2008 Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red

2008 C.G. di Arie Primitivo Block 4 Estate Grown

2006 Powers Syrah Reserve Cougar Vineyard Wahluke Slope

2007 Mitolo Shiraz Jester

2008 Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red – $13.29

My comments

This is a perennial house favorite and best buy. The blend changes every vintage, but the quality is always in the bottle. This is always a blend of several grapes that always seems to work.

This vintage is a blend of 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 16% Merlot, 7% Cab Franc, 3% Malbec, 3% Sangiovese, 3% Petite Verdot, and 1% Carmenere.

Winery history

Whether it’s our highly acclaimed Firehouse Red or one of our limited-production single vineyard reserve blends, Tamarack’s wines offer a delicious expression of Washington vineyards’ style and elegance.

When you visit the winery, you won’t find us in a fancy chateau. Instead you’ll find yourself immersed in the everyday workings of a family-owned winery, racking, blending and bottling wine, in a renovated firehouse located in a World War II Army Air Base.

Founded in 1998 by Ron and Jamie Coleman, Tamarack’s first vintage consisted of 300 cases of Merlot. The goal was to make elegant, balanced, delicious wines and offer them at a fair price. Years later, and now up to 20,000 cases each year, the focus remains the same. Tamarack Cellars hand-crafts consistently outstanding wines for a great price.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly dark ruby to maroon color. The enticing nose has blackberries, smoldering charcoal, vanilla, meat juices, dried herbs, baking spices, licorice, and a bit of earthiness. This has medium body, fairly solid tannins, and very nice acidity. The palate has a nice mix of fruity and savory elements that play well off of each other. The finish has decent length leaning a bit more on the savory elements. This is in a very nice drinking window and is a nice change of pace from the bigger, riper California wines. (90 pts)

2008 C.G. di Arie Primitivo Block 4 Estate Grown – $14.24

My comments

The local wine store brought this in as part of a sale promotion. I grabbed several bottles of a few other C. G. di Arie wines, namely their Petite Sirah and red blend called Interlude. I decided to grab a bottle of this one to fill the case. This will be my first bottle of this specific wine, but a nice Primitivo for under $15 can take up some space in my cellar anytime.

Winery history

As an inventor and new food product developer, Chaim Gur-Arieh spent 35 years preparing himself for the role of winemaker at C.G. Di Arie Vineyard & Winery.

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Chaim immigrated to Israel as a teenager. After completing his military service as an officer in a tank division, Chaim studied at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering. Soon after, Chaim moved to the United States to continue his education at the University of Illinois where he earned a Masters and a Ph.D. in Food Science with minors in Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering.

Chaim then joined the Quaker Oats company where he helped develop the breakfast Cereal Cap’n Crunch. He moved to California to become Director of New Products at Del Monte Corporation where he created an array of new products including “Pudding Cups”, “Gel Cups”, “Yogurt Cups”, etc. In 1974 Chaim married Elisheva and founded Food Development Corporation, where he developed numerous new products including Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing, Power Bars and Wine Coolers. In 1980, Chaim merged Food Development Corporation with California Brands Flavors, his newly created flavor company. Over the next 18 years Chaim transformed California Brands Flavors into a major West Coast flavor company.

In 1998, Chaim and Elisheva sold their flavor company to Mane & Fils, an international flavor company and went on to pursue their life-long dream of creating world class wines. In his new role as Winemaker, Chaim developed his innovative “Dual Compartment Submerged Cap Fermentation Tank” (patent pending) which he uses to craft his delicious red wines. Chaim’s wines are highly extracted, soft and elegant – a perfect match to fine cuisine.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a touch lighter than ruby red. The comforting nose had brambly berries, baking spices, black pepper, cherries, dark chocolate, fresh wild flowers, and a bit of earthiness. The wine has medium body, light tannins, and very nice acidity. The palate has tart cherries, spicy, peppery, berries and some earthiness. The finish is a touch short but shows nice red fruit and spice. Not a big, bold, style of wine, but very enjoyable on a week night. (87 pts)

2006 Powers Syrah Reserve Cougar Vineyard Wahluke Slope – $14.24

My comments

This is another wine the local wine store brought in as part of an end-of-vintage sale. My thought process to decide to buy this wine was something along the lines of, “Washington state, single vineyard, Syrah, for under $15”. Into my case went a few bottles very quickly.

