Wine Matters: Washington state produces elegant cabernet sauvignon

When it comes to Washington state, is there a grape that doesn't grow well there? OK, maybe pinot noir, but the rest of the lineup, from chardonnay and riesling to merlot and syrah, earns raves from wine critics and customers alike.

To many, the best in a crowded field is the grape dubbed “the king,” cabernet sauvignon. It's appeal is so great, several dozen die-hard cabernet fans left the comfort of their homes for a 10:30 a.m. tasting during the recent San Antonio New World Wine & Food Festival.

One reason for the draw was singled out by Joel Butler, master of wine and education director for Washington's founding winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle.

“Notice how rich the styles are,” he said of the five wines that were poured. “But they're not heavy. They're more European, ... more elegant.”

It was true. The Col Solare Red 2005 ($75), a cabernet-merlot blend, was dense and deep, full of fruit, yet it had a finesse not common among its California brethren. The Pepper Bridge Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($5) displayed plenty of dark fruit flavors mixed with touches of smoke, spice and even licorice. The Columbia Crest Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 ($27) blended cherry and cocoa flavors, without tasting like a candy box.

Common among all of the wines was a soft or mature tannin structure that added to the wine's complexity.

It's what drew Italy's celebrated Marchesi Piero Antinori into a partnership with Chateau Ste. Michelle. After discovering Washington wines in the early 1990s, Antinori is reported to have said, “These wines don't taste New World to me.”

Col Solare was the result, and it works because Chateau Ste. Michelle is taking “what we know about Washington and blending that with the Antinoris' sense of style,” Butler said.

These reserve wines may sell for as much as $75 a bottle, but the vast majority of Washington state wines are prices more in the $10-$15 range, said Gary Hogue, who poured his Hogue Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 ($31).

“These are the models,” Butler said. “They're pretty archetypal, showing what cab can do.”

The less-expensive wines are largely fruit-forward, whereas the reserves are meant to be aged. Though, as David Rosenthal of Chateau Ste. Michelle said of the winery's Cold Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($30), “it's drinkable now — and that's one of our goals,” even with reserve wines.

Aging wine is something of a sore spot with Hogue: “People always ask me, ‘How long can I age your wine?' I say, ‘Well, how long are you going to live?' ”

Hogue would rather focus on enjoying the wines today. “Sometimes we have the tendency to make too much of these products,” he said.

Rosenthal agreed. “Don't take yourself too seriously,” he said. “We're all here to have fun.”

Yet, as Butler said, “Cab needs aging ... to be at its best.” Otherwise, you're not getting the best from the grape, he said.

The camaraderie that existed on the panel, which also included Paula Eakin, assistant winemaker at Columbia Crest, and Norm McKibben, viticulturist and managing partner of Pepper Bridge and Amavi Cellars, is apparently common among most of the 550 or so wineries in Washington state.

That number seems to grow at a rate of “one a day,” Butler said. And “a whole bunch of them are garage wineries,” McKibben said.

“We've all grown up together,” Rosenthal said, echoing Chateau Ste. Michelle's philosophy: “Our winery cannot succeed unless we all do.”

To that end, Chateau Ste. Michelle offered Pepper Bridge the best of its grapes in 2004 after a frost destroyed all of the smaller winery's fruit.

Hogue lives by the same approach. When he opened his winery in the early 1980s, he received a bit of advice that he follows to this day. “If you all can get along together, you will be very, very special,” he was told.

To judge by the wines poured that day, Washington wines are special indeed.