Andrew Will 2006 Sorella Bordeaux Blend

Another excellent Andrew Will--purchased 3 btls @ $34 from Apex with case discount, a very fine price. Color is beautiful ruby purple with a deep nose of violet and blackberry and a bit of cedar and spice. The finish was long but also hot for the first hour, then faded more into the background. Balanced, complex and beautiful with certainly 15-20 years ahead, as it will develop plenty more bottle bouquet and it will knit together nicely indeed. I'd give it 94 points. See also my later post on the 2002 Sorella.

Parker says the same points 94

The 2006 Sorella, produced from Block 1 of the Champoux Vineyard, is the winery flagship. Saturated purple in color, the perfume is a complex amalgam of pain grille, scorched earth, espresso, black currant, blackberry, and licorice. This leads to a supple-textured wine with layers of ripe fruit, outstanding depth and concentration, considerable elegance, and a long, pure finish. It will evolve for 8-10 years and provide pleasure through 2030.

2006 Stuhlmuller Cabernet

2006 Stuhlmuller Cabernet

Bought this on rec of Michael Du at Pearson’s where I purchased a full case of wine on sale. This one is a winner. It was $45 with 30% off=32.50 and I’d give it 94 points. I'd never heard of this winery before.

There is a berry aroma and flavor I can’t identify, maybe it’s mulberry—something I haven’t detected in a wine before. There’s also a nutty spiciness that I like a lot and toasty vanilla. The finish is long, balanced, with plenty of acid to balance the ripe fruit and noticeable tannins. I’d think it’ll drink well for 7-8 years. I'm glad to learn that Mr. Du is a reliable informant. He also had me taste a couple of California Pinot Noirs that I agreed were very fine. Parker and Wine Spec both give it 91. I now see that perhaps the distinctive nose is the black tea.

Parker: Proprietor Fritz Stuhlmuller has also produced an outstanding, reasonably priced ($40) 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. Sweet, earth-infused black currant and black cherry fruit is accompanied by a wine exhibiting excellent depth, a full-bodied mouthfeel, no hard edges, and hints of Chinese black tea and spicy oak. Consume it over the next decade.

Wine Spec 91 points: Firm, concentrated and well-balanced, offering dense, chewy cedary currant, anise, spice and nutmeg notes that are full-bodied and tannic, with touches of herb and spice. Drink now through 2014. 1,950 cases made. Release price $36.

2006 De Lisio Quarterback

Picked this up in DC at Zola's retail store in Penn Quarter on the way to a Restaurant Week meal at Teatro Goldoni. Made happy discovery that they have half price wines during happy hour Mon-Saturday and enjoyed a good chardonnay from Yalumba before opening the DeLisio for dinner. This one is roughly 1/4 (quarterback) grenache, cab, merlot and syrah and i could at least imagine that i could detect at least 3 of the components (not the merlot, which i suppose is the tamest of these 4 varieties). For about $20 it's a fine wine that stood up nicely to the various dishes at the restaurant. There isn't a lot of tannin there but the violet, blackberry, currant nose and spicy palate with moderately long finish, and decent acid backbone, suggest this could be drinking well for 3-4 more years. Parker gave it 90, which seems right to me:

The purple-colored 2006 Quarterback is a blend of 30% Shiraz, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 21% Grenache aged for 15 months in seasoned French oak. It exhibits an already complex aromatic array of cedar, spice box, cherry, black currant, and blueberry. Smooth-textured, easygoing, and concentrated, it is an excellent value designed to provide pleasure over the next six years.

