*2006 Ciel du Cheval Syrah from Tamarack Cellars--the grapes are from Red Mountain...the vines look near dead they are so stressed...very complex Syrah...a blend of Old and New world style.
*K Vintners/Charles Smith
Royal City Syrah 2006(best of class), amazing
also the
2007 K Syrah Milbrandt-Wahluke Slope
2007 K Syrah Pheasant - Wahluke Slope
*Spring Valley Cabernet and Merlots...outstanding.
Seems every couple years when making it to Walla Walla the wines keep getting more and more world class. They are just amazing PQR vs NAPA and in my opinion most exceeding the qualitys of the Napas on Reds. The Whites not so much.
Boy, you're not kidding! Luckily, I live just a couple hundred miles away, so the stuff literally pours in over here. I also have an advantage in that I photograph most of David LeClaire's wine tasting fund-raisers. I managed to get through about 1/3 of the 54 wineries who participated in the June event.
Some of my recent favorite Washinton reds include:
2004 Lowden Hills Cab Savignon (Horse Heaven Hills/Alder Ridge)
2004 Lowden Hills Syrah
2004 Cote Bonneville Carriage House (blend, DuBrul Vineyards)
2003-2006 Abeja Cab Sauvignon Anything at all from Betz
2005 Rulo Syrah
2006 Bunnell VIF (Columbia Valley)
2006 Januik Cab. Savignon (Columbia Valley)
2006 Lantz Cellars Syrah (Rattlesnake Hills)
2006 Nota Bene Cellars Miscela
2007 Rotie Cellars Northern Blend (97% Syrah)
2005 Whitman Cellars Walla Walla Syrah
2004 Whitman Cellars Narcissa (now at Costco for $14! Talk about PQR.)
Milbrandt is turning out some excellent juice these days, and I'm told they're now making a Petite Sirah.
As for the whites, try Natches Heights Vineyards. I'm a big fan of their Pinot Gris (of all things), and the NHV 2008 Riesling was awarded a Gold Medal at the 2009 Seattle Wine Awards.
Wine writer Paul Gregutt has just finished the draft of his second book on Washington wines, so it'll probably hit the shelves around Christmas. Meanwhile, here's his review of Betz's new release 2007 Syrahs from today's blog.
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Interestingly, Betz sources the grapes for his La Serenne 100% Syrah from Boushey vineyard, the same source used by Lowden Hills. No knock on Betz, of course -- all their wines are fabulous. But Lowden Hills Boushey Syrah is about half the price of La Serenne, and well worth it.
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