best in class - 2024 washington state wine competition

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Pleasingly soft vanilla and cherries jubilee on the nose with subtle hints of violet and chilli pepper. The silky, luxurious mouthfeel delivers dried cherry, vanilla, and bell pepper on the palate, building toward a graphite core on the finish. The rare wine in which the aroma is  a predictor of the mouthfeel. One taster indicated it was hard to move on after judging this one!

A wine with wonderful complexity. Aromas of wet leaves, tobacco, and dried red fruit. On the palate is both jammy plum and dried cherries that lead to chocolate and tobacco. A chocolate cherry pie in a glass. This Merlot still has medium acid to hold it together with soft tannins and a long finish. Congratulations to vintner Sara Gagnon on a beautiful wine!

A distinctive flash of tropical aromas, led by pineapple, with a floral component of honeysuckle, followed by green apple, pear, honeydew, and buttery toast on the palate. Expertly balanced from the first sip to the decadent, lingering finish. A Chardonnay with taste and heft. Outstanding. 

This wine takes you on a long, complex ride from start to finish. A seemingly endless amount of descriptors. The fruit is black currant (and a bit of red currant), black cherry, blackberry, blueberry, and ripe plum. Expect black pepper (turning slightly to licorice), cloves, bark, mint leaf, cinnamon, brioche, vanilla, coffee, charred wood, leather, and tobacco, with herbs on the finish. You can sit over it a long time and make new discoveries. The co-fermentation with Viognier, in true Côte-Rôtie style, gives this wine a rounded mouthfeel. It has aged beautifully in the bottle and still has a lot of life left. Scores from our judges were 95s and 96s across the board.

A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc that delights the senses and puts a smile on your face. Full of blackberry, vanilla, and peppery notes, with black cherry and clove leading to a long finish. Deftly structured in true Left Bank style with medium plus acidity and tannins. Our judges scored it 93s and 94s across the board. It's what you hope for in a red blend. You'll love it!

This wine leads with pronounced aromas of jammy red plum, red currant, violet, and vanilla. The palate confirms the nose and the flavors also have a pronounced intensity. Beautifully balanced transition from red fruit on the midpalate to vanilla and then to cloves and toast on the finish. The tannins have a texture that gives the wine some density and great structure. Outstanding now and will be a new gift under the tree when it has time in the bottle and the primary fruit components turn tertiary.

A crisp, medium salmon-colored sparkling wine. We were impressed by the persistent bubbles and the best mousse and complexity of any in the competition. Raspberry, green apple, lemon, and peach aromas with a creamy cranberry and coconut finish. Just plain yummy!  

An outstanding, full-bodied, balanced Malbec. Medium purple in the glass with rich black plum and jammy black cherry on the midpalate, followed by vanilla and toast on the back end. This wine comes at you in waves, as the next round features warm spices, cocoa, and a hint of tobacco. Impressively complex with a long finish. One judge noted, "I would pair this with itself!"

The first impression is dried Gala apple followed quickly by pear, kiwi, and almond extract. Think upscale PBJ. This wine has the brisk acidity you would expect from a Gruner Veltliner and a vein of white pepper, hay, and flint that leads to a long and strong finish. Winemakers Rachael Horn and Anais Mera have made one of the finest Gruner Veltliners we have tasted this side of Austria.

A Sangiovese made in the old-world style. Medium garnet in the glass with fruit of dried red cherry, red plum, raspberry, strawberry, and fig. This wine is earthy, with tomato leaf, tobacco, oregano, and thyme. A hint of vanilla from the oak on the long finish. The primary, secondary, and tertiary components are in harmony as this wine is aging beautifully. Take a sip and close your eyes. Do you see San Gimignano?