Lunch with Abeja

This past week I was honored to have lunch with John Abbott, co-owner and winemaker for Abeja Winery in Walla Walla. What a treat for me to have some extended time with one of the great talents in Washington state winemaking. I have long enjoyed the Abeja wines, and find him to consistently produce great wine, while avoiding the "sameness" that exists in much of the state's wine industry.

The timing of the lunch was good too as we had recently closed out some of our brands from Washington and California that had begun to over produce for their price point and failed to maintain their previous quality. Abeja is one of the wineries we hoped would replace those brands. Compelling to us is that Abeja produces better wine than some of the "celebrity" productions, and while not inexpensive are better values. Also Abeja remains committed to keeping their production around the current 4,000 cases with slight vintage variations which bodes well for the quality of the wine.

Everything we tried at lunch was delicious and John "broke" a few bottles out of the library that were really terrific and showed how his wines age. While some of those are not available either here in our shop or at the winery, the tasting experience was educational and fun. Here is the specific rundown on the wines we tried and will be carrying in the shop.

We tried both the current release 2010 and an older vintage 2007 of the Abeja Chardonnay. This was wine nirvana for me! Despite the bifurcation of the domestic Chardonnay market into one end of the spectrum being the overly rich, buttery, oaky chards that have become meals in themselves and the other end of overly austere stainless steel productions that lack complexity, I still enjoy well made Chardonnay. Aged in 100 percent French oak barrels made from three-year air dried staves with 40 percent of the barrels being new, the wine is what Chardonnay ought to be in my opinion.

The 2007 was spectacular showing lemon zest and broiled citrus on the nose. When I tasted the wine what I wrote in my notes we should not put in print but I will say it is a delicious blockbuster of a wine.

The mid-palate is creamy and rich but held in check by a firm acid backbone. It has at least 6-10 years to go and will likely improve along the way. The really good news is we did talk John out of a case of the 2007 and it should be here soon, retailing for $38. We will be adding the 2010 to the shelf too, same price and every bit the measure of the '07 but more youthful and vibrant with lower alcohol from the cool growing conditions in 2010. It is clear though that John got his Chardonnay picked before the weather shenanigans that came up during the fall of '10.

Next we tasted Cabernet including the 2008, 2009 and reserve 2005 vintages. Abeja only bottles their reserve varietals in years when the fruit and wine measure up. They bottled reserves in 2005, 2007, and 2009 and while the wines are spendy at $85 retail, based on my perception of the '05 they are well worth it. Both the '05 and '07 reserves are sold out and the '09 will be released in the fall. The reserve wines are all 100 percent varietal. We have signed up to get some of the 2009 come fall purely on the quality of the 2005 which is a spectacular wine showing an intriguing perfumey essence on the nose that develops into a rich velvety drink as it moves through the mouth, exhibiting layered complex fruit flavors. While the reserve bottling sees all new oak barrell ageing the wood does not show in the wine, in short we loved it.

We did order the 2008 Cabernet and will have it in the shop this week. The wine is blended with 7 percent Merlot, 2 percent Petite Verdot and 1 percent Cabernet Franc.

The Franc really shows in the aromatics triggering a nice violet note to go along with additional aromatics and palate flavors of plums and cherries. The wine finishes with more length than any Cabernet we have tried in a long time; it has a lovely finish that hits high notes of pipe tobacco to go with more fruit and great juiciness at the end. You will continue to taste this wine long after the last swallow and is a compelling buy for $43 given the outstanding quality.

The 2009 is also available and just as fabulous. With additional time in the bottle it will only get better.

Both vintages will continue to evolve for 10-15 years.

We are excited to have John's wines on the shelf, and look forward to trying his Merlot, Syrah and Viognier in the future. For wine consumers while the Abeja wines reside in the super premium category we would stand them up against many from the area even those that attempt to justify price tags two and three times that of Abeja, making John Abbott's wines a compelling addition to your collection.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party - a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and writes frequently for the online version of Coeur d'Alene Magazine at www.cdamagazine.com. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com.