According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas is the 5th largest wine producing state in the U.S. (behind only California, Washington, Oregon, and New York), with more than 180 wineries contributing $1.35 billion annually to the Texas economy. Nearly 1 million travelers a year visit Texas wineries. I would bet that most of our readers would not have thought the wine business in Texas was nearly this large.

This is the third spring in a row that LaGayle and I have visited Texas wine country and Texas wineries. In 2008, we started out with a couple of Texas high plains wineries near Lubbock. Last year, we concentrated on the Texas hill country near Austin/San Antonio. This year, we visited wineries in the north Texas region around Dallas/Fort Worth.

The past two years I have shared with you my impressions of Texas wines and how much better they are today than in 2002 when I first tasted them. As a native Texan I wish I could be more optimistic; however, nothing I found this year has changed my opinion that, while progress is evident, Texas may never leapfrog any of the big four states into the elite class of wine producing areas. And here’s why:

• Pierce’s Disease has been wreaking havoc in many Texas vineyards.
• Erratic weather in the form of late freezes, hail, and even floods are causing producers to have smaller than normal crops in too many years for Texas to be able to produce the string of good vintages that is necessary to establish coveted terroir.
• Because of the weather issues mentioned above, too many Texas producers are selling wines made from California, Washington, New Mexico, and even Australia grapes. They may have no other choice, but it gets old visiting Texas wineries that aren’t pouring wines made from Texas grapes.

After three years of visiting Texas wineries, it appears to me that what Texas does best is some of the Rhone and Spanish varieties such as Syrah and Tempranillo. So, in typical Wine Peeps fashion, we did a blind tasting that included moderately priced Syrah from three of our favorite Texas wineries (Becker, Driftwood Estate, and Texas Hills) and one Washington Syrah, the 2007 Charles Smith Boom Boom! Syrah. LaGayle and I purchased all four wines between $14 and $16 at Spec’s in Austin. None of the four garnered an excellent Quality rating of 4 stars (out of 5) or higher, but there were some good wines in the group with the Boom Boom! from Washington State as our clear favorite:

2007 Charles Smith Boom Boom! Syrah (Washington State)
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Spec’s (Austin, Texas), $15; Available elsewhere, $14 to $20

2008 Becker Vineyards Syrah (Texas)
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Spec’s (Austin, Texas), $15

2006 Driftwood Estate Syrah (Texas)
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Spec’s (Austin, Texas), $16

2005 Texas Hills Syrah (Texas)
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to buy: Spec’s (Austin, Texas), $14

With the help of Lee Fuqua of Fuqua Winery in Dallas, we were able to locate and purchase a couple of bottles of Tempranillo made with Texas grapes, one from Times Ten Winery and the other from Lone Oak Winery to bring home to Seattle and put in one of our family’s private blind tastings. If they measure up, we’ll report on them in a subsequent post.

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2007 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Côtes du Rhône from the Rhône Valley of France.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$15
• Must be widely available

The Chapoutier family has been in the Rhône Valley since 1808. In 1879, Polydor Chapoutier bought vines and began producing wines. Now seven generations later, Michel Chapoutier carries on the family tradition. M. Chapoutier has adopted a biodynamic cultivation method in an effort to respect the earth and its terroir. I find it interesting to note that Braille has been used on all M. Chapoutier labels since 1996. It is a tribute both to Maurice Monier de La Sizeranne, owner of the plot of the Hermitage vineyard, la Sizeranne, who is also the inventor of the first version of abbreviated Braille, and to those who are sight-impaired.

2007 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Côtes du Rhône (Côtes du Rhône, Rhône Valley, France): 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah. Dark purple. Nose is a bit tight at first, then some earth and potpourri show through. Flavors of earth, toasted wood, dark chocolate, and black fruits. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity, medium to high tannins and a long finish. Well-balanced and very food-friendly.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington), $11.79; Available elsewhere, $8 to $14

Boudreaux Cellars, located just outside Leavenworth, Washington, was founded by owner/winemaker Rob Newsom in 2001. A Louisiana native, Newsom has lived on the property that is home to both his log home and Boudreaux Cellars since 1981. He began making wine in his garage in 1998 and started building the winery facilities in 2001. Boudreaux currently produces about 2,000 cases per year. With his Louisiana Cajun accent and dry sense of humor, Rob Newsom truly is one of the great personalities in the Washington wine industry.

