W.T. Vintners and Raconteur

Continuing our Friday jaunt we bring you another standout Woodinville winery. W.T. Vintners focuses on limited production wines from great sites in Washington like the Stoney Vine Vineyard and the Destiny Ridge Vineyard. Head winemaker Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen is also the lead somm at one of the best restaurants in Seattle, RN74. He is a level 3 somm (advanced) and is currently studying for his master somm exam. Jeff is just an awesome guy to talk wine with. He has grown to be an incredible winemaker, as his vast knowledge of wine truly shows in the glass. W.T. Vintners has a new offshoot project called Ranconteur (http://www.wtvintners.com/raconteurwine/). These are value driven wines that offer serious value considering their price point.

His new releases from W.T. Vintners were gorgeous. Following up one of our top wines of 2016 (http://www.washingtonwineblog.com/blog/2016/12/22/washington-wine-blog-top-100-wines-of-2016) and arguably the best value wine from the Walls Walls Rocks Region (2013 W.T. Vintners ‘Stoney Vine Vineyard’ Red Wine (WWB, 94), the 2014 W.T. Vintners ‘Stoney Vine Vineyard’ Red Wine (WWB, 94) is absolutely one of the best value wines in Washington. You would be hard pressed to find a wine with this complexity, and aromatic/flavor range at this price point. This is a wine to buy by the case. Just as gorgeous was their 2014 W.T. Vintners ‘Stoney Vine Vineyard’ Syrah (WWB, 93) which showed wonderful hedonistic aromas and a striking minerality. Learn more about these great wines at http://www.wtvintners.com/. Here are the awesome new release wines by W.T. Vintners.

2015 Raconteur White Wine- This wine is sourced from a blend of vineyards and is primarily Chenin Blanc (75%) from Stone Ridge Vineyard with 25% Gruner Veltliner from Underwood Mountain Vineyard. The Chenin Blanc was 100% stainless fermented while the Gruner Veltliner was barrel fermented. This great value wine opens with aromatics of beeswax, white peach, and cantaloupe. There are ripe flavors of green papaya, unripe banana, melon and nectarine elements in there as well. Drink 2017-2022- 90

2014 Raconteur Red Wine- This absolutely killer wine is a blend of 62% Syrah, 27% Grenache and 9% Mourvedre. The wine begins with aromatics of rose petals, smoked pork shoulder, bacon fat, black pepper and black olive. The range of aromatics here make this great value wine pretty compelling. This leads to rich flavors of black cherry, black olive, bacon, nutmeg, bulls blood and dark chocolate shavings. The structure and weight here suggest that the wine will cellar well for the short-term. I think this would make an exceedingly great pairing for roasted lamb. Drink 2017-2024- 90

2014 W.T. Vintners ‘Les Collines Vineyard’ Syrah- This Syrah wine is sourced from Block 30 of the Les Collines Vineyard which is located on the south side of the vineyard which leads to some afternoon shadings -- and that helped in this exceedingly warm vintage. There is some wonderful weight and minerality to this Northern Rhone style Washington Syrah. The wine yields dense flavors of provencal herbs, black cherry, black olive, black tea, wild blackberry pie, and milk chocolate shavings The wine will be released in the Fall 2017. Drink 2017-2027- 93

2014 W.T. Vintners ‘Destiny Ridge Vineyard’ Syrah- This wine is soon to be released. W.T. Vintners have been sourcing from this great vineyard since 2007 which was their initial vintage. The wine checks in at 14.5% alcohol as head winemaker Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen mentioned “You have to express the place and the moment in time.” The wine opens with aromatics of red cherry, red raspberry, blueberry compote, blackberry cobbler, and crushed rose petals with spice box aspects. There are flavors of red cherry, red currant, rose water, blueberry pie and a feminine edge. This has wonderful structure and poise, particularly considering the heat of the vintage. Drink 2017-2027- 92

2014 W.T. Vintners ‘Stoney Vine Vineyard’ Syrah- This awesome and rich Syrah wine was made by 75% whole cluster fermentation and weighs in at only 13.1% alcohol. The Syrah opens with umami, seaweed, bacon fat, black cherry, black raspberry, green olive and wet stone on the nose. The hedonstic aromas bring you continually back to the glass for more. There are deep flavors of black cherry, umami, bulls blood, blood orange and rose petals with gravel. The structure is intense. Drink 2017-2027- 93

2014 W.T. Vintners ‘Stoney Vine Vineyard’ Red Blend- This gorgeous wine is a stunning follow up to one of the best value wines from the Walla Walla Rocks region that I have ever sampled. The wine is a blend of 57% Syrah with 43% Grenache and this will be the final vintage of this wine due to the freeze in 2014. The wine opens with intoxicating aromatics of candied red cherry, rose petals, blood orange, umami and suggestions of seaweed. There are bright flavors of flavors of red cherry, red raspberry, sage, rose petals, umami, seaweed, and a wonderful saline streak. This has a lithe minerality and wonderful plush texture. This is another stunner by superstar winemaker Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen, as the mouthfeel and textural elements are simply gorgeous. The wine is just another incredible value from this great estate. Drink 2017-2028- 94