The Wine Knows

I just finished inspecting Wine Enthusiast's top 100 list for this year, and I'm stunned by the number of Northwest selections: 13. Of these, 12 are from Washington.

It should come as little surprise that Washington gets so much attention from Enthusiast, as Paul Gregutt of The Seattle Times is the magazine's representative. The fact that Enthusiast has someone who lives here, walks the vineyards and continuously tastes the wines provides a lot more credibility than mags that drop someone in for a few days per year to conduct selective tastings.

Still, 13% of the world's best wines are from the Northwest? Gregutt must have majored in debate to get that many on the list. It is a stunning number.

I noted when the Spectator list came out that three wineries were strangely absent: Quilceda, Leonetti and Ste. Michelle. Enthusiast's list rectifies two of those by including Ste. Michelle and Leonetti. Why Quilceda suddenly has vanished from both of these lists is confounding, especially considering Wine Advocate awarded the latest Quilceda Cab its third perfect score in the past four years.

Gregutt comes by here on regular occasions, so I'd be interested in his take on all this.

You can download the Enthusiast top 100 list here.

Here's the list of Northwest wineries, along with my comments:

No. 6: Poet's Leap 2006 Riesling, Columbia Valley. This is part of the Long Shadows project out of Walla Walla, and Gregutt has been a fan since the start.

No. 23: Betz Family Winery 2005 Clos de Betz, Columbia Valley. Bob Betz is making some of the most elegant Bordeaux- and Rhone-style wines in the Northwest. He's also the nicest guy in the industry.

No. 30: Chateau Ste. Michelle 2006 Ethos Late Harvest White Riesling, Columbia Valley. This is a really stunning dessert wine from the world's largest producer of Riesling.

No. 41: Leonetti Cellar 2006 Merlot, Columbia Valley. Washington's most famous winery is best known for Cab, but its Merlot is no slouch. As I recall, this might be the last year this wine doesn't carry a Walla Walla Valley appellation on it.

No. 49: Robert Karl Cellars 2005 Syrah, Columbia Valley. This Spokane winery is high on our radar, though usually for Cab. Its Syrahs have been stunning, too, so this is well deserved.

No. 52: JLC 2004 Syrah, Columbia Valley. The winery formerly known as James Leigh Cellars (the "JLC" purportedly means "Just Lynne Chamberlain") is south of Walla Walla, with the vineyards on the Oregon side of the valley.

No. 56: Pacific Rim Winemakers 2007 Wallula Vineyard Riesling, Columbia Valley. This winery relocated last year from Santa Cruz, Calif., to West Richland, Wash., and focuses almost entirely on Riesling. This vineyard-designated wine is from the Horse Heaven Hills.

No. 61: Novelty Hill 2006 Stillwater Creek Vineyard Viognier, Columbia Valley. Stillwater Creek is high on my list of top young vineyards, though more typically for reds than whites. Novelty Hill, whose winemaker is Mike Januik, is owned by the same family that owns Stillwater.

No. 66: Sineann 2006 Resonance Reserve Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley. The lone Oregon wine on the list is a great pick. Sineann is emerging as one of the state's best wineries, and Resonance Vineyard is in the Yamhill-Carlton District, home to distinctive Pinot Noirs.

No. 73: DeLille Cellars 2006 Chaleur Estate Blanc, Columbia Valley. This white Bordeaux-style wine is a fitting tribute to Charlies Lill, the co-founder of this Woodinville, Wash., winery who passed away earlier this year.

No. 76: Januik Winery 2006 Elerding Vineyard Chardonnay, Columbia Valley. In years past, I've declared this the finest Chardonnay I've ever tasted. I haven't tried this one, but it obviously struck a chord with Enthusiast.

No. 84: Boudreaux Cellars 2005 Merlot, Washington. This small producer in north-central Washington made its mark with Cabernet Sauvignon, so the fact its Merlot has done well is no surprise.

No. 91: Beresan 2006 Semillon, Walla Walla Valley. Semillon is a rare wine to find in the New World, though Washington seems to do well with the few examples made. This producer is another of the rising stars from Walla Walla.