Long Shadows is one of those wineries that seems a bit overpriced for the quality. Much more impressed with the wines from Januik.
2020 Long Shadows Wineries Riesling Poet’s Leap- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
As far as wines drinking the best at the tasting this one was and of course does not need cellar time. Peach, sour apple, pear and minerals. A touch of grapefruit on the finish. (90 pts.)
2019 Long Shadows Wineries Chardonnay Dance- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills
The nose on this wine is nice but the palate is less impressive. Chablis like nose with shells, lemon and spice. Palate features oak, lemon, spice and apple. A lighter style wine but lacks complexity overall. (89 pts.)
2018 Long Shadows Wineries Saggi- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
58% Sangiovese, 30 Cabernet and 12% Syrah. Just not showing a ton right now. Dry with sawdust, cherry, dried herbs, spice and earth. I would hold this but right now not drinking well. Probably would be better on day 2 or 3. Every now and then I see a wine that is overrated on Cellar Tracker but this goes to a new level. 88-90 points. