In casual discussions about wine, the terms taste and flavor are tossed around interchangeably. Yet the textbook definitions show important differences. Technically speaking, taste refers to the sweet, sour, bitter, salty or umami quality that your tongue’s taste buds respond to. In a broader sense (your taste in music for example) it indicates a preference or liking for something, not necessarily a food or drink.
Flavor covers the whole combination of taste components along with scents, and may also reference spice, heat and texture. While there are just five basic tastes, there are endless flavors. So think of taste as the ROYGBIV rainbow, and flavor as a color system such as Pantone, with almost limitless expressions.
When someone mentions that they had such and such a wine and didn’t like the taste, what they really mean is they didn’t like the flavor. But I’m always curious to try to dig a little deeper into what specifically someone likes or dislikes, and it’s difficult (understandably) for most people to break down complex flavors and put them into words.
With food it’s easier, because you’re talking about ingredients. If I get a dish that I don’t like in a restaurant that serves Asian-inspired food, I’m not likely to say that I never want that type of food again. I’ll probably say that next time I’ll ask the chef not to use any raw ginger, which is the ingredient I don’t like. It’s fairly easy to pick out ingredients in food, and not so easy in wine (listing ingredients, which some wineries are starting to do, seems to add to the confusion).
If you’ve ever worked on your swing with a golf pro you know they can watch you take a few whacks and in a very short time put together a complex understanding of your style, flaws and all. I have a friend who is a brilliant guitar tech, and after watching someone play a song or two, he can perform a complex and fine-tuned set-up on the client’s guitar that is in sync with their playing style. If I taste enough different wines with someone I can begin to dial in their palate preferences simply based on their like/don’t like responses.
But that doesn’t necessarily help them to choose more appealing wines for themselves. In order to do that you have to get past the simple like/don’t like decisions and get down closer to the building block ingredients that determine flavor. It’s worth taking a few moments to try to sort through key components the next time you have a wine that you either really like or really don’t like.
Start with fruit: what kind, how much, how ripe? Then acid: tart, sour, bracing, fresh, too much, too little? Then look for herbs, spices, seasonings, earth and mineral flavors. After that check for new barrel flavors such as toast, vanilla, caramel, smoke.
And finally taste for tannins – their texture, bitterness, smooth or silky, rough or harsh mouthfeel. Do you like or not like each of these flavor building blocks? Is there too much of one and not enough of another? That will tell you a lot about what sort of wines to look for, and which to avoid.
Chardonnays are a good test case. For a considerable period of time so many were made in a certain over-ripe, over-oaked, slightly sweet and flabby style that a lot of people just wrote the grape off completely. ABC – anything but Chardonnay – became their calling card. And yet many of the world’s greatest wines were and still are Chardonnay. So it wasn’t ever really the grape that people disliked. It was a particular flavor set based on winemaking choices. In fact Chardonnay is a lot like chicken – a neutral starting point for endless choices that determine flavor.
Instead of letting like/don’t like be the end points of your wine choices, make that initial reaction the starting point. You’ll find that further examination of specific flavor components can open a lot of very tasty doors.
Tranche
The 2022 Tranche wines, made by Spencer Williams, are all estate grown at the Blue Mountain Vineyard on the east side of Walla Walla. Tranche shares ownership with the Corliss wine group, which acquired the legendary Celilo Vineyard in 2015 and completed converting the portions of its existing non-grape acreage to grape acreage in 2017. The 2022 Tranche Chardonnay is sourced entirely from two of the original blocks, planted in 1983 and 1984.
Some of these are not yet listed on the website but should be available shortly.
Tranche 2022 Blue Mountain Vineyard Pape Blanc – From the estate vineyard comes this juicy, sappy, sexy six-variety blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Clairette Blanche, Marsanne and Picpoul. This southern Rhône-style mélange maintains focus and seamlessly showcases a lip-smacking palate of lemon, lime, grapefruit and tangerine, both flesh and rind. Fermented in a mix of French oak barrels and concrete eggs, it’s beautifully balanced and lively through the finish. 1452 cases; 13.6%; $30 (Walla Walla Valley) 94/100
Tranche 2022 Celilo Vineyard Chardonnay – The Celilo vineyard sits in the eastern Cascade foothills high above the Columbia River at the west end of the Columbia Gorge AVA. Acquired in 2015 by Michael Corliss, with further expansion completed over the next couple of years. This Chardonnay is sourced from original blocks planted in 1983-84. It’s youthful, juicy, tart and fruity, with a mix of table grape flavors, lemons, limes, pineapples and green apples. Lots to enjoy here, and the backing acids keep it lively through a finish dotted with tarragon. 353 cases; 13.8%; $48 (Columbia Gorge) 92/100
Tranche 2022 Blue Mountain Vineyard Pape – This is 62% Grenache, blended with a mix of Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvèdre from the estate vineyard. True to form the Grenache amps up the aromatics, leading with scents and flavors of spicy red currants and a tangle of berries. It finishes on the soft side, with tannins that feel a bit managed to soften them up. A phenolic wash of stem flavors hints at whole cluster fermentation. Enjoy this now and through the next five years. 756 cases; 14.6%; $40 (Walla Walla Valley) 92/100
