2007 Unofficial Classifcation Of Washington State Wines

Harvest is over and wines and winemakers can finally rest after a frenetic two months. This is the second annual Unofficial Classification of Washington State wines, or more accurately, of Washington State wineries. The 2007 Unofficial Classification of Washington State Wines represents my personal, perhaps, idiosyncratic or eccentric, opinions of the quality of Washington State wineries. Out of approximately 500 wineries there are at least a hundred producing great wine. About half of the wine produced in Washington comes from wineries owned by Chateau Ste Michelle, thus the other 490 some odd wineries are mostly small artisanal family enterprises typically producing 2000-3000 cases, in some cases up to 20,000 cases. The emphasis is on quality rather than quantity. In contrast to other classifications of wine such as the 1855 classification of Bordeaux, the Unofficial Classification of Washington wines is not set in stone and changes every year. Since it is retrospective, it does not necessarily predict future rankings or as they say on Wall Street, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Washington State wine scene continues to be exciting. New wineries are cropping up everywhere and established wineries are moving on to new frontiers. Several top Puget Sound wineries have invested in their own vineyards in Eastern Washington and you can sense the excitement this is generating among winemakers. Exclusion from this classification, in no way represents a commentary on the quality of a winery. In most cases, it simply means that I am not familiar enough with the wines or winemaker to form an opinion. On the other hand , not all Washington wines and wineries are great, so only the best that I am familiar with are listed here. Wineries listed as new are new to me and may have been around for several years.


Premier Grand Cru ( Extraordinary)

Quilceda Creek

Leonetti


Deuxieme Grand Cru (Outstanding)

Betz

Cadence

DeLille

Januik

Long Shadow

Pepper Bridge

Terra Blanca - Onyx

Spring Valley - Uriah



Troisieme Grand Cru ( Exceptional)

Abeja

Amaurice

Amavi

Andrew Will

Beresan

Boudreaux

Brian Carter

Buty

Canon de Sol

Columbia Crest Reserve

Dunham

Fall Line

Hightower

Isenhauer

Lattitude 46 N

McCrea

Northstar

Note Bene

O-S

Palouse

Ross Andrew

Sheridan

Sleight Of Hand

Spring Valley

Terra Blanca

Walla Walla Vineyards

Willis Hall

Woodward Canyon



Quatrieme Grand Cru ( Excellent)

Animale

Agate Field

Apex

Bergevin

Camaraderie

Canoe Ridge

Cougar Crest

Desert Wind

Dusted Valley

Five Star

Forgeron

Gifford Hirlinger

Glacial Lake Missoula

Hedges

Kiona

L'Ecole

Mark Ryan

Masset

McKinley Springs

Mountain Dome

Nicolas Cole

Novelty Hill

Red Sky

Reininger

Saint Laurent

Sandidge

Sandhill

Saviah

Soos Creek

Syncline

Syzygy

Thurston Wolfe

Three Rivers

Two Mountains

Walter Dacon

Whitman

Wineglass

Yellowhawk


Cinqieme Cru ( Very Good)

14 Hands

Balboa

Barnard Griffin

Cascade Cliffs

Chinook

Columbia Crest "Two Vines"

Gordon Bros

Hogue

Red Diamond

Ryan Patrick

Sagelands


New

Adament

Balsamroot

Bloom

Charles Smith

Dama

Hence

Ludmell

Sparkman

Tertulia

Tildio

Trio

Trust

Tsillan



Deferred

Andrake

Cayuse

Chatter Creek

Gorman

K Vintners

Rulo

Seven Hills

Zefina

Thanksgiving Wine

We've been teaching wine classes lately and did one on Holiday wine. We tasted fourteen wines altogether and had a lot of fun. The NV Mumm Napa Brut goes well with everything - turkey, ham, roast beef. Great way to start off a holiday meal. Chandon Brut is a little drier. Both are great buys on sale at about $13. Although Riesling, goes great with turkey, we were somewhat disappointed by the 2006 Ch. Ste Michelle "Eroica", Dr. Loosen at $18 from Costco. Instead we preferred an inexpensive Riesling from Safeway for five bucks - 2005 Peisporter Michelsberg Spatlese - light easy slightly sweet, floral character. Our 2005 MacMurray Pinot Gris was off - volatile acidity and what else? For those who prefer drier whites, King Estate, Erath, and Luna Pinot Gris would all work with Turkey and Ham. Finally,2005 Merryvale "Starmont" Napa Chardonnay is available once agin at a reasonable price ( about $15 at Costco) The Starmont tastes almost French in its relative fullness with great balance and a hint of that stony quality I like so much. Edna Valley Chardonnay is also a good bet at less than $15. Glenn Ellen Chardonnay can be had for $6 on sale for a 1.5 liter bottle and Columbia Crest "Two Vines" Chard also a great buy at $7 or less and is widely available. Rose and pink wines work with Turkey and ham. We tasted 2006 Chinook Cabernet Franc from the Yakima Valley. As usual, it was excellent and went well with ham or turkey. BTW, for all you vegetarians and vegans out there, these all work with Tofurkey, too.

Okay, so you hate whites or you can't drink them. Beaujolais Nouveau, Beaujolais and light Pinot Noirs work with turkey and ham. But if you don't like Turkey ( how UnAmerican!), why not just serve roast beef? Then you can enjoy any red you want. We sampled 2004 Beringer "Alluvium", Knights Valley ( about $30 at Costco) - good , but not that exciting. We preferred the 2004 Hedges Three Vineyards, from Red Mountain, Washington (about $18 at Costco), a blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot which is structured like a French Bordeaux with considerable tannin at the end. A "masculine" wine, great with beef. The 2005 Reserve des Remparts, St. Emilion, Calvet ( about $15 at Trader Joe) is softer , but would go equally well with roast beef.

We finished with a great dessert wine from Paso Robles - 2006 Eos "Tears of Dew" Late Harvest Moscato (about $20 at Costco [no, I'm not on commission]). With over 20% residual sugar, this sweetie is great with blue cheese and pears. Finally settle down in front of the fireplace with some walnuts and Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny Port ( about $25 at Costco). It's really very simple. Drink what you like. IMO, the best match with Turkey is Riesling or Chenin Blanc ( try Walla Voila from L'Ecole winery in Washington, if you can find it) or the French Vouvray, but, alas, they are not to my gout, so I drink Chardonnay.