2004 Priorat of distinction: 2004 Mas Romani (Mas Alta) La Basseta

This one came highly recommended by Parker (96 points) and I must say this rating is justified. A spicy vanilla aroma with pronounced cinnamon and clove perfume wafted from the decidedly inferior cheap wine glass I'm using in West Danville at the house we're renting. I can only imagine what the nose would do with appropriate glassware. The bottle was driven around on Sunday and then put in refrigerator since we have nowhere else to keep it cold. I took it out around 5 pm and by 7 it was still too cold but not terribly so. I'm impressed with how well it showed given this treatment. The clarity of the spice, reminiscent of a spice chewing gum is unique and pleasing indeed. Color is a beautiful dark ruby red/purple with almost no color at the rim. On the palate the acid is vibrant, precisely delineated and balanced against the lovely ripe fruit, predominantly blackberry and blueberry. Very long warm but not hot finish. Tannins are pretty well disguised by the acid and fruit but I have little doubt this wine will be drinking even better in a couple years and will last 8-10, let's say till 2020. I'm sorely tempted to buy more of this even though it's about $60 and that was a good price. I'd love to taste this alongside my bottles of 2004 Clos Mogador and Mas Doix.

24 hours later (Wed. at 7 pm) the wine is drinking beautifully. The spice is attenuated though still present. The black cherry component is more evident today along with the toasty oak vanilla. Lovely perfume and finish and now the tannin is even more receded into the background though clearly there and helping the finish. With more air there was a licorice element along with violet. I've gotta say the only wines I like as much are bordeaux; other than a properly aged bordeaux there's nothing much better in my view.

Parker (in 2007):

The 2004 La Basseta is 50% old-vine Carinena, 40% Grenache, 5% Merlot, and 5% Syrah aged for 15 months in French oak, 50% new. Dark ruby/purple, the wine has a spectacular perfume of mineral, scorched earth, violets, lavender, kirsch, and blueberry pie. Full-bodied, the wine is opulent with a velvety texture, layered flavors, a beautiful integration of oak, tannin, and acidity, and a well-delineated, long finish. Drink this pleasure-filled wine over the next 10-12 years. Tanzer says 94 points and that's equal to about 96 or 97 for Parker's more generous rating tendency.

Andrew Will 2005 Champoux Bordeaux Blend

My first (I think) Washington State red of any distinction. Just purchased 6 bottles of the Andrew Will Sorella 2006; Max had a bottle and raved about it, so I got a bottle of a different cepage up here in Vermont where we are staying on Joe's Pond, West Danville, for the week of Griff Seymour's wedding. So, yesterday I opened this Champoux vineyard bottling. Initially the wine was extremely complex on the palate though somewhat closed on the nose (as Max noted in the Sorella) with menthol/mint/eucalyptus, black cherry, oak and a prune/raisin/sherry quality indicating, I guess, quite a ripe vintage. The color is very deep purple with no red or anything else on the rim. With air seemed like almost a cherry cough syrup. I can sense the cherry from the merlot and the faintly woodsy/spicy/slightly vegetal (not unpleasantly so) element from the cab franc. These together overwhelm the cabernet black currant element that would I assume be present without these two in the blend prominently. As we see from Parker the wine is 45% cab and 55% of cab franc, merlot and petit verdot. The acid was pronounced and the tannins moderately firm, suggesting long life given the very highly extracted fruit that will stand up to the acid and tannin. Moderately long finish. I'd guess this will go a good 10-15 years or more.

Used the vacuvin (no gas up here) and put in refrigerator. 24 hours later, today on Aug 17, the nose still was not very forthcoming. You can tell from the color and the restrained but pleasant and complex aroma that this is a keeper. The taste is less Bordeaux than California because the fruit is so forward. I suppose it's kind of St Emilion like, showcasing the Cab franc. Now about an hour after opening the Vacuvin stopper this thing is really cooking, even opening a bit on the nose.

Parker's tasting notes are a bit opaque to me (I don't know what grilled bread smells like, maybe what I think of as the combination of oak and sherry ripeness gives a burnt element) but the 94 points is just what I'd say.

On Wednesday, 2 days after opening, the wine was holding very well. More rounded now and the cab franc was more in evidence with a slight bit of vegetal on palate (not enough to spoil) while the nose remained soft, with a raspberry and violet tinge and still long balanced finish. I am really impressed with how well it's still drinking, a great sign for ageability.

