WTN: Two WA Winners

2006 HESTIA SEMILLON COLUMBIA Washington Semilons are "best drunk young," writes Paul Gregutt in the recently released second edition of his "Washington Wines and Wineries," the definitive WA wine book. Generally I agree that in our state this varietal is at its best not long after release, but while the Hestia was delicious when I bought it two and a half years ago it's even better now and I'm left wondering if it is going to get even finer. At a delicious drinking point, this is possibly the most scrumptious Washington pure Sem I've ever had, in the same top-of-the-line class with Delille's Chaleur Estate, maybe the state's best sauv-sem blend. But while Delille relies a lot on oak (although it's a little less oaky every year) Hestia seduces with fruit and creamy mouthfeel. I paid twenty-five bucks for it three years ago at the winery.

2008 GRAMERCY CELLARS CABERNET SAUVIGNON COLUMBIA VALLEY LOWER EAST Just about every noteworthy Cab needs a few years in the bottle but this one is crying to be drunk today, 48 hours after I bought it from a neighboring wine merchant. Made from the Cabernet and Merlot left over after Gramercy makes its annual Cab blend, and apparently from young vines, this is a fruity little tannin free champion in the lightweight class. Why "Lower East"? Walla Walla is in the lower east corner of Washington, says their website, and the winery owners used to hang out in Manhattan's lower east side, blah, blah, blah.... Drink it when you're tired of Beaujoulais and Dolcetto. I paid $27.39 and it was worth every penny.

Semillon always intrigues me so thanks for the TN. La Frenz in the BC Okanagan does a superb one too.

Sem intrigues me, too, Bob. My no doubt pariochial view of the varietal is that, with the exception of Australia, Washington makes the best pure dry Semillons I've ever tasted. The fifteen WA wineries that Paul Gregutt claims make the state's finest varietally labeled Semillon are Airfield Estates, Amavi Cellars, Andrew Will, Cuvee Lucia, Ardenvoir, Barnard Griffin, Beresan, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Chinook, Columbia, Columbia Crest, Fidelitas, Hestia, L'Ecole No. 41, Merry Cellars, and Novelty Hills. Of those, the wineries I've had the most delightful Sem experiences with include Amavi, Ardenvoir, Beresan, Chinook, and Hestia. (I haven't tasted all fifteen.)

Sauv-Sem blends, of course, are another matter and reach heights in Bordeaux that Washington can only dream of. And not everyone shares our enthusiasm for varietally labeled Semillon, Bob, maybe partly because it's not always the easiest match with food, although tonight with St. Andre cheese the Hestia was absolutely lip-smacking luscious.

There are some well-established names there. Some of those wineries are here but guess the Semillon would be tough to find!
I am quite keen on the Brokenwood from Oz but never quite sure how long to cellar?

There are some well-established names there. Some of those wineries are here but guess the Semillon would be tough to find!
I am quite keen on the Brokenwood from Oz but never quite sure how long to cellar?

The Brokenwood Semillon designed for the long haul is called the ILR Reserve. The standard Brokenwood label does not have the pedigree of Tyrrell's Vat 1/HVD/Stevens etc or the better gear from McWilliam's Mount Pleasant winery, the Lovedale Semillon. The Mount Pleasant Elizabeth (their standard label) has a very strong cellaring history going back several decades. The 1984 Lovedale is still rated the best Semillon I've ever tasted alongside the absurdly freakish 1970 Lindeman's Hunter River Chablis Bin 3875 (Classic Release) and the 1986 Tyrell's Vat 1. I have scored all these wines in excess of 95 points at various times but would think only the best bottles of Tyrrell's and pristinely cellared bottles of the '84 Lovedale would still be intact. The Lindemans was by far the most consistent wine of the three thus still rates the highest in my pecking order but I have not heard any brilliant reports on this wine for almost a decade now.

[Jenise]

Clint, that's interesting news! Based on your initial recco about two years ago I secured some of the Hestia and liked it so much my stash didn't last very long.

Clint, although I haven't kept as current as I would like on WA Semillons, I share your enthusiasm for the variety. And I'd agree with you and Gregutt that WA produces some of the best Semillon in the world. Totally different from the Aussie versions too, I might add, as befits the difference in place and attitude.

Semillon is a curious little variety, and sometimes the products of it are strange...but when it's good, it can be compelling and beguiling. To me there is a certain...let's say viscosity...that is the hallmark of the best Semillon, along with some tobacco-leaf and fruit and vegetal characteristics. But my problem with Semillon is that so many of them seem so dull, oxidized, flat and bland. So it pays to be picky. Paul Gregutt has a great palate though, and he knows whereof he speaks in regard to the wines of WA, so he's as good a guide as there is, I think.

Thanks for these notes.

Hoke, I agree that Gregutt has proven to be the best source of advice on Washington wines. The recently published second edition of his book "Washington Wines & Wineries" is good, as it should be given Gregutt's long experience researching and writing similar WA wine books, beginning in 1994 with his pocket guide, "Northwest Wines," which he updated every couple of years or so until the publication of the first edition of "Washington Wines and Wineries" in 2007. The wine industry here has been expanding so rapidly that it obviously takes a lot of work to keep on top of things.

Congratulations on your new column.

2008 GRAMERCY CELLARS CABERNET SAUVIGNON...Drink it when you're tired of Beaujoulais and Dolcetto...

Talk about a non sequitur!

Non sequitur? Maybe I used to watch too much Monty Python.

What I had in mind was that like Dolcetto and Beaujoulais this little Cab is minor poetry, no big deal. I could have (should have?) said that.

What I had in mind was that like Dolcetto and Beaujoulais this little Cab is minor poetry, no big deal. I could have (should have?) said that.

Ok, I guess that makes sense.

Not sure I would refer to the entire categories of Dolcetto and Beaujolais as minor poetry, but plenty of other folks have, so I see where you're coming from.

There are some well-established names there. Some of those wineries are here but guess the Semillon would be tough to find!
I am quite keen on the Brokenwood from Oz but never quite sure how long to cellar?

Bob, cellaring the Brokenwood Semillon would make for an interesting experiment. I have had the wine twice (I think), and found it to be quite lean. I wonder if it would not improve with a bit of time becoming a more rounded filled out wine. perhaps, with more fruit coming to the front. Just a thought.

From the archives.

Just opened the entry level `07 Brokenwood Semillon (SC) we were talking about above. Initial thought is thankfully not oxidized and think will come around in an hour. Still a pale lemon color, good length, fair acidity, melon, lemon flavors. Will post fuller note later but this is still good.

A comment and a question. I just finished following this old, updated thread and see no mention of Kalin Semillon. They make, in my mind, the most delicious, balanced, ageable and flavorable Cal. example of the variety but they do not make a lot of it and in Ohio it is now impossible to find. When David Schildknecht brought them in to The Party Source, in Newport Ky. I would buy them there and they were probably 10 years old or older at that time.

I only have a single bottle of Semillon, the Kaesler Old Vine 2008 from the Barossa valley. Closed with a screw cap, and an abv of %14, does this wine have the ability to age?