Six months ago, I had never even heard of the winery Maison Bleue, let alone it's talented winemaker Jon Martinez. The first time I even knew this winery existed was when I spotted it at the Taste of Washington. The funny part was I didn't even stop to taste the wine as I was saving my palate for evaluating the benchmark wines of the state! Even funnier was the fact that I'm pretty sure I didn't even take this winery seriously due to the drab label design that must have been attractive to Jon when he picked it.
It was at one of my Tuesday tasting group meetings that I became aware of the incredible talent of winemaker Jon Martinez. Doug and Heather brought the Boushey vineyard Grenache to taste blind and it was just amazing. I hadn't had another Grenache quite like it and was immediately intrigued. Not long after Debbie had him on the roster for our next winemaker event. To make a long story short, the wines of Maison Bleue turned out to be the hit of the event and all showed exceptionally well.
Not long after I had the opportunity to visit Jon at his winery in Prosser. I was visiting the area with other students from the winemaking program at SSCC and stopped in to taste the wines and get some insight from the winemaker. Jon started off by pouring us his late harvest Marsanne that just blew everyone away. This wine had loads of apple and pear peel, tons of citrus notes, and a floral character you could not ignore. Next we tasted Grenache from a cool site, Boushey vineyard, followed by the same varietal from a considerably warmer site, Alder ridge. The contrast of the two wines was very unique and highlighted the fact that Jon is a master of capturing the nuance of each site. Jon did the same with Syrah, starting us with a pour of Boushey vineyard Syrah, followed again by his Alder Ridge offering.
Just recently Jon has begun to receive acclaim from local and national critics and I think he is one to keep an eye on. If you are interested in trying one of his seamless wines, you will not be disappointed with his La Montagnette Grenache at under $20. If you are more into white wines, his Chardonnay is loaded with minerality and touched with just the right amount of oak.
Louis
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Quality on the rise in Washington
The buzz is still in the air from Jay Miller's recent visit to Washington, and for good reason. Washington has once again hit 100 point status with the 2007 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. Now Quilceda has hit 100 before, but a large number of Washington wineries were awarded some of their highest scores ever on this visit. I have heard time and again that the 2007 vintage in Washington was the reason for the quality of these wines. Yes, 2007 was a mighty fine vintage with many structured wines capable of some serious cellar time. The thing is, I have tasted many wines from the 2008 vintage that just plain shined and in some cases surpassed the quality of the 2007's.
The quality of Washington wine is going up. More students, like myself, are graduating from enology and viticulture programs every year than ever before. Winemakers are taking advantage of these programs as well to increase their knowledge of making quality wine. These scores are not simply the product of one good vintage. These scores are the reflection of our very young wine region beginning to get better.
Louis
The quality of Washington wine is going up. More students, like myself, are graduating from enology and viticulture programs every year than ever before. Winemakers are taking advantage of these programs as well to increase their knowledge of making quality wine. These scores are not simply the product of one good vintage. These scores are the reflection of our very young wine region beginning to get better.
Louis
Saturday, September 4, 2010
The Grandest of Washington vineyards
Two weeks ago I finally got the chance to visit some of Washington's greatest vineyards. This is something I have always wanted to do in order to make a greater connection with the wines I admire so much. This trip took me to such legendary names as Red Willow, Alder Ridge, Ciel du Cheval, and Boushey to name a few. Using the short time I had at each vineyard I noted just about everything aspect possible including training method, cordon height, TPA (tons per acre), clusters per shoot, size of fruit zone, cluster size, berry size, maturity, and taste of the fruit.
As I looked for similarities from one vineyard to the next, I could only find one common thread between all the locations I visited, no two growers were alike. Of course some of this must have to do with the requirements of each site. For instance cooler sites might leave less canopy cover than hotter sites that need more shade from the sun. A couple growers we talked with left more crop than they needed because they expect bird and animal loss every year.
As we arrived at each vineyard site, I got excited thinking that some day the rest of the world was going to find out about the quality of Washington wines. Standing in the lower block of Boushey vineyard, I can't help but to compare the fruit quality to the best of California, Australia, and even the legendary hills of Hermitage. Climbing a steep vineyard slope at Red Willow, known as the '86 Syrah block, I think to myself that this fruit is as good as any Syrah in the world.
Standing at the entrance to Ciel du Cheval at 9am waiting to comb through this hallowed ground, I thought of my Jancis Robinson book sitting on my coffee table at home. It's called Vines, Grapes, and Wines and features a hand drawn map of the most famed piece of soil in the Napa Valley, the Rutherford Bench. This detailed map shows each vineyard site from Robert Mondavi to the UC Davis research vineyards along it's three mile stretch. I have no doubt that this map is hanging on many a wall in every country in the world.
During our two hours at Ciel du Cheval, I gazed up the hill at Col Solare, peered at the back breaking Grand Reve vineyards, and got a close look at old fan trained vines of Mourvedre. Over the course of the day I made my way from Ciel du Cheval, into the tall vines of Kiona, and worked my way through the old block of Cabernet Sauvignon at Klipsun vineyard. This block of Cabernet at Klipsun was chosen by Andre Tchelistcheff as an ideal site for growing top quality Cabernet Sauvignon.
I can't help from wondering when a map of these grand Washington vineyards will grace the walls of wineshops in Paris, London, Napa, or Amsterdam? What will this bench of vineyards on the top of Red Mountain be known as?
Louis
As I looked for similarities from one vineyard to the next, I could only find one common thread between all the locations I visited, no two growers were alike. Of course some of this must have to do with the requirements of each site. For instance cooler sites might leave less canopy cover than hotter sites that need more shade from the sun. A couple growers we talked with left more crop than they needed because they expect bird and animal loss every year.
As we arrived at each vineyard site, I got excited thinking that some day the rest of the world was going to find out about the quality of Washington wines. Standing in the lower block of Boushey vineyard, I can't help but to compare the fruit quality to the best of California, Australia, and even the legendary hills of Hermitage. Climbing a steep vineyard slope at Red Willow, known as the '86 Syrah block, I think to myself that this fruit is as good as any Syrah in the world.
Standing at the entrance to Ciel du Cheval at 9am waiting to comb through this hallowed ground, I thought of my Jancis Robinson book sitting on my coffee table at home. It's called Vines, Grapes, and Wines and features a hand drawn map of the most famed piece of soil in the Napa Valley, the Rutherford Bench. This detailed map shows each vineyard site from Robert Mondavi to the UC Davis research vineyards along it's three mile stretch. I have no doubt that this map is hanging on many a wall in every country in the world.
During our two hours at Ciel du Cheval, I gazed up the hill at Col Solare, peered at the back breaking Grand Reve vineyards, and got a close look at old fan trained vines of Mourvedre. Over the course of the day I made my way from Ciel du Cheval, into the tall vines of Kiona, and worked my way through the old block of Cabernet Sauvignon at Klipsun vineyard. This block of Cabernet at Klipsun was chosen by Andre Tchelistcheff as an ideal site for growing top quality Cabernet Sauvignon.
I can't help from wondering when a map of these grand Washington vineyards will grace the walls of wineshops in Paris, London, Napa, or Amsterdam? What will this bench of vineyards on the top of Red Mountain be known as?
Louis
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