I live three miles away from Woodinville, Washington, a town with over two hundred wineries in it, including two major labels and a smattering of medium sized ones. Living here and not enjoying wine is like living in Colorado and not skiing. The grapes are typically grown in eastern Washington, but the wines are produced here, or are simply sold here in a tasting room. As it is a very short drive away, a frequent weekend activity is to stop into a local tasting room. With the COVID19 pandemic, however, the tasting rooms have been closed since mid March until this weekend, when we have FINALLY been able to come back. These are the wines we were able to try this past weekend.
1. Lord Lion
We started at Lord Lion, as we had a club release pickup waiting for us, and we didn’t know precisely how tasting would really work in phase one point five, but the tasting was as wonderful as always.
We went in, sanitized our hands, and were directed to a table a good distance from the other patrons. We were handed small glasses, and proceeded a flight of six newly released wines. Aside from the distance the poor folks had to wander about to pour wine, there really was not much different between pre-COVID times and post-COVID tasting.
One thing we especially love about Lord Lion is that Graham releases wines later than other winemakers in the area. This recent release included a 2014 Petit Sirah, a 2015 Malbec, a 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2016 oaked Chardonnay. Other wineries we visited were in the middle of their 2017s and 2018s releases. If you’re noticing that ‘everyone has the same stuff’, Lord Lion has an wonderfully atypical selection.
There are many things things to sample there. Graham always does a fantastic Viognier, and the 2019 was lovely, if a bit sweeter than the year before. His 2019 rosé of Sangiovese has been lovely for the past two years. The star in this release was the 2014 Petit Sirah. Full, inky dark, and lovely paired with a ribeye, or even something like a beef short-rib.
2. Adrice
Adrice was our second stop. Frankly, we stop there fairly often. With phase one point five, they were able to really open up the tasting room with large tables, a bar. and food served! Heather and I stopped in after calling ahead to make sure they could fit us in.
I do not have enough data to say for absolute certain (still working on collecting that), but Pam from Adrice may be one of the top 3 winemakers in the state. She simply does NOT make a bad bottle of wine. Her cheap stuff is great, and her expensive stuff is absolutely worth it! She is one of the few local producers that I will happily spend $75 on a good bottle for, although as I am budget conscious, I do enjoy my club discount for that particular bottle.
The tasting included a flight of six wines, and Heather and I also grabbed two charcuterie plates to keep up our strength. The takeaway favorites were: a damn near perfect 2019 Sauvignon Blanc from Yakima Valley; an award winning 2017 Red Blend called ‘Lift Off’ (which is a crazy steal at $25 a bottle); and a beautiful 2017 Malbec. Pam also poured us a pre-sneak-quel of a Cab / Barbera blend she’s got coming out in July, that will be some lovely stuff.
3. Long Cellars
Our final stop of the day was to an old favorite, Long Cellars. Jason is a mad scientist back there, but when he makes contact, he hits nothing but home-runs. Never one to stick with the same-ole ideas, the trick to tasting Long Cellars is to taste not only what the wine is now, but what it will be in 5-8 years.
Tasting room welcomed us warmly again, with a giant Frankenstein statue right up front. The room is small, but we were able to sneak into a table in the back, where we had been to two Long Cellars-hosted burlesque shows. Barrels everywhere, Heather was tempted to hunt around for a barrel thief, and eventually found one hidden away.
We tasted two whites, and two reds before our daughter called and requested a pickup from a ‘social distance pickup’, so unfortunately our tasting was cut short. The steal of the show was a 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, which tasted like fresh strawberry jam, which was unique and intriguing for a Long Cellars Cab. You could pair it with a light salad, and it wouldn’t be out of place. It was inexpensive, fresh and fruity with that classic peppery pull at the end that let you know it was a Cab. His 2018 Reserve Malbec proved absolutely wonderful and deep to finish the tasting, but as I said at the beginning, the best part will be waiting on it.
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