Recently, we had the opportunity to taste three of Boudreaux Cellars’ current releases in a blind samples tasting. Boudreaux Cellars is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignons that are excellent. We have given high ratings to the 2004 Cab, 2005 Cab, and 2005 Reserve Cab. In this tasting, we tasted the 2006 Reserve Cab and rated it 4.5 stars (out of 5). It is another impressive effort from Newsom and might just be his best Cab yet. We also tasted his 2006 Merlot, also an excellent wine, and his 2006 Syrah.

Since his site is not ideally suited for grape growing, Newsom sources his grapes from many different vineyards around the state. Most of his bottles are labeled simply Washington State and lists the vineyard sources for that particular wine.

2006 Boudreaux Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Washington State): 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fruit sourced from Champoux and Loess Vineyards. Deep, dark red. Nose is a bit tight at first. Bouquet really develops the longer it is open. Lots of layers to this wine. Blackberry, black cherry, leather, and spice come through on the palate. Full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high, drying tannins. Good fruit up front, great lift on the mid-palate, and a long, lingering finish. Well-balanced with good complexity.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $100

2006 Boudreaux Cellars Merlot (Washington State): 100% Merlot. Fruit sourced from Dionysis, Pepper Bridge, Seven Hills, and Wallula Vineyards. Deep, red garnet in color. Very aromatic with molasses and allspice on the nose. More molasses, cinnamon, and dark red fruits come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with good acidity and medium, drying tannins. Well-balanced and smooth with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $40

2006 Boudreaux Cellars Syrah (Horse Heaven Hills, Washington): 100% Syrah. Fruit sourced from Wallula Vineyard. Deep, dark purple. Very aromatic. Aromas and flavors of vanilla, leather, smoke, and a hint of black pepper. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity, medium to high tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $50

Would you like to learn more about Washington wine? Are you coming to Walla Walla for the Wine Bloggers Conference and would like to get a head start on your Washington wine exploration? Do you already love Washington wine and just want an excuse to drink more of it and talk about it? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then we have the perfect event for you.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 3rd from 5-8pm PDT and join us for the WAWine World Tasting Event. Hosted by Josh Wade of Drink Nectar and 13 other Washington wine writers including me, #WAWine (the event’s Twitter hashtag) is a virtual event in which hopefully thousands of people from all around the world will be simultaneously tasting Washington wine and talking about it via Twitter, Facebook, and at on-location events. Washington Tasting Room Magazine and the Washington Wine Commission are sponsoring the event.

HOW DO YOU PARTICIPATE?

Participation is simple. Visit the event site for details and tips. Buy one or more bottles of Washington wine and join in one of three ways:

• Join in person at an on-location event at one of the participating wineries.
• Log on to Twitter at 5pm PDT on Thursday, June 3, and follow the hashtag #WAWine (be sure to use the #WAWine hashtag in all of your tweets).
• Log on to Facebook and join the community at http://facebook.com/tasteandtweet. You can use this page to upload photos, share your experiences, and connect with others.

Attention Wineries

Visit the WAWine for Wineries page to see how you can maximize the event:

• Social Media Tutorials
• Media Packet
• Downloadable print materials
• 7 ways to maximize sales
• and more…

We hope to “see” you on June 3rd for this virtual celebration of Washington wine. You’ll find me on Twitter @winepeeps.

Cheers!

Today’s post is part of a series featuring the Women of Washington Wine. In an industry once dominated by men, more and more women are joining the ranks as winery owners, vineyard owners, and winemakers. Being a woman myself, I am fascinated by these women and what they have done and continue to do. Through this series, I hope to introduce you to some of the brightest female faces in the Washington wine industry.

