Wine Peeps: Rhone Rangers
Our most exciting discovery was the 2007 Rôtie Cellars “Northern” Red Blend. It is a bold wine, yet exhibits remarkable finesse at the same time. I was blown away by its purity of fruit.
Rhone Rangers trade/media tasting in SeattleFor the second year in a row, Dad (John) and I attended the Rhone Rangers trade/media tasting in Seattle. The Rhone Rangers are a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting American Rhone varietal wines. To be members, wineries must produce wines from one or more of the 22 varietals that are native to the Rhone Valley in France. Rhone Ranger member wineries from Washington, California, Oregon, Idaho, and Colorado participated in this tasting.
"The Rhone Rangers—Advancing the knowledge & enjoyment of Rhone grapes grown in America and of the wines produced from those grapes."
Last year, we focused on Syrah so this year we decided to focus on Viognier and red blends. We tasted a total of 54 wines: 16 Viogniers, 30 red blends, and eight Syrahs. We gave a 4 star rating or higher to ten wines.
Wines from Rotie Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington
Our most exciting discovery was the 2007 Rôtie Cellars “Northern” Red Blend, a Syrah (97%) co-fermented with Viognier (3%) in the Côte-Rôtie style. It is a bold wine, yet exhibits remarkable finesse at the same time. I was blown away by its purity of fruit. Rôtie Cellars, located in Walla Walla, Washington, is a new winery founded by winemaker Sean Boyd. As his winery’s name indicates, Boyd is dedicated to producing Rhone-style wines from Washington State fruit. If you, like us, are a big fan of Syrah and other Rhone varietals, Rôtie Cellars is definitely a winery to watch.