Parker 94 points:

The 2005 Champoux Vineyard is made up of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. Purple-colored, it delivers an alluring perfume of pain grille, spice box, and violets. On the palate, it is layered, intense, and powerful. Its impeccable balance should allow it to evolve for up to a decade and drink well through 2030.

Andrew Will, located on pastoral Vashon Island, was founded in 1989 by former sommelier Chris Camarda. His focus is on blended, Bordeaux-style wines from some of Washington’s finest vineyards. The wines are made identically, the differences among them reflective of that vineyard’s terroir. He also produces a Syrah named in honor of his late wife. Chris Camarda’s efforts with Syrah deserve serious attention. The Annie Camarda Syrah is a blend of fruit from the Champoux and Ciel du Cheval Vineyards, two of eastern Washington’s finest.

Wine Spectator also 94 points so we're all agreed on the quality but WS sees a much shorter drinking window than Parker or I:

Seamless and harmonious, with beautifully articulated, ripe black cherry, cassis and violet-tinged floral notes that mingle with hints of cedar and dark chocolate as the finish plays out against polished tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2009 through 2015. 1,185 cases made. –HS

Torbreck Juveniles Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2008

This one is about on par with the earlier Aussie GSM in the blog, the Stone Horse. The nose here is pretty closed. Unusually then it was better on the palate at least initially. With some time in glass it opened a bit and had pleasant blueberry, raspberry and lavender. This version is 60% Grenache and 20 each of the others, and the dominance of Grenache could be detected, but the shiraz added its spicy note. Barely any tannin. Enough acid to be balanced. Not deep or complex. Won't get any better and should last a couple years but I think one can do better with a good Cotes du Rhone or another Australian GSM. 88 points. Having read about 2008 Stump Jump (D'Arenberg) which got 90 points from Parker and costs more like $11 I'm guessing that's a better choice where available.

Kunin 2006 pape*star central coast CA GSM blend

This was recommended when I went to Schneider's on Capitol Hill (DC) seeking good reasonably prices grenache based wines. Got several Australians along with a Spanish and this Central Coast California take. 14.7% alcohol. 50% grenache, 25% mourvedre and syrah. I'm not sure what mourvedre is supposed to taste like; I think it gives the wine more body, tannin and acid as well as color than a pure grenache would have. The grenache and syrah components seem quite apparent. The grenache offers its very pleasant sweet cherry, strawberry and vanilla huckleberry pie nose, along with the syrah's contribution of briary/woodsy/spicy fruit. The finish is moderately long and alcoholic warm with soft tannins and a good acid backbone nicely balancing the fruit. I wouldn't call it complex but it's certainly a satisfying, undemanding, forthcoming drink. I doubt this wine will improve but it should be drinking well for 2-3 more years. This is surely the equal of most Aussie GSM's but not in the league of De Lisio Grenache and not quite on par with the best GSM's I've had recently from Australia. Give it 90 points.

Parker gives it 88 points and seeing this makes me want to downgrade it to 89 but his basic description is close to mine and writing in 2008, a year ago, says it'll be good for 3-4 years which synchronizes with my 2-3 year estimate now. I would note that tasting a day later, on Aug. 11 after preserving with gas, the wine was gone already. This suggests the WS is correct to see its lifespan as limited:

The bistro-styled 2006 Pape Star, a blend of 50% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, and 25% Syrah, is a very good California interpretation of a well-made Chateauneuf du Pape. Pepper, spice, sweet cherry, currant, and earthy aromas jump from the glass of this delicious red. With terrific fruit, medium body, and no hard edges, it should provide plenty of pleasure over the next 3-4 years.

Wine Spectator also gives it 88 points but falls quite short on drinkability window since this bottle is certainly more than drinkable in August 2009 2 years after they predict it would be drinking well:

Fresh herb--almost minty--accents mingle with white pepper aromatics and the tasty plum, pomegranate and raspberry flavors. Smooth and polished, with intensity on the finish. Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah. Drink now through 2007.