New Releases from Washington State

Washington State has enjoyed a successful string of harvests in recent years (at press time, 2005 looked promising too, with some growers still bringing in grapes on Halloween). Vintage 2002 continues to be a favorite of mine: many of the best reds offer a lovely combination of ripe flavors, sound backbone and the promise of longevity. Two thousand three, which featured a hotter summer with some severe heat spikes, was more challenging, as pHs tended to be higher and levels of tartaric acidity relatively low. Some growers and winemakers prefer their 2003s to their 2002s, though. The 2003 reds tend to be lush and rich, but only a minority of them seem to be serious cellaring candidates. I also tasted many disappointing wines from winemakers who were not up to the challenge: wines with volatile acidity or obviously porty and oxidative aromas, others with green or overly dry tannins from underripe skins and seeds.