Vineyard Designation can be Reason Enough to Purchase Some Wines
By Bob Woehler
Vineyard-designated wines regularly offer superb quality. And
in the Northwest, Chateau Ste. Michelle's Cold Creek
Vineyards is a consistent standout.
Sometimes the vineyard designation alone is reason to buy. Prime
examples include Canoe Ridge and Champoux in the Horse
Heaven Hills, Boushey and Red Willow in the Yakima
Valley; Klipsun and Ciel du Cheval on Red Mountain;
Seven Hills and Pepper Bridge in the Walla Walla Valley;
and Conner-Lee and Gamache in the Columbia Basin.
Cold Creek likely is the oldest of the bunch, with 30-year-old
vines producing some of the best cabernet sauvignon around.
On the upwind side overlooking the giant Hanford nuclear
reservation, Cold Creek seems like one of the last places to
establish a vineyard.
The site was recommended by the late Dr. Walter Clore, a pioneer
viticulturist who liked the lay of the land, the soil and the
climate at Cold Creek.
The fruit off these tough vines has a power and concentration
that comes only with age. In fact, Cold Creek is older than most
Napa Valley vineyards, because many Napa vines have had to be
replanted in the last decade.
The site was planted in 1973, initially in riesling and cabernet,
and first harvested in 1975. The vineyard comprises 660 acres of
chardonnay, riesling, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, cabernet
franc, grenache, sauvignon blanc and muscat canelli.
I had the chance last fall to taste several different vintages of
Cold Creek cabs along with Chateau Ste. Michelle head winemaker Bob
Bertheau and the Wine Press Northwest staff.
Bertheau summed up the reason for vineyard-designated wines.
"There's a distinct style that's consistent among all Cold Creek
wines, red and white," he said. "The weathered old vines produce
incredibly aromatic, rich, concentrated wines -- wines with big
shoulders and built to age."
Some of my favorites of the tasting included:
Cold Creek 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon -- Bold black cherry
and raspberry aromas lead to rich berry flavors with some nice milk
chocolate overtones. Complex and powerful, this wine can cellar
quite nicely.
Cold Creek 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon -- Still lively and
youthful with subtle juicy flavors. The entry is currants and
leather, followed by intense blackberry and currant flavors and
ideal tannins, joined at the end by allspice.
Cold Creek 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon -- Wow! A delicious
beautiful integration of oak and ripe blueberry and blackberry
flavors. Ready to drink now. Lingering tobacco and oak finish.
Cold Creek 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon -- Chewy yet smooth
with tremendous flavors of raspberries and ripe cherries. The aromas
are upfront, laced with licorice, spice, vanilla and a hint of mint.
Cold Creek 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, $24 -- The current
release offers concentrated dark chocolate and blackberry aromas and
flavors. It begins with aromas of earth and oak and ends with rich
berry flavors that intensify.
New releases
These wines were tasted by a Wine Press Northwest magazine
panel and were termed "outstanding," the panel's highest rating. The
tasters do not know either the winery or the type of wine when
reviewing. A wine must receive a unanimous vote to gain an
outstanding rating.
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2003 Horse Heaven Vineyard sauvignon
blanc Columbia Valley, $15 -- A beguiling nose of apple, key
lime, smoke, heavy toast, slate and petrol gives way to even more
fruit on the palate, with round flavors of pears, pineapple and
Granny Smith apples.
Snoqualmie Vineyards 2004 Naked gewrztraminer Columbia Valley,
$11 -- The naked comment is a whimsical way to say this is an
organic wine that has lost nothing in the process. Classic spice
with rosemary herb aromas. Nice mineral components that blend well
with the zesty grapefruit and passionfruit flavors.
Barrelstone Winery 2003 syrah Columbia Valley, $10 --
Precept Brands out of Sunnyside hit the mark with a syrah that's
launched with aromas of cherries, hazelnuts and cedar. An opulent
mouth feel includes flavors of black cherries, mint, toasted oak and
some meaty qualities.
Hoodsport Winery 2003 Orca Series cabernet sauvignon Columbia
Valley, $9 -- All sorts of rich bramble berries, tobacco and
toast are in the aromas, with flavors of black currants, juicy black
cherries and boysenberries held up by good tannin management and
nice acidity.
- - -
Visit the more than 50 wineries in the Yakima Valley wine country
during Presidents Day weekend Feb. 18-20. Each winery pairs
sumptuous chocolate desserts with red wines.
People can purchase a "reserve ticket" for $20 and enjoy
exclusive benefits during the weekend. Reserve tickets offer a
variety of specialty red wine and chocolate pairings, library
tastings and tours not available to the public. Even without a
ticket, the public can enjoy an array of red wines and chocolate.
Ticket holders also will get a 15-ounce Wine Yakima Valley wine
glass. Purchase tickets online at
www.wineyakimavalley.org.
Ticket buyers will receive an e-mail asking which winery they
would like to begin their tour with. Upon confirmation, tickets will
be waiting at their first stop.
Bob Woehler
has been writing about grapes and wines of the Pacific Northwest
since 1978. His columns appear twice monthly in the Tri-City
Herald in Tri-Cities, Wash. and in Wine
Press Northwest.
Send
e-mail to Bob Woehler
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