StoneTree Vineyard Archives

A few quick thoughts on the 2017 Michael Florentino Nebbiolo Rosé from the Yakima Valley.

The Geekery

Michael Florentino Cellars was founded in 2005 by Michael Haddox, a military vet who started in the wine industry working the bottling line at Columbia Crest.

Financial difficulties in 2009 prompted Haddox to sell the brand to Brad Sherman who got his start as an amateur winemaker with the Boeing Wine Club–which counts among its alumni Ben Smith of Cadence, David Larsen of Soos Creek and Tim Narby of :Nota Bene Cellars.

Today Michael Florentino focuses on producing small lots from unusual grape varieties like Tempranillo, Monastrell/Mourvedre, Primitivo/Zinfandel, Garnacha/Grenache, Albariño, Sangiovese, Counoise, Touriga Nacional, Sousão, Barbera and Nebbiolo.

To seek out these unique grapes (many of which have less than 100 acres planted throughout Washington), Sherman works with a wide range of vineyards including Gilbert and StoneTree Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope, Coyote Canyon Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills, Dineen Vineyard in the Yakima Valley, Upland Vineyard on Snipes Mountain as well as Red Haven, Ciel du Cheval, Kiona and Artz Vineyard on Red Mountain.

The Wine

Medium-minus intensity nose. Some faint tropical fruit and cherry notes but they aren’t very define. With air the fruit aromatics become more muted but a little bit of Asian spice (tumeric?) comes out.

Photo by Rintojiang. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA-3.0

The passion fruit notes in this rosé are much more noticeable on the palate than on the nose.

On the palate the fruit becomes a little more pronounced with passion fruit and pomelo taking the lead. Light bodied with just a tad of residual sugar on the tip of the tongue the wine is well balanced with medium-plus acidity that keep the wine tasting fresh. Short finish ends on the fruit without the faint spice note from the nose returning.

The Verdict

For around $15-18, this Nebbiolo Rosé is certainly unique but you are paying a premium for the uniqueness of the variety–especially compared to the value you can get from Provençal rosés in the $10-13 range.

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The Geekery

Two Vintners was founded in 2007 by Morgan Lee as a sister label of Covington Cellars, where Lee also serves as winemaker.

The 2014 Zinfandel is from StoneTree Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope. First planted in 2000 by Tedd Wildman, it is one of the few vineyards in Washington with Zinfandel planted.

Paul Gregutt notes in Washington Wines that for many years Washington wineries touted Lemberger as “Washington’s Zinfandel” with the first Columbia Valley Zinfandel to gain attention being Sineann’s example from The Pines vineyard located on the Oregon side of the AVA. In the last 25 years, the state has gone from negligible plantings of Zin to around 65 acres in the ground by 2017.

First released by Two Vintners in 2008, around 530 cases of Zinfandel are produced each year.

The Wine

Photo by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-NC-3.0

This Zin is loaded with rich dark fruits like boysenberries but, unfortunately, doesn’t offer much else.

Medium-intensity nose. Jammy dark fruit for sure–blackberry, boysenberry. But not much else.

On the palate, the full body fruit and high alcohol is apparent. However, the wine is well balanced with enough medium-plus acidity to keep it fresh. But despite all that huge fruit, the flavor itself is rather thin and fades quickly.

The Verdict

Full disclosure, I have a mad vino-crush on Morgan Lee. I think his Syrahs are some of the best in Washington and thoroughly agree with Seattle Magazine that he is a Winemaker to Watch in the state. But this Zin just doesn’t do it for me.

Yes, Zin and I have a complicated history but a recent trip to Sonoma help re-invigorate my enthusiasm for the grape. My gut tells me that the vines in Washington are just too young to make truly interesting Zins, even with exceptional vineyard terroir and winemaking.

It’s worth keeping an eye on but at $25-30, there are far more interesting California Zins or, for that matter, Washington Syrahs and red blends to drink.

Tag Archives: StoneTree Vineyard

60 Second Wine Review — Michael Florentino Nebbiolo Rosé

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60 Second Wine Review — Two Vintners Zinfandel

The Geekery

The Wine

The Verdict

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