NYTimes: LakeChelan Wines

An interesting article in today's NYTimes on the LakeChelan region in WashState:
NYTimes:LakeChelan

I particularly liked the story behind HardRowToHo Wnry:

Hard Row to Hoe, known for a cabernet franc with whiffs of spice and chocolate, opened in 2006, though it did so under the less-than-memorable name of Balsamroot Winery and Vineyard, Ms. Phelps said. Hiring a historian to dig up local stories, they rechristened the winery in 2008 with a saucy nod to miners of the late 1930s who used to row across the lake at night to a waterfront brothel. Sample the Shameless Hussy viognier, which has fruits that pop; a sharp eye will see silhouettes of nude women that pop out of the antique-style wallpaper.

These are wineries I'm not familiar with. Don't think I've had any LakeChelan wines.

Tom

[Jenise]

Tom, thanks for the article, will definitely read it. But before I do I'll admit I've only had a few Lake Chelans, and regrettably I've not been terribly impressed. The best--as in well-made, ready for the big time--wines I've had came from a winery called Tildeo. Unfortunately those are in the big/plush/velveteen style so I don't buy them for our cellar. Hard Row to Hoe has been getting some good press--one just has to find the wines to try them, and I've never seen them in this part of the state--in fact, the only one of their wines I've tried, and I believe it was a Sauv Blanc, I bought in Idaho. Go figure. Have also tried a few from Vin du Lac, I think the name was--through Costco of all people--but wasn't impressed.

It's good to see the NYT recognizing the area. I think Lake Chelan is one of the most promising terroirs in the state in the long term, especially for whites, although I've also had some excellent cool-climate Syrah. Most of the AVA's potential is unrealized by the wineries at present IMHO. I've traveled there a couple times, and visited many, if not most of the wineries in the area. My impressions:

Nefarious Cellars is clearly the cream of the crop to me. They do good to excellent reds and whites. I've really liked their Viognier and "Consequence", a white blend, and for reds, they do several excellent Syrahs, especially "Rocky Mother". Also I like the red blend, "The Spinner." We carry Nefarious in the shop sometimes, although not as often as we should.

Next tier of wineries:
Tsillan Cellars is a real tourist trap of a tasting room, but if you look past that, some of their wines are good. They have a dry Riesling I liked, a Gewurz and a GSM that was worthwhile last time I tasted. They make a lot of different wines, and I'd suggest tasting through to find some gems. We've carried some of their wine, but we don't have any at present. I need to go taste there again.

Tildio Winery is hit and miss, but worth a try. Better whites than reds for my taste. I've had some really terrific Viognier from them, although last time I tried, the current vintage was too cloying for me. They're on to another vintage though, and I'll check in with them when I'm visiting again next month.

Hard Row to Hoe has a consistently good, but not exceptional lineup. Worth a visit.

Cairdeas Winery may be a top-tier winery in the Chelan AVA, but I've only tasted there once, so I hesitate to include them at the top just yet. They had a couple good white Rhone blends, and an excellent Syrah when I visited last summer, and I will definitely go visit them again next month.

I can't think of another winery in the area I'd especially recommend visiting, although Rio Vista is kind of fun if you are boating on the Columbia River. They have a place you can tie up your boat and you can picnic on their lawn. It was quite a scene the day I was there last summer.

I just got back from another trip to Lake Chelan last weekend. It was really more of a vacation than a serious wine-scouting trip, but I did manage to get three winery visits in. We inadvertently came on Crush Festival weekend - I usually try to avoid wine festival weekends - and the tasting rooms were very crowded on Saturday.

Nefarious Cellars
For whites, we tasted Viognier, Consequence, Roussanne/Marsanne and Riesling. Consequence has been a winner for me in the past, but this year, it seems in the range of off-dryness that I don't prefer. Heather says the Sauv Blanc in the blend is done in an off-dry style, and it does taste of a very ripe Sauv Blanc style - kind of a nectarine thing going on. The Roussanne and Marsanne in the mix add some depth to the blend. The Roussanne/Marsanne on its' own was great though. In fact, I'd say it's one of the best Washington whites I've tasted in a while. It has all the broad, nutty notes I love in a good Southern Rhone wine, and it's just firm enough to carry it off. We'll have some of this in the shop this week.

For reds, we tried RX-3, a GSM blend, heavy on the M, which was OK. The two Syrahs showed better. Defiance Syrah had an appealing note of garrigue. We also got to try a bottle sample of the 12 Rocky Mother Syrah, which will be released in spring. It turns up the volume a bit, with a good dose of minerality.

Hard Row to Hoe Winery
These guys make a ton of different wines, and we only tasted through about 1/3 of what they make.

We tried Chardonnay, Gewurz, and a Riesling/Gewurz blend called 'Nauti Boy'. The blend was very good, with the Gewurz leading on the nose, but not blowsy in any way. On the palate, the Riesling took over with a dry finish. The Chardonnay had a good amount of oak but the fruit held on. Pretty good. The Gewurz was dry and just fine.

They were showing a rose, 'Shameless Hussy'. I wish it were a little more shameless! It was a sagniee of four or five varieties, and tasted like it. It was perfectly inoffensive.

We tasted Sangiovese, Primitivo, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc on the red side. One of these, the Primitivo, was very noticeably flawed, with a strong sherry note. To be fair, I should say that the fellow in the tasting room told us that the reds were all opened the day before. I don't think that explains what I tasted though. The other reds were unremarkable, except the Estate Cabernet Franc was enjoyable. Unfortunately it's also priced at $42, and at that price I expect more than merely enjoyable.

Hard Row showed us the winner of the weekend, but it wasn't wine. It was Ice Cider. Wow! This was made from Braeburn apples, frozen after harvest. It's got the full-up unctuousness of a dessert wine, with 26% RS, but it hardly comes across as sweet. The flavor profile actually leads with fresh apple acidity, and the Braeburns add a little tannin to the mix to further ramp down the cloy factor. This is $40 for a 375, and well worth it. It'll be in the shop soon, in spite of an ugly label.

Cairdeas Winery
On a previous trip, I had visited Cairdeas (say "Car-dees") and noted potential, so I really wanted to go back. They've moved into a much easier to find location, right on the road between Chelan and Manson on the north side of the lake, and will soon be planting grapes on their own property. This time, they had by far the best overall lineup of the weekend, and I now think these are the guys to watch in the Chelan AVA. They're concentrating on Rhone-style blends. We did taste on Bordeaux-style blend, with all five grape varieties, but I understand they won't be making that one any more.

The one white they were showing is called 'Southern White', a blend of Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Picpoul and Viognier. This has the nuttiness on the nose I like, but on the palate, it' bright and peachy.

The reds are TRI, Consonance (the Bordeaux blend) and Counoise. TRI is a NV blend of Grenache, Mourvedre Syrah, with a bit of Petit Sirah thrown in. Good and spicy! Consonance has all five of the Bordeaux varieties in it. Open and ready for business, and mercifully not overoaked. The Counoise was quite bright and fresh, and it seemed to be a tasting room favorite. We'll have the whole Cairdeas lineup in the shop this week.

[Jenise]

Some really interesting stuff there, Dave. Maybe I need to stop by your shop and pick up some samples; Chelan wines would be a good neighborhood tasting theme.

Thanks for the trip report.