A Woodinville winery receiving some serious press recently is Gorman. These guys have been picking up some impressive ratings in the past few years. Receiving 95 point ratings from both Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator is no joke! The winery was founded by Chris Gorman in 2002, a man who strives to create a small batch winery, producing no more than 3,000 cases of wine each year. It is no surprise that in 2008 Chris Gorman was named one of the rising stars in wine.
I had a chance to recently stop by the winery and taste some of their recent releases. Many of their efforts from the more challenging 2011 vintage were very good. While I didn’t find any of their wines in the 95 point range, most of their wines represented excellent value for their price and can be found for under 30 bucks. You can find Gorman wines at great Northwest wine shops, as well as several supermarkets like QFC or Metropolitan Market. Here are some of the great wines that I recently sampled at Gorman Winery (as a caveat, many of these wines will need two plus years of cellaring before opening).
2013 Gorman ‘Big Sissy’ Chardonnay- Pear and golden delicious on the nose. Palate has pear, starfruit and red delicious with cantaloupe. Nice minerality. Tasty effort, drink now.
-89
2011 Gorman ‘The Devil You Know’- Interesting blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Petite Sirah & 8% Petite Verdot. Black cherry, smoke, anise. Palate has black cherry, raspberry and is somewhat shut down. Needs two plus years of cellaring. -90
2012 Gorman ‘The Devil You Don't Know’- Blend of 52% Syrah, 17% Mourvedre, 17% Grenache & 14% Petite Sirah. Black fruit on the nose with smoke and black cherry. This has nice balance. Black cherry, raspberry, minerals. Needs two plus years of cellaring. -92
2011 Gorman ‘The Pixie’-Herbaceous nose with smoked meats. Palate is shut down with raspberry, provencale herbs and smoked meats. Needs two plus years of cellaring. -91
2011 Gorman ‘The Bully’- Cabernet having black fruits and smoke on the nose. Plush palate with black cherry, anise and blackberry. Good minerality as well. Drink now or cellar for another year. -92
2011 Gorman ‘The Evil Twin’ – 75% Syrah and 25% Cabernet. Smoky nose with black cherry and anise on the nose. Palate has nice depth and richness. Black cherry, smoked meats and nice minerality. Needs two plus years of cellaring. -92