Tracy Nodland and her husband Tim started making wine at home in 1999 and opened Nodland Cellars in 2005. Tracy and Tim are co-owners and co-winemakers. Tracy is an artist and Tim is a musician, and they both view winemaking as more art than science. In fact, they think of wine as liquid art. Located in Spokane, Washington, Nodland Cellars produces one red (400 cases) and one white (30-35 cases) wine each year. Their distinctive jazz band label was designed by Florida-based artist Tim Rogerson.

Recently, Tracy was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions for me and our Wine Peeps readers.

Highlights from Q&A with Tracy Nodland:

How did you first get involved in the wine business?
Winemaking has been a longtime passion for me, which dates back to the days when my grandfather Giuseppe DeMarco emigrated from Sicily and eventually took up residence in Portland, Oregon. He, along with my great uncles, Louigi and Pesquali, made wine in their basement for many, many years. I’m not sure which was better, the delicious aromas coming from my grandmother’s kitchen or the fantastic scent of fermenting wine seeping up from the basement. Either way, it was a win-win situation.

What were the steps that led to where you are now?
My husband Tim and I have shared a love and a passion for wine for over 20 years. We were seriously bitten by the winemaking “bug” in 1999. While on a trip to California, we met up with my sister at a family reunion. She and her husband were making wine at their house, which got us very excited about the idea. Upon our return to Spokane, we started exploring the fantastic wine regions of Washington that surround us. We investigated the best vineyards, talked with winemakers, and began our education into winemaking. We bought every book on winemaking we could find. I also took classes from the Walla Walla College Viticulture Department, as well as distance courses from the University of California-Davis. So, in 1999, we jumped in with both feet and made our first barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon. The next year, we made three different varieties, the year after that, 5 varieties. With each different vintage we were having a lot of fun experimenting with different types of fermentations, barrel studies, and blending trials. From 1999 to 2004, we made over 65 wines. It is from there we found our real passion for blending. Blending is indeed an art form like no other.

Has being a woman been an advantage or a disadvantage in your wine journey?
I believe there are advantages and disadvantages to just about anything. As for women in the wine industry, I would say our greatest advantages are our fine-tuned noses and palates. Most women have been given the gift of well-developed senses. We can really use that to our advantage when it comes to winemaking.

What advice do you have for a woman wanting to get involved in the wine business today?
Best advice: GO FOR IT, LADIES…but be well prepared! Have a well thought out business plan, and before you go commercial, allow yourself the time to polish your winemaking skills and what better way of doing that than by learning from our fellow winemakers. It’s always better to learn from others mistakes as well as their accomplishments. We are blessed with what is one of the finest wine regions in the world. Washington has an abundance of talented winemakers who are more than willing to share their expertise. The winemakers in this state are a fantastic group of people who love to ramble on about winemaking.

In recent years the Washington wine industry has grown at a rapid rate. Do you expect that trend to continue?
I am sure it will continue to grow. Although the economy is struggling, people are still drawn to their love of wine. Let’s face it; something has to numb the effects of the economy. Anyway, even though the economy continues to struggle, Washington State has an abundance of fantastic wines for under $35. You certainly can’t say that for every wine region.

How do you and your husband, Tim, divide the duties at the winery?
In the fall, we are both there day and night. Our poor children sometimes forget what we look like from September to November. During the rest of the year, Tim maintains his day job at the office (that is, when he can pull himself away from his guitars.) My job is to maintain the everyday duties of the winery. I top-up barrels, maintain sulfites, run labs, take care of the books, run the tasting room, and all that other crazy stuff. What I really enjoy the most is when the wine we have labored over month after month, year after year, is finally in the bottle. Then Tim and I spend our afternoons visiting all our restaurants, sharing and bragging about our liquid art we’ve captured in the bottle.

I know that you are an artist and describe wine as “liquid art”. Could you share a little bit about your artistic background and how that has influenced your winemaking?
Tim and I both have a love of art. Tim has his guitars and I have my canvases and oils. Our different forms of art were taking us in different places. I couldn’t play a note of music if I tried and Tim couldn’t draw a stick person if his life depended on it. When we discovered our mutual love of wine over 20 years ago, a light went on. This was our form of art that we really came together on. Anyway, Tim is the one who encouraged me to pick up a paintbrush in the first place. He even got me set up with my first art instructor. I tried to argue with him and tell him I didn’t have time, especially since I had just given birth to twins a few months before. But luckily he was persistent and I started painting. Now I can’t seem to stop. My paints are spread all over the house and the winery. I love to paint while I’m working in the tasting room. Why not? Everything I paint has to do with wine.