Winery history

Second generation winemaker Greg Powers has a deep affinity for the Columbia Valley and its viticulture. He grew up in the region’s spectacular farm country and helped his father Bill plant and manage Badger Mountain Vineyard. Today, Greg carries on the family traditions of sustainable farming and the passionate production of exceptional wines. Under Greg’s leadership, Powers Winery has been recognized as a “rising star” by Wine Spectator, and as one of the “50 Great U.S. Cabernet Producers” by Wine Enthusiast.

Powers wines are creatively blended and crafted to showcase Washington state’s distinctive vineyards and robust and diverse microclimates. Deeply rooted in long term relationships with premium Washington state growers, Powers sources a variety of the highest quality fruit to consistently produce compelling wines of uncommon depth, complexity and harmony. Our Reserve Meritage is an excellent example of blending premiere vineyards, while our other Reserve selections spotlight wines from a single expressive vineyard. All Powers wines reflect a devotion, experience and integrity that result in wines worthy to carry the family name.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly deep maroon color. The slightly different nose has blackberries, smoke, earthy underbrush, dried herbs, minerals, roasted game, and licorice. The earthy elements and roasted game push right up to barnyardy but stop before crossing the line, which isn’t a problem to me, but buyer beware. This has medium body, mostly integrated tannins, and good acidity. On the palate the fruit comes across more like raspberry to cherry instead of the blackberries that were on the nose. The palate also has nice minerals, spice, and earthy elements. The finish is a touch short with tart cherries, dried herbs, minerals, and earthy elements carrying the weight. A nice change of pace, somewhere in the middle of a French Rhone wine and a cooler climate CA Syrah. (89 pts)

2007 Mitolo Shiraz Jester – $12.74

My comments

I was in the mood for something easy drinking and tasty to sip on this evening. This made the choice easy, an Australian Shiraz. This Ben Glaetzer made wine is usually full of ripe, juicy fruit.

Winery history

For such a young winery, Mitolo’s history is rich. It’s one studded with success, wide acclaim, and – most importantly – truly memorable wines. But that’s only to be expected from a winery which, since the very first day, has been motivated by three potent words:

Purity. Elegance. Power.

Those were the guiding principles Frank Mitolo wrote down when he created the winery in 1999. With his Italian heritage and a family history of working the land, Frank was only interested in pursuing excellence. And the results were there immediately in the release of the first Mitolo wine – the 2000 G.A.M. – named after Frank’s children Gemma, Alexander and Marco.

Attracted by this commitment to only create wines of outstanding quality, acclaimed winemaker Ben Glaetzer joined Mitolo as a partner in 2001. With grapes sourced from two of Australia’s premier wine regions, Mclaren Vale and the Barossa Valley, Frank and Ben now work tirelessly to surpass their already impressive achievements. Mitolo Wines, praised by some of the world’s toughest critics, are now enjoyed in more than 20 countries around the world.

And that is just the start.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color. The very open and easy going nose has blackberries, cherries, vanilla, black pepper, baking spices, brined olives, and wild flowers. This has medium body, fairly solid, ripe tannins, and good acidity. The spicy, peppery, sweet cherries and berries coat the palate with some vanilla and brined olives coming in on the back end. The finish has nice length and mirrors the palate. If you’re looking for a Northern Rhone Syrah, look elsewhere, if you want a mouthful of sweet, spicy, peppery cherries and berries, you found your wine. It’s not very complex, but what do you expect for around $15? (89 pts)

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines. I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar. I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com. Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear. There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase. I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive. I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount. Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges. None of the prices include the sales tax.

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.