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WTN: The Dorks cover Northwest Wines

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Jenise

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WTN: The Dorks cover Northwest Wines

by Jenise » Wed Feb 21, 2018 10:37 pm

The Dorks of York had some great fun last night with the topic: Northwest Wines. No other parameters, all served blind.


2014 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Queen's Road White Walla Walla Valley White Rhone Blend
Mine. Slightly cloudy/unfiltered appearance, pale yellow. Nose of quince, orange blossoms and cinnamon that seem to waft in ethereal, delicate layers. Silky texture, better acidity. Utterly beautiful. And what a departure from it's cousin of 2013 that we opened earlier in the week--if this was a silk scarf the other was a tarp, heavy and clumsy, strong and alcoholic.

2014 Minimus Wines Gewürztraminer No. 13 "153 Days" Rogue Valley
An orange wine. Beautiful pumpkin shade with captivating nose of apricot, clementine, star anise and Estee Lauder perfume. Not sweet per se, but some of us were reminded of Sauternes. One of the best orange wines--no, make it THE best orange wine--I've ever had. A fascinator.

2016 Illahe Grüner Veltliner Estate Willamette Valley
Fresh and lively, very similar to a Sylvaner Riesling. Interesting factoid: this is from a horsepowered vineyard.

2016 Bow and Arrow Sauvignon Blanc Union School Willamette Valley
Complex wine with a huge personality. Pronounced notes of lemon oil, mango, honeysuckle, kaffir lime and underripe pineapple. More like a Dagenau than domestic SB. Crazy good.

2016 Rôtie Cellars Southern White Columbia Valley White Rhone Blend
Very pale. Hard to identify blind. First guesses were riesling and chenin due to notes of coconut, white nectarine and yellow flowers, and it's the sweetest white of the night. Apparently 50% viognier, but without that signature perfume (thank god).

2016 Savage Grace Wines Chardonnay Celilo Vineyard Columbia Gorge
I owned a case of the exuberant 2014, so was surprised to find such a demure version in 2016. Very pale vs. the brighter yellow I remember, and almost chablis-like with lime custard fruit. Very nice and only 12.2% alcohol--hurray for that.

2016 Savage Grace Wines Côt Boushey Vineyard Yakima Valley
Excellent malbec from a new vineyard source for this winery. Great nose of expressive blue and red fruits, violets and coriander seed with Michael's signature purity.

2010 Syncline Pinot Noir Celilo Vineyard Columbia Gorge
Gone. Unexpectedly brownish, huge acidity and virtually no fruit.

2010 Rulo Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain
Good showing for a good value Washington wine. Well made, balanced and ready, more traditional than modern. Believe the winery's recently been sold or closed.

2013 Domaine Belle Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Louis Belle Syrah
A ringer! Too bretty for me--nose showed only that in my cab-style glass. However, in Tim's flared lip bowl the brett was hardly noticeable behind exuberant red fruit and lots of pepper. Bizarre.

2015 Laurent Hildebrand Crozes Hermitage
Another ringer! Did not find this on Cellar Tracker, so I made have written something down wrong--if you recognize what this should be, please speak up. Anyway, the wine: vitamin B nose with a ham sandwich. A good mix of modern and old world.

2012 Henry Earl Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain
Mark's. Never heard of this winery. Excellent flavors and balance with silky tannins without overripeness or low acidity--a problem in many 12's. Sophisticated and spot-on for drinking now. Amazing QPR at $20ish wholesale.

2014 Cinder Tempranillo Snake River Valley, Idaho
Mine. First sniff showed paprika and cherry pipe tobacco with flowers and tomato on the next wave. Very good, but not throwing the spice fireworks that it did a year ago. Decanted only two hours--maybe more would have helped.

2011 Rasa Vineyards Syrah Doctrina Perpetua "Spinoza" Bacchus Vineyard Columbia Valley
Bright and floral. Pretty fruit with lifted acidity--I guessed Soos Creek whose style is similar. Delish.

2014 Claire Naudin Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Vieilles Vignes Pinot Noir
Mild gun flint notes, super high acid. Some browning, mature flavors. Weird for a '14.

2011 Eaglemount Cabernet Franc Wahluke Slope
Mine. Great nose. Vibrant, lively mostly red fruit with cassis and an almond note strangely similar to bear claw pastry. A hit with the group and a lot of fun to discuss when the boys couldn't place the grape or producer. The fruit is eastern Washington but the wine was made in Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. And how often do you get to give out the Flying Karamozov Brothers as a hint? This wine was made in the huge barn that was the troupe's retreat/rehearsal space when not at home in Santa Cruz. It's a Cidery now (excellent stuff), and in 2011 the cider master also made two barrels of this wine.

2014 Novelty Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley
Also mine, leftover from an event last week and otherwise definitely not something I'd have brought to this group except to find out if it would 'pass' with the geeks. It didn't. Rich with broad blackberry and dark chocolate notes. On the heavy/oaky side for us but a well-made good value for mainstream tastes ($20 Costco).

2003 Hightower Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley
In full secondary development with charming mushroom and tea flavors. Wouldn't have expected this to age this well.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: WTN: The Dorks cover Northwest Wines

by Dale Williams » Wed Feb 21, 2018 10:50 pm

Nice lineup, mostly wineries I don't know (I've had several Rotie Cellars and a couple Reynvaan or Bow & Arrow).
Lyle Fass sells a Crozes from Laurent Habrard , could that be it?
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Jenise

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Re: WTN: The Dorks cover Northwest Wines

by Jenise » Wed Feb 21, 2018 10:59 pm

Dale Williams wrote:Nice lineup, mostly wineries I don't know (I've had several Rotie Cellars and a couple Reynvaan or Bow & Arrow).
Lyle Fass sells a Crozes from Laurent Habrard , could that be it?


That's gotta be it! Bart mentioned that he got one of his wines from Lyle Fass. Thanks!
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

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