Each year we get to share our love of art through our wines. Making a Bordeaux-style blend is the best way to do that. I like to think of the blending process as painting. If we just made a Merlot, it would be like throwing red on a canvas. Sure it might look good on a wall, but it might not give you a whole lot to think about. Whereas when we make our “Private Blend,” it is putting lots of layers, colors, and textures on a canvas. It gives you plenty to think about and imagine, especially with a long luscious finish.

What is your vision for the future of Nodland Cellars?
We have quickly developed a wonderful following. There is nothing we like better than to share our love of wine and love of winemaking with our loyal customers. In fact, we rarely ever refer to them as customers; we like to refer to them as friends. Our plan is to keep the winery relatively the same size. We are definitely considered a boutique winery and plan to keep it that way. We are hands-on winemakers, looking to make the highest quality wine we can possibly make; and if we tried to grow too much more, it would be too difficult to maintain quality.

Feel free to share any other thoughts that you believe would be of interest to our readers.
Wine is meant to be fun for everyone to enjoy. No matter what your knowledge of wine is, just enjoy it. Everyone’s palate is different; everyone’s nose is different. If a wine tastes good to you, it is a wine you should enjoy. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

—

Many thanks to Tracy for sharing her story and thoughts with us. I wish her all the best and will be following her work and Nodland Cellars with great interest, and I hope that you will too.

(Photos from Nodland Cellars)

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is TTB.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
TTB is the teetotal acronym for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the US regulatory body responsible for AVA approvals, federal taxation, and label approval. (These are enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, now known as ATF.)

Layman’s terms from Kori:
TTB, or Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, is the governing body in charge of wine industry regulation in the United States. It is the U.S. equivalent of France’s INAO.

When I was studying for my Certified Specialist of Wine exam, I found The Art and Science of Wine to be a valuable resource. World famous UK wine writer Hugh Johnson and Australian winemaker/writer/wine critic James Halliday have done a great job of exploring and explaining how both art and science are involved in the winemaking process.

The book is divided into three major sections that they call “In the Vineyard”, “In the Winery”, and “In the Bottle”. One of the main take-aways I got from the book was that while terroir makes character, people make quality.

“Given a terroir that has proved its ability to make fine and distinctive wine, the degree of intervention by the winemaker determines how clearly the terroir will be expressed.”

Another key point the authors make is that:

“…even the French are attracted by the tremendous freedom from the restrictions of terroir the New World enjoys. …. The United States has its approved viticultural areas (AVAs): regions that are supposed to have special viticultural and oenological characteristics. However, …there is no stipulation as to which varieties may be planted. Nor are pruning methods or yields prescribed.”

The chapters on the trend towards more mechanization in the vineyard and new scientific tools in the winery were especially interesting, informative, and enlightening, no matter your view on the subjects. There is also a wealth of information on the winemaking processes for different types of wine as well as for different wine regions of the world. And finally, the chapter on “The Manipulation of Wine” includes an examination of several very controversial procedures such as reverse osmosis and micro-oxygenation, which makes for interesting and provocative reading.

The bottom line: The Art and Science of Wine contains a wealth of information presented in an easily understandable format. The layout allows you to easily find what interests you and skip what doesn’t. So if you want to learn more about how wine is made, I encourage you to pick up a copy today.

Have you already read The Art and Science of Wine? If so, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought of it.

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2007 Milbrandt Traditions Merlot from the Columbia Valley of Washington State.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$15
• Must be widely available

Brothers Butch and Jerry Milbrandt planted their first vines in Washington’s Columbia Valley and Wahluke Slope in 1997. Today, Milbrandt Vineyards is comprised of 13 vineyard sites totaling 1600 acres. After selling their grapes to wineries throughout Washington for years, the Milbrandts hired winemaker Gordon Hill and launched their own winery in 2005. The Milbrandt Vineyards tasting room is located in Prosser, Washington.