Tranche 2022 Blue Mountain Vineyard Syrah – This is a clean, pure varietal with brambly berry fruit, a strong phenolic base, and touches of coffee in the lightly grainy tannins. Grown in the estate vineyard on the eastern edge of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, far from the Rocks District, it does not have the funk or the savory highlights of those wines. Firm and savory, this would best be enjoyed over the next five years. 565 cases; 14.6%; $47 (Walla Walla Valley) 90/100
Tranche 2022 Blue Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – This strikes a firm and resonant tone for a Walla Walla Cab. It’s layered and dark, tannic and lightly earthy, with compact black fruits, currant and cassis. There’s a seam of savory herb, skin and stem flavors that are woven through the fruit along with slightly bitter new oak sharpness and accents of cold coffee and dark chocolate. It’s a wine that should be decanted for near term drinking, and has already thrown quite a bit of sediment around the cork. I would imagine this could be a two decade wine given the structure. 583 cases; 14.6%; $60 (Walla Walla Valley) 93/100
Tranche 2022 Blue Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Franc – This was one of the first varieties planted at this vineyard some 20 years ago. It’s always thrived here, bringing clean, well-defined flavors to the finished wines. Blackberries, spice, herbs and a touch of black pepper dotting the firm tannins orchestrate the complex palate. There are lightly gritty suggestions of coffee grounds and dark chocolate. Balanced, forceful and compact, this should be decanted and could age well for decades. 770 cases; 14.5%; $50 (Walla Walla Valley) 94/100
Upchurch
I got to know Chris Upchurch when DeLille Cellars, in which he was a founding partner, hosted a monthly gathering of wine industry friends for a blind tasting. Among those in the group were a half dozen winemakers, two Masters of Wine, a retailer from a highly-regarded wine shop, and one rumpled member of the wine press – me.
Every month there was a specific focus, usually fine wines from a particular region, often in France. A lengthy discussion followed each wine prior to pulling the bag off the bottle, and what I most recall is the impassioned disagreements about some very rare and expensive wines.
Upchurch was often a calming presence. His DeLille wines always spoke for themselves, and his strong stylistic imprint on such wines as the white Bordeaux blend was unmistakable. At the same time a favorite of mine, the DeLille Cellars Harrison Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, perfectly showcased the complexity the old vines without interference.
It’s been years since Upchurch and his wife Thea set off to build their own winery and follow a different dream on Red Mountain. For a look at the estate vineyards and principal grape sources go here. Their Red Mountain tasting room will reopen in March, and a new tasting room back in Woodinville is planned for a May opening.
I was delighted for the chance to taste Chris’s current releases (he also remains a partner at DeLille). Unsurprisingly excellent, these Upchurch wines offer some fine values (under the LTL designation) and high end reds that will please longtime admirers and offer long term cellar potential.
Upchurch 2022 Southwest Facing Boushey Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc – While making wines at DeLille Chris Upchurch pioneered a Bordeaux style of Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon using Washington grapes. A lot of new barrels contributed to the flavors. Here he’s gone a different route – all Sauv Blanc, 100% concrete egg fermentation and sur lie aging. Pungent with lemongrass, lime and grapefruit aromas, this is a juicy, fresh and clean expression of the more phenolic side of the grape. Definitely an acid lovers’ wine, it should match nicely with raw oysters. 397 cases; 13.6%; $38 (Yakima Valley) 91/100
Upchurch 2022 LTL Grenache Rosé – LTL means Larger Than Life. This late release is intensely aromatic, proving that rosés can benefit from extra age if they have the right stuff to begin with. Nothing wimpy here (hello Ravenswood) – this pale copper-colored wine offers rich, palate-soaking flavors of orange marmalade, nectarines, candied lemons and apple cobbler. Further accents bring dried herbs and pepper into focus. This is a powerful, pungent and flavor-packed wine still in a prime drinking window. 105 cases; 14.5%; $26 (Columbia Valley) 92/100
Upchurch 2022 LTL Cabernet Sauvignon – A mix of Red Mountain fruit, this is pure Cabernet with a penetrating bouquet of cassis, fennel, cedar and dusty spices. Firm and compact with tart blackberry and marionberry fruit, it maintains a sense of elegance despite its substantial abv. Tannins are lightly smoky, earthy, ripe and tasting of graphite. This brand new release will benefit from decanting or further bottle age. 1185 cases; 14.8%; $38 (Red Mountain) 92/100
Upchurch 2022 Counterpart Red Wine – Estate grown, 100% Merlot, spicy and tangy with ample acids supporting cherry fruit. All but one or two barrels were new and the impact of the barrel toast and spice is still being integrated. Hints of pipe tobacco, cedar, baking spices and cold coffee run through the palate, ending with an almost citrusy snap to the trailing finish. The texture, density and complexity elevate this well past most pure Merlots, even among Washington’s best bottles. Drink now to late-2030s. 380 cases; 14.8%; $60 (Red Mountain) 95/100
Upchurch 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – The flagship estate wine, this taps into Chris Upchurch’s decades of exploring both Bordeaux varieties and Red Mountain terroir to build a polished, textbook example of pure Cabernet. A dark ruby hue, this packs brambly blackberries, graphite, loam, coffee grounds, chicory and a dash of lemon shavings into a dense, compact core. Balanced and built to age, this nonetheless offers immediate drinking pleasure. The detail and texture push this near the top of the heap for Washington Cabernets. 460 cases; 14.8%; $90 (Red Mountain) 96/100
