The Judgement of Fulton: California vs Washington

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It took only 9 days, but it is time to officially announce the results of the first annual Judgement of Fulton California vs Washington tasting. For those who did not participate in the tasting, fret not, as I’m sure the opportunity to taste blind 25 different wines from the two states will come up again next week.

The format consisted of 5 different categories of wines. The wines in each category were poured in random order and then the judges were asked to select a 1st through 3rd for each flight. Now without further ado, I present the results of the inaugural Judgement of Fulton:

Category 1: Miscellaneous whites (not Chardonnay)

1st: Harvest Moon 2009 Estate Dry Gewurztraminer Russian River Valley (CA)
2nd: Thomas George 2008 Dry Creek Valley Viognier (CA)
3rd (tie): Tertulia Cellars 2009 Viognier Lonesome Springs Ranch Yakima Valley (WA)
3rd (tie): Long Shadows Poet’s Leap 2009 Riesling Columbia Valley (WA)

Category 2: Chardonnay

1st: Buty 2009 Chardonnay Conner Lee Vineyard Columbia Valley (WA)
2rd: Gloria Ferrar 2007 Chardonnay Carneros (CA)
3rd: Foxglove 2008 Chardonnay Central Coast (CA)

Category 3: Syrah/Syrah Blends

1st: Rotie 2008 Northern Red Washington State (WA)
2nd: Graves 2006 Rock Candy Paso Robles (CA)
3rd: Tin Roof 2006 Syrah Sonoma Coast (CA)

Category 4: Merlot

1st: Three Rivers 2008 Merlot Champoux Vineyard Horse Heaven Hills (WA)
2rd: L’Ecole No 41 2007 Estate Merlot Seven Hills Vineyard Walla Walla Valley (WA)
3rd: Mill Creek 2005 Merlot Estate Dry Creek Valley (CA)

Category 5: Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends

1st: Fort Walla Walla 2006 Treaty Walla Walla Valley (WA)
2nd: Tamarack 2005 Sagemoore Vineyard Reserve Columbia Valley (WA)
3rd: L’Ecole No 41 2007 Estate Perigee Walla Walla Valley (WA)

In the end this was a good ‘ole fashioned romping by Washington over its broodingly large southern neighbor (ok, Oregon is in the way). Did I mention this tasting occurred in California and only had one judge from Washington (our own Eric Noreen)?

One of the tasters brought up an interesting point on these tastings: when forced to choose a wine out of a flight the tasting can become more of a process of elimination than a fair evaluation of the wines. Washington definitely provided the most fruit-forward reds, and that showed in the votes. All I can say is this: California, it’s time to start paying attention to Washington – they don’t only make Riesling up there.

For the list of all wines see here: http://terroirists.net/2010/12/16/complete-judgement-of-fulton-results/

What Can Browne do for You?

Today is Wine Wednesday. This is insignificant, other than being an annoyance on my Twitter feed. However, in the world of the Terroirists, wine was consumed this Wednesday. In fact, this Council of Variable Members meeting proved to be the first conducted in the absence of electricity, due to a freak wind storm which descended upon Walla Walla. Luckily we still had the iPhone to surf pointless internet videos dealing with socially adept unicorns.

2006 Browne Family Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley

Armed with our candles, we set out to rate this wine. During this process we discussed the writing of our manifesto, which is expected to be published within a week. We also decided that for this and future CoVM’s everyone should be required to drink a glass before submitting a score. There is no need to rush in the wine world… would you meet a dude and judge his entire life in 2 minutes? Probably, but that’s not fair when it comes to wine. We figure 10 minutes gives a much better snapshot.

This cab is made by the same peeps who create Waterbrook, one of Walla Walla’s oldest and largest wineries, founded in 1984. Might as well Jump. Coming in at $50, it certainly stands above the rest of the crowd at Precept brands, who now owns Waterbrook. The wine is tasty, and in fact it is the first wine ever to score 90 points in a Council meeting. I was not alone in feeling that the wine is over-oaked, and it wouldn’t surprise me nor Eric if at least one of those barrels was American. Coconut abounds, and the mid-palate leaves more to be desired, but I would not want it any other way.