“When grown in the proper places, Merlot produces some of the world’s greatest wines. Eastern Washington just happens to be a proper place. Our Traditions Merlot is deep and lush with cassis, blueberries, toast and vanilla.” –Winemaker Gordon Hill

2007 Milbrandt Traditions Merlot (Columbia Valley, Washington): 79% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec, 2% Petite Sirah. Medium-deep ruby red in color. Beautiful bouquet with black licorice, Peppermint Pattie, and a hint of oak. More Peppermint Pattie as well as black and blue fruits on the palate. Medium-bodied and crisp with medium tannins. Well-balanced and smooth with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington), $13.79; Available elsewhere, $11 to $16

Recently, we had what turned out to be a South Africa Merlot versus Washington Merlot showdown in one of our double blind private tasting dinners featuring the 2005 Meerlust Merlot from South Africa and the 2004 Fielding Hills Merlot from Washington State. For a more complete description of how we set up these private tastings, please refer to How We Taste.

We had tasted both of these wines previously. It is always interesting to see if and/or how wines change over time. This tasting confirmed our Quality ratings from the previous tastings. Both of these wines are very good and paired well with Mom’s dinner of mixed green salad with fresh fruit, smothered steak with tomatoes, rice, squash, and peas.

Mom (LaGayle) and Dad (John) discovered Meerlust on their trip to South Africa last year. Meerlust, located in Stellenbosch, South Africa, has a long and proud history dating back to the late 1600’s. Mom and Dad thought it was one of the best wineries that they visited on their trip. Winemaker Chris Williams gave them a tour of the estate, led them through a private tasting in the wine cellar, and graciously agreed to do a video interview. Once they returned home, Dad purchased some of the Meerlust wines to try against some of the other South African wines they enjoyed on the trip as well as to see how they would stack up against some of our favorites from Washington. The 2004 Meerlust Rubicon won our South African Red Blends wine tasting dinner last summer.

Fielding Hills Winery, one of our favorite Washington wineries, is a small, family-owned winery located in Wenatchee. Owner/winemaker Mike Wade and his wife Karen are longtime apple and cherry growers who have turned a middle portion of their orchard near Mattawa into a vineyard. Their Riverbend Vineyard, planted in 1998, is in the Wahluke Slope AVA. They source all of their fruit, including the fruit used to produce this Merlot, from Riverbend Vineyard.

2005 Meerlust Merlot (Stellenbosch, South Africa): Deep red in color. Bell peppers and oak come through on the nose; black cherry, blackberry, and other dark fruits on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high tannins. Well-balanced and smooth with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Southern Hemisphere Wine Center (California), $22; Available elsewhere, $22 to $26

2004 Fielding Hills Merlot (Wahluke Slope, Washington): Deep, dark garnet in color. Very aromatic with red cherry, black licorice, and pepper jelly on the nose. Coffee, caramel, berry liqueur, chocolate, and leather on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity, medium tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $32

Since we live in Washington State and often drink wines from Washington State, we want to make sure that we continue to hone our knowledge of the entire world of wine and maintain well-rounded palates in order to make us even more objective when we evaluate wines from Washington State. Therefore, we are thoroughly enjoying our Wine Peeps Tasting Group which includes what we think is an excellent peer group of knowledgeable wine lovers to taste, share, and learn more about wine together. Unlike our monthly wine tasting dinners in which the guests rotate, this tasting group includes people who are committed to getting together once a month which we believe benefits all of us. In addition to trying varieties and regions that we do not taste frequently, the other main difference between this group and our wine tasting dinners is that each group member brings a bottle consistent with the month’s theme so no one knows all the wines in the blind tasting.

Last week, we met for the fourth time and explored Chablis. Chablis is the northernmost wine district in the Burgundy region of France. All Chablis is produced from the Chardonnay grape. Chablis is characterized by racy, green apple-like acidity, pronounced minerality, and much less oak than many New World Chardonnays and other white wines from Burgundy. Chablis can benefit from some bottle age and are some of the longest living examples of Chardonnay. There are four different levels of classification within Chablis. The top classification includes the Grand Cru vineyards, followed by the Premier Cru vineyards, then the generic AOC Chablis, and finally at the bottom end of the classification is Petit Chablis. Make no mistake; if a wine bottle (or box) says “Chablis” but does not come from the Chablis region of France, it is not really Chablis. Fortunately, in recent years, the practice of using place names as generic wine terms has decreased.

