2006 Barnard Griffin Merlot $13

A bit of Taste of Columbia Valley, with grapes being sourced from vineyards in 5 of the 7 of Columbia Valley’s growing areas. 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Syrah, aged 15 months in European oak. Alcohol is 14.1%

A deep dark red with black highlights. The nose is ripe red fruit, chocolate covered cherries and Swisher Sweets cigar. Big soft fruit flavors upfront, cherry, some strawberry and then vanilla followed by Altoids spice. You can feel a bite from the tannins and oak in the back of your mouth, not overly tannic, but the tannins are definitely there. A decent cherry vanilla finish.

I saw Sideways, I didn’t care that Myles hated Merlot, but for some reason in the years after that movie Merlot lost it’s way. But, Merlot is back, this is a good tasting, full bodied wine. Pair it with beef and pork cooked on the grill.

2008 Snoqualmie Winemaker’s Select Riesling $9

Columbia Valley, Washington wines can compete with Chilean and Argentinian wines in terms of price and quality. If your looking for bargains in American wine, it’s a good bet to look to Columbia Valley. The Winemaker’s Select Riesling is 90% Riesling, 5% Muscat Alexandria and 5% Viognier. Alcohol level is 10.5%.

The color is a light straw yellow.The aroma is sliced pears, dried apricots and the faint scent of lilacs. Syrupy  mouth feel, the flavors coat your mouth. Tastes of pears, sliced canned peaches and apricots. The finish is mostly apricot and it does linger. A slightly sweet wine for a dry wine.

A good tasting, light, crisp, fruity wine. A good cook-out, picnic wine.

2007 Charles & Charles Red $9

Charles & Charles are Charles Bieler (Three Thieves, among others) and Charles Smith (K Vintners). This is a 50/50 Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah blend. The grapes are all grown on the Wahluke Slope in the Columbia Valley, Washington in vineyards owned by the Milbrandt Family (for more on these vineyards http://tinyurl.com/2g7ja6k ). The Cabernet Sauvignon is aged in French oak barrels, while the Syrah is aged in stainless steel vats.

Now this is pretty cool, an American wine sourced from a single appellation, with some of the grapes seeing expensive French oak, all for under ten bucks. You see these types wines coming from South America or Spain, but it’s not easy for American Winemakers to pull this off. It’s safe to say Charles & Charles know what they are doing.

Dark clear ruby red in color. Dark fruit, leather and bitter dark chocolate on the nose. The blend of the oaked Cab and the unoaked Syrah works really well. The dark fruit and chocolate of the Cab hits first, then the bright fresh ripe fruit of the Syrah jumps out. The tannins are soft and there is crisp acidity present in the midpalate. The finish is chocolate covered blueberries.

Try this wine in a blind tasting with a $20 wine and a $30 wine, see if you can figure out which wine is the nine buck wine. The Charles & Charles Red will fool alot of people.

2009 Charles & Charles Rose’ Volume 2 $10

A joint effort involving Charles Bieler (Three Thieves and Rebel Wine; their The Show Cabernet Sauvignon is reviewed on this site) and Charles Smith (Charles Smith Wines and K Vintners; Kung Fu Girl Riesling, Eve Chardonnay and Boom Boom Syrah among others are also reviewed on these pages).Sourced from Syrah grapes grown in a single vineyard, the Talcott Vineyard in the Wahluke Slope area of Columbia Valley, Washington. The 2008 vintage recieved 90 pts in Wine Spectator.

Rose’ wines are made from red wine grapes, but with white wine-making methods. The red grape skins are removed from the grape juice after a short period of time, giving the Rose’ a much lighter color than traditional red wines. In the Charles and Charles Rose’ the grape skins are removed as soon as the grapes are pressed.

The color is peach fuzz pink. The nose is huge, strawberry shortcake and rose petals. The flavor is not sweet, but tart, crisp, refreshing. Tart strawberry dominates, then some rounder smoother melon kicks in. Tart light berry with a hint of lime finish. Good acidity and structure, a well constructed wine.

Rose’ wine is huge in Europe, in countries that have a Cafe’ culture. People sit in Cafe’s all night long and visit with friends while drinking wine. They need a crisp, light, but good tasting wine with a low or moderate alcohol level, and a good Rose’ fills the bill.

2008 Maryhill Winemaker’s Red – $12

Maryhill Winery was voted the Washington State Winery of the Year in 2009, if you have been following wines from Washington, then you know that is quite an honor. Located in The Columbia Valley, with Mt. Hood as a back drop. The Winemaker’s Red is their take on the classic Boureaux blend. The grapes a sourced from two Columbia Valley Vineyards, Millbrand Vineyard and Gunkel Vineyard. The wine is aged 10 Months in Stainless Steel, with oak staves added.(That means thin strips of oak are tossed into the vats to give the wine some oak taste, but not any aging capabilities)

One of our favorite things is when one of our favorite wines goes down in price and with Maryhill Winemaker’s Red that is the case.  For those of you that haven’t had this wine, it is a delicious blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Franc.  Upfront is tart cherry with a little spice and chocolate on the finish.  An absolute steal at this price.

for more information on this wine check with Jerry @ http://www.dobbysliquors.com/

2009 Kung Fu Girl Riesling $11

We reviewed the 2008 vintage of Kung Fu Girl and were impressed by the quality of the wine. Sourced from a single vineyard, the Evergreen Vineyard, located in the Columbia Valley region of Washington State. The label does not take itself too seriously, but the wine is a serious Riesling.