Mike’s score: 91
Eric’s score:90
Steven’s score: 89 (unblind)

Council of Variable Members score: 90

Constant over-stimulation numbs my palate, and that is the case with this wine. It should be noted that it was more popular than the other unlabeled wine which was occupying a strikingly similar position on the table, and if this were the case quite often one would not be surprised so much as complacent.

The Precursor to the Precursor

There comes a point where where being a wine blogger in the heart of a wine country can be tricky. All was well in Walla Walla today – it’s Mike’s birthday and we feasted upon great salmon and locally slaughtered asparagus. It became trickier when Mike unleashed a brown-bagged wine for us to rate.

2007 Walla Walla Vintners Pepper Bridge Vineyard Malbec

We had just arrived at the HQ from a great tour at Tero Estates (review to be posted soon), and the cooking process had begun while NHL playoffs resonated throughout the living room. Mike poured a wine into the house decanter and we took a gander. We mostly agreed on one thing: the wine is good, solid, but simple. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the wine and there are a few things which are very enjoyable. The nose smelled of fruit (cherries or cranberries maybe), some oak, maybe a bit of a skunk (in a good way), and as Eric says: mayonnaise. Pepper Bridge Vineyard is one of Walla Walla’s biggest and best, but in this wine I wish it could have delivered more tannins. This Malbec would actually probably be quite popular; it’s smooth, supple, and delicious. A case against wine critics has been made tonight, but the Terroirists live on.

Mike’s score: 90 (unblind)
Eric’s score: 87
Nathaniel’s score: 86
Steven’s score: 84

Council of Variable Members score: 87

87 points isn’t anything to be ashamed of, but I think we all expected more out of this wine than it delivered. At least we had hockey to entertain us.

My Chardonnay is Buttery

It’s a good thing that Eric was absent in tonight’s Council meeting, otherwise it’s likely that ten points would have to be subtracted from the Council score. That and Eric might still be puking in the sink.

2006 Pend Oreille Idaho Chardonnay

This wine is from Idaho. Previous to tonight the only Idahoan wine I’d passed through my lips was a late harvest Riesling. Needless to say, neither Mike nor Jason guessed Idaho on this, but then again it’s pretty dominated by oak and malolactic fermentation by-products (namely Diacetyl). Somehow it works though; maybe it’s because the acid is a bit crisper than its California counterparts, or maybe it’s because we had just had a great dinner at Brasserie Four with a nice Crozes-Hermitage. When in doubt always pick the Crozes. Actually, that’s not true at all.

Back to the point of this reflection: the wine is actually quite interesting and it was good enough to warrant an above-average score by the Terroirists. While it doesn’t match the 2006 Chassagne Montrachet which I was lucky enough to try tonight, with what role it plays it plays it well. Chardonnay works so well at times in Burgundy that I’m not sure why we bother to plant it over here. Maybe we should stick to a white wine Europe can’t grow as well, such as…. umm…. well there must be something. Oh, Seyval Blanc.

Mike’s score: 90
Jason’s score: 88
Steven’s score: 87 (unblind)

Council of Variable Members score: 88

We are still waiting on the first 90+ Council meeting. If tomorrow was not the date of the party of the century in Walla Walla it could potentially come soon. For now, just wait longer.

Monday Night Guy Buffet

This Monday night brings us an equally mediocre bottle of fermented grape juice. Back in 2002 somebody created this wine.

2002 Guy Buffet Merlot Central Coast

This Label Sucks

In keeping with tradition another California Merlot has basked in the realm of quaffation. This wine does not display terroir, and as far as we know it doesn’t exist outside of the Casa de Terroirists. Never before has a wine smelled so much like strawberry jam. The wine is bitter, less-than-desirable, but drinkable. Our two guests tonight apparently have more discerning palates than do the core Terroirists, but this wine still breaks the record for the lowest scoring CoVM wine to date in the council’s young existence. In the interest of ratings the writing stops here.

Mike’s rating: 83 (unblind)
Steven’s rating: 84
Robbie’s rating: 80
Sam’s rating: 78

Council of Variable Members Rating: 81

Thanks for reading. Wine recommendations may result from future Council meetings – just not this one.