We tasted nine wines, and the consensus favorite was the 2006 Domaine William Fevre Chablis. It was the overwhelming favorite, receiving six out of seven first-place votes and one second-place vote. Interestingly, the consensus second-place wine was also from William Fevre, the 2006 William Fevre Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume. We found this particularly interesting because given the same producer and the same vintage, a Premier Cru would be expected to be better than an AOC Chablis.

Historically, I have not been a big Chardonnay fan; however, I thoroughly enjoyed this Chablis tasting. The no or minimal oak and racy acidity in Chablis was a welcome change from so many flabby, overoaked New World Chardonnays. If you consider yourself an ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) wine drinker, I encourage you to give Chablis a try. It might just change your mind about the variety.

From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings:

2006 Domaine William Fevre Chablis (Chablis, Burgundy, France): Pale, greenish straw yellow. Very aromatic with apple and briney aromas on the nose; green apple, hint of vanilla, and steely flavors on the palate. Medium-bodied with racy acidity yet also smooth and a long finish. A quintessential Chablis. Would be great with food.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of five)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop (Bellevue, Washington), $27.99; Available elsewhere, $22 to $38

2006 William Fevre Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume (Fourchaume, Chablis, Burgundy, France): Pale, greenish yellow. A lot of minerality on both the nose and palate. Hints of green apple as well. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long finish. Clean and fresh with good balance.
Quality: 4 stars (out of five)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop (Bellevue, Washington), $46.69; Available elsewhere, $34 to $66

2007 Domaine Servin Chablis Premiere Cuvee Les Pargues (Chablis, Burgundy, France): Pale, greenish yellow gold. Aromatic with minerality and flinty aromas and flavors. Citrus, particularly lime, come through on the palate as well. Medium-bodied with zingy, tart acidity and a long finish. Good balance.
Quality: 4 stars (out of five)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington), $22.99; Available elsewhere, $19 to $25

2005 Olivier Leflaive Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume (Fourchaume, Chablis, Burgundy, France): Pale, greenish yellow gold. Aromas of oak and butter on the nose; minerality and flinty flavors on the palate. Medium-bodied with lively acidity and a long finish. Very different from the others in the group, seemed more New World in style.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of five)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Available from various retailers, $39

2007 Domaine Vrignaud Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume (Fourchaume, Chablis, Burgundy, France): Pale, greenish yellow. Gravel, dust, minerality, and a hint of apple on the nose; apple, pear, vanilla, citrus, smoke, and flint on the palate. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of five)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Garagiste (Seattle, Washington), $25.69

2008 Gerard Tremblay Chablis (Chablis, Burgundy, France): Pale, greenish straw yellow. Aromas of lemon and yeast lead to flavors of Granny Smith apple, lemon, and a hint of banana. Medium-bodied with crisp, almost tart, acidity and a long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of five)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: QFC-University Village (Seattle, Washington), $21.99; Available elsewhere, $17

2006 Olivier Leflaive Chablis Les Deux Rives (Chablis, Burgundy, France): Greenish, straw yellow, almost watery. Nose is a bit tight at first. Minerality and a hint of mint on the palate. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of five)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop (Bellevue, Washington), $23.39; Available elsewhere, $17 to $26

2007 Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis (Chablis, Burgundy, France): Very pale, greenish yellow. Granny Smith apple and steely aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with tart acidity and a long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of five)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Available from various retailers, $26

2006 Domaine Nathalie & Gilles Fevre Chablis (Chablis, Burgundy, France): Pale, greenish straw yellow. Apple, melon, and briney aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with lively acidity and a long finish. Watery viscosity and a bit flabby.
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of five)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to buy: QFC-University Village (Seattle, Washington), $25.99; Available elsewhere, $25