Real pretty nose, fragrant, delicate aromas of peaches, apricots, cut flowers and slate dust. A light oily mouth feel, tons of flavor exploding in the front of your mouth. Tastes of tangerines, apricots and a bit of minerality up front with lemon/lime in the back of the palate. A solidly constructed wine, not sweet at all, has the nice initial burst of fruit flavors, then the slightly tart mid-palate then a smooth long finish. Very well balanced, has enough acidity to stand up to asian food, but with enough fruit to make this a wine to drink on it’s own.

I was a big fan of the 2008 vintage and the 2009 is even better. Made by Charles Smith Wines, this is a Winemaker to take note of, he is making some really excellent wines in the under $20 price category.

2007 Columbia Crest Riesling – $7

The number one question we get asked this time if year is, “What wine would go with my Thanksgiving turkey dinner?”

Well, a lot of wines compliment turkey, but few quite as well as Riesling, and since Thanksgiving is an all-American holiday, give the German Riesling a rest and go with Riesling from Columbia Valley. Plus it IS among the best.

So, here comes Columbia Crest. Enough fruit for a harvest farm stand – apricots, pears, peaches and melons all getting together at the house this year.

Throw the coats on the bed, have a seat and take a sip of this crisp, refreshing white. Not too sweet, it’s terrifically tongue-loving. All those fruits present on the nose come back to party one more time in your mouth. Fine by itself, but wait ’til you sip it after a bite of Thanksgiving turkey! Its clean acidity, pure fruit flavors and mild alcohol (11.5%) bring a nice counter-balance of lightness to the feeling of heaviness as the dinner progresses.

Ever notice you never get any on Thanksgiving? Must be all the coats on the bed.

2008 Pacific Rim Riesling – $10

This organic, screw-top Riesling from Columbia Valley’s Pacific Rim has a lot going for it. Spritzy, but not too spritzy, it’s the “Sweet Tarts” of wine: sweet pears – but not too sweet – and golden pineapple tartness combine in your mouth for a refreshing “breezy summertime in Savannah” party.

Try it with Thai, chili, spicy Asian, Caribbean jerk chicken – or vanilla bean ice cream! Don’t expect much of a BUZZ from this wine though, 9% alcohol will only get beer drinkers tipsy. Unless of course you drink two bottles!

2005 Columbia Crest Two Vines Shiraz – $6

A 2005 Shiraz from Columbia Valley, Washington, the current vintage of Shiraz from Australia in this price range is 2008, so this wine has a nice bit of bottle age. Aged for 14 months, half in oak barrels, half in stainless. A splash of Cabernet Sauvignon to help with the nose and mouth feel. More attention to detail than you would expect for a wine that I picked up on-sale for $5.99. to top it off it’s a Wine Enthusiast “Best Buy”.

So, how does it taste? The answer is pretty good. A nice mellow fruit forward flavor, not a huge “fruit bomb”, more smooth black cherry with a touch of pepper. The finish evaporates quickly. Not a complex or lush wine, but drinks very well.

I usually avoid really inexpensive red wine, they seem to always have something that is not quite right about them, but the Columbia Crest was a solid shiraz. It was more than just bulk juice, somebody cared about what this wine tasted like. This would be a good “Playstation” wine, invite your buddies over for a Madden tournament, pop the top on a couple of bottles and you got a party started.

2008 Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling – $9

So Michalina’s cooking me dinner – a spicy chicken dish that smells as delicious as she does. When I get to her condo, DAMN!! I forgot to bring a wine! “Back in five, kochanie”, (Polish for “yo baby”) and I’m off, knowing I spotted a Dominick’s downstairs (that’s a chain of grocery stores in 312 that has a decent selection of wines) .

Once there, I spot a Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling for $9 chilled. Sold! Not only is Michalina Polish for Michelle, but if you know anything about Polish girls, you KNOW they likes their Riesling!

Back at her place, we enjoy a “primer” glass together while she puts the finishing touches on dinner. She couldn’t say enough about this wine – not too dry, not too sweet, nice and crisp and refreshing with lots of apples, melon and even a little lime.

Then we gave it a whole new level of appreciation when we started digging in (eating, I mean – other stuff came later). It went with her chicken dish like chocolate and strawberries. Like lingerie and sexy hips. Like bellies and jewelry. It was sweet but not too sweet, and it’s gentle sweetness was just the right counter to the spice of the chicken dish.

Chateau Ste Michelle is the oldest winery in Washington State and they are the LARGEST single producer of Riesling in the world (600,000 cases)! They were the winner of Wine Enthusiast’s American Winery of the Year in 2004, and have an amphitheater on their grounds in Woodinville, WA where you can drink their wines and see Styx or Tony Bennett (and others) in concert during the summer months.

Being around for so long and selling so much Riesling, it’s obviously not just Michalina & I that think their wines are a perennial solid choice for go-to consistency.

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