San Francisco Chronicle
The Cellarist raves about our Northern Blend, "Rich chocolate notes are buoyed by a racy, tight-knit profile"
10 Top Tastes from Rhone Rangers
Eric Luse/The Chronicle
April 24, 2009
"This past weekend was the annual Rhone Rangers tasting in San Francisco, a gathering of many of the top American producers of Rhone-style wines: varietal Syrah, Grenache, Roussanne, Viognier and so very many blends. (As I previously blogged, I was there in part to moderate two panels -- one on cool-climate Syrah, one on nontraditional blends, which in this case seemed to largely mean Cabernet and Syrah.)
The Rhone Rangers tasting is always a good chance to benchmark these types of wines. With about 100 wineries there this year, things were perhaps a bit more subdued but there are plenty of new names on the roster, which I take as a sign that there's momentum to keep growing the category. Still plenty of Syrah out there, but more Grenache, Grenache Blanc and Mourvedre. More Marsanne showing up."
2007 Rotie Cellars Northern Rhone Blend Syrah ($35)
Walla Walla-based winemaker Sean Boyd (who also works with Waters and Greg Harrington of Gramercy Cellars) has this label as a tribute to the source of it all. (The Gothic type on the labels, reminiscent of a Cote-Rotie, is a love-it-hate-it kind of thing.) Rich chocolate notes are buoyed by a racy, tight-knit profile in a promising new Washington contender.