one wine journal. People who have
never heard of Quilceda Creek now "must have" this
wine.
The funny thing to us is how, given the thousands of really great wines in
the shop, carefully selected for quality and value, nothing we might have
short of a 100-point bottle of wine will be worthy of purchasing. Oh,
the price of perfection!
- Currently available: 2000 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon $119.99
(a bottle or two remains)
2002 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sold Out
2003 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sold Out
- ANDREW WILL
 Andrew
would be the nephew of Chris and Anne Camarda and Will would be their
son. Chris worked in the restaurant business for about 20 years,
always in places which had an emphasis on wine (was he telling me, then, he
didn't work at the drive-through window and didn't have to ask each and
every patron, "Would you like fries with that?").
Living on Vashon Island near Seattle, he embarked on a home winemaking
project in 1987. "It was awful!" Chris recounts. Good
thing this wasn't the same as sailing out of an airplane and operating a
parachute. Camarda made something he considered palatable in
1988. "I thought, 'You know, this is really
good!" Encouraged by this, he got a license and started making
wine on a small, but commercial scale.
Now he's a world famous winemaker, having been praised by eno-scribes from
around the planet. Merlot and Cabernet are the specialties here and
Camarda offers a number of single-vineyard bottlings.
In our blind-tastings the Andrew Will wines have fared reasonably
well. Camarda's wines are not heavily oaked, nor are they hugely monstrous
wines, so they've not aced out Leonetti or Duckhorn, for example.
Tasted away from a crowd of wines, his show good fruit and a nice balance
with the wood...a world away from the sweetly-wooded Leonetti wines.
His proprietary red is called "Sorella," the Italian
word for "sister." This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon
with Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
We are offered a few bottles of each of these wines annually.- Currently in stock:
1997 Cabernet Sauvignon "Seven Hills" $42.99
1998 Merlot "Seven Hills" $44.99
1999 Merlot "Seven Hills" $44.99
1998 Merlot "Klipsun" $49.99
1999 Merlot "Klipsun" $49.99
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon "Mercer" $44.99
1997 "Sorella" $59.99
1998 "Sorella" $59.99
-
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
|
TO
INQUIRE ABOUT A WINE: