Eric LeVine
Grape Sorter
Posts:384
 | | 11/09/2004 12:03 AM |
| Quote:
I saw a bottle of the 2000 Doeyenne at a clearance rack at Whole Foods - maybe I should give it a go.
The Doyenne is OK, not outstanding. You are doing better with the Chaleur Estate and the Harrison Hill in my opinion. Here are my notes on the 2000 Doyenne.
- 2000 DeLille Cellars Syrah Doyenne - Washington, USA (4/7/2004)
Dinner with Mom & Bob. With braised lamb shanks I figured it would be nice to reach for some Syrah, and I wondered how this one was shaping up after nearly 18 months in the cellar. The nose shows loads of cheddary oak, blueberry, violet, and a pretty heavy dose of alcohol. This is ripe to say the least at 14.9%. On the palate this was a puppy dog, very primary and explosive yet changing constantly for a couple of hours. With enough air this settled down a bit and showed a nice peppery character and excellent structure with juicy blueberry and blackberry poking through. The wood is well absorbed by the fruit, and the mid palate is the highlight of this wine. On the finish this shows excellent length and concentration, but there is a bit too much alcohol poking out. This is an interesting wine, and I will be curious to see what my other bottle does with a few more years. (87 pts.)
- 2000 DeLille Cellars Syrah Doyenne - Washington, USA (8/6/2003)
Tasted at the MI Wine Club winemaker's dinner with Chris Upchurch at Flying Fish. On the nose this shows an amazing peppery element with a slight hint of apricot from the Viognier in the blend. On the palate the peppery nature continues, and this shows much less jamminess and overbearing fruit than I recall from last November. Extreme black fruits, lots of acid. Not showing its best right now. (88 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker! | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Fermenter
Posts:667
| | 11/09/2004 1:01 AM |
| Quote:
I saw a bottle of the 2000 Doyenne at a clearance rack at Whole Foods - maybe I should give it a go.
How much is it? I would swipe this up if I saw it on a "clearance rack" but lately there's been alot of good stuff on sale. Larry's was clearing out McCreas at 1/2 price a few weeks ago.
Maybe it's just different strokes, but I have always found the Doyenne to be one of the best Washington Syrahs. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 11/09/2004 1:14 AM |
| eric,
thanks for the notes. i agree qc is a different animal and needs to be treated as such. | | | |
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dbw4
Grape Puncher
Posts:902
| | 11/09/2004 2:19 PM |
| Good stuff.
We have bled together a few different WA wine types here, so I have a more specific question and comment.
Washington Cab or Merlot aging: the oldest such wines I have had are 1995 Cold Creeks and the like. I enjoyed them and got more Black fruit and smoothness over secondary carmel and other flavors. I have a bunch of 98, 99 and aa few 00 sleeping. What direction can I expect them to go?
Comment: I have found WA syrah to be very candied and sweet when young. Not my cup of tea now, it seems hard to spend $$ to take a guess that these will age into something I like? Comments? Older WA syrah experience?
I realize this is still a set of general questions, but I want to steer back to an aging profile of WA wines.
Thanks,
DBW | | | |
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Al_ksyrah
Barrel Filler
Posts:1044
| | 11/09/2004 2:31 PM |
| As far as syrahs, I'm far from an expert but from my experience there are an awful lot of new producers, so results are pretty varied. If I were to make a generalization, it would be that there seems to be more gaminess and smokiness than in Cali syrahs. Were the "candied" examples from lower-priced syrahs? For most of these wines, there isn't data on long term ageability. I've liked enough of the wines that I'm interested in acquiring more.
-Al | | | |
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dbw4
Grape Puncher
Posts:902
| | 11/09/2004 3:33 PM |
| Al k,
Yes, the candy/sweet verions (maybe gamey, too) were under $30 versions. I will try to remember or find notes. But once again, a small sample and from newer wines.
Not much to go on......
DBW | | | |
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Eric LeVine
Grape Sorter
Posts:384
| | 11/09/2004 4:44 PM |
| My favorite younger Syrahs are those from Bob Betz. His 2002's are a bit ripe, but the 2000's and 2001's didn't have any of the blueberry cough syrup that I tend to hate in WA Syrah.
I once tasted a Grenache/Syrah blend from Doug McCrea, Tierra del Sol. This was non-vintage although actually a mix of fruit from 1995 and 1996. It was short on depth, but the nose screamed of southern Rhone with the most garrigue I have smelled anywhere outside of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Not much depth on the palate though. Alas, the Grenache vines used to make this wine froze out in 1996, and Doug is just now back at full steam with a broader complement of Grenache, Syrah, Mourverdre, and Counoiuse.
I don;t really have any other data on Syrah ageing here in Washington. | | | |
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jaimetown
DC area
Wine Bottler
Posts:3488
| | 11/09/2004 4:50 PM |
| Quote:
Quote:
I saw a bottle of the 2000 Doyenne at a clearance rack at Whole Foods - maybe I should give it a go.
How much is it? I would swipe this up if I saw it on a "clearance rack" but lately there's been alot of good stuff on sale. Larry's was clearing out McCreas at 1/2 price a few weeks ago.
Maybe it's just different strokes, but I have always found the Doyenne to be one of the best Washington Syrahs.
Queen - clearance at Whole Foods here mean around $35. It was something like $50 before.
As for older vintages of WA wine, the oldest I had was a magnum of 1995 Canoe Ridge Christmas Cuvee that was fantastic earlier this year. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Truck Driver
Posts:42
| | 11/10/2004 12:03 AM |
| Wow Eric
You had a busy Weekend!
Thank you for sharing your notes.
I'm picking up a Ross Andrew order this weekend and look forward to tasting the '01.
You also make a compelling arguement for visiting the Cadence HQ.
I shall not delay. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 11/10/2004 1:34 AM |
| welcome to vc lorenzo  | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10777
| | 11/10/2004 2:05 AM |
| Lorenzo - another "Welcome to VinoCellar!".
from an ex-Bellvueite - I probably should not admit to that. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Truck Driver
Posts:42
| | 11/10/2004 4:15 AM |
| Thanks.
You guys sure are friendly around here.
>>from an ex-Bellvueite - I probably should not admit to that.
Nah. I don't discriminate.
I go to Bellevue all the time, now that they have a Whole Foods.
You are talking about the town... not the hospital, right? | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10777
| | 11/10/2004 1:55 PM |
| | Yes, the town. Where is the Whole Foods? Trader Joe's was close to my house when I lived there but no Whole Foods. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Truck Driver
Posts:42
| | 11/10/2004 4:41 PM |
| The Bellevue location is their second in the area (after Roosevelt.) It is located at 116th and 8th, just down from Larry's.
Whole Foods is expanding pretty quickly in the region. They are currently signed up, or linked to the following locations:
Redmond, Interbay, South Lake Union and Issaquah. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Fermenter
Posts:667
| | 11/10/2004 6:31 PM |
| Hi Lorenzo - why do you go to Bellevue for Whole Foods when there's Roosevelt?
Not too many people still think of the Hospital, but I still do - every time. 
You'll need to make an appointment with Ben to see the Cadence Headquarters, I'm sure he'd be happy to give you the grand tour.
Again, he'll be pouring his new releases at McCarthy & Schiering (both stores) this Saturday. Ross's (Ross Andrew) wine pick-up and tasting is this Sunday. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Truck Driver
Posts:42
| | 11/10/2004 9:13 PM |
| Roosevelt can be a hassle for me to get to and the Bellevue store is larger and less crowded. The only downside is no Jamba Juice, and the cheese and meat department have been a little slow to ramp up. They are so service oriented though, everytime I mention a cheese (smoked ricotta) or meat (turkey capacola) that they are missing, it is stocked when I return. Also they are making a real effort in Bellevue to improve their wine department. We shall see. I remember reading that one of their new stores (do not remember which location) is scheduled to be 5,000 sq ft larger than Bellevue!
Thanks for the info on the wine activites this weekend. I'll be at the Ross release, and will probably schedule with Ben soon for a winery visit. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts:1210
| | 11/15/2004 5:37 PM |
| I tasted much of the 02 Cadence line-up at McCarthy Schiering this weekend. I didn't right up anything on the spot, but some brief impressions..
Coda- 87 points, decent table wine but fairly simple
Ciel du Cheval- 90- Earthy, Chalky, Can really tasted the franc. I enjoyed, but really a bit dis-jointed in the mid palate.
Tapteil- 92 Big lush wine, with good intensity. Good balance, with big tannins. A bit grainy on the finish.
Bel canto- 89-90 A bit austere, but seems like it has something hidden in reserve. Would like to re-visit but feel the price tag is about $15 too high.
Also priveleged to taste the 1998 Tapteil. Starting to come around aromatically with some lovely floral notes. Still pretty reserved on the palate though. 90 points.
Alos got a chance to visit Rossat his open house on Sunday..
2001 Ross Andrew- 89- Was tasted a little cold and needs some time to come around. Not as good as the 2000, but should be a nice drink in a year.
2002- 93 I really enjoyed this, although it is a bit young. Lots of vibrant fruit, good balance. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Fermenter
Posts:667
| | 11/15/2004 9:07 PM |
| Quote:
Also priveleged to taste the 1998 Tapteil. Starting to come around aromatically with some lovely floral notes. Still pretty reserved on the palate though. 90 points.
Alos got a chance to visit Rossat his open house on Sunday..
2001 Ross Andrew- 89- Was tasted a little cold and needs some time to come around. Not as good as the 2000, but should be a nice drink in a year.
2002- 93 I really enjoyed this, although it is a bit young. Lots of vibrant fruit, good balance.
Thanks for the Cadence '98 update. We have quite a bit of his first (public) release and will heed your comments!!
Are you comparing the '00 Ross Andrew Red Table to his '01 Cab? He did not produce a '00 CS, said the grapes didn't warrant it. I was not wild about the Red Table, having stocked up on his stellar '99 and being spoiled by it.
I agree with your notes on the '01. The '02 was tasting so good, he probably shouldn't have been pouring it next to the '01. But it looks like another sell-out for him, I buy mine from M&S. He'll be bottling 75 more cases of the '02, a good thing.
Ross said I just missed you yesterday.  | | | |
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Eric LeVine
Grape Sorter
Posts:384
| | 11/15/2004 10:21 PM |
| | I was at Ross' too yesterday. Frankly, I think I underrated the 2001 last week. I really liked it yesterday, much more open with big, muscular notes of cassis. The 2002 is even better wine with lots of minerality and similar character to the 1999, although it is showing a lot of wood right now and needs the year to settle. Ross is really doing a GREAT job! | | | |
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Dr_Tannin
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2498
| | 11/16/2004 3:30 AM |
| Quote:
Eric - I appreciate your notes!
...The '02 DeLille lineup, as usual, does not disappoint. I have also been partial to Harrison Hill in recent years, save for the '99 Chaleur. But this year, I'd put the two of them neck and neck. I left my Doyenne to breathe for about an hour before we took a walk up to visit the sheep (Seaquam!!  ) and the site of the '02 debauchery. It was stunning with some air (the wine, not the sheep)and continues the Syrah winning streak for Chris Upchurch. I stocked up. It was a gorgeous Northwest autumn day to boot.
...]
Queen and Eric Levine
I have a single bottle of the '99 DeLille Chaleur left.
When do you recommend drinking it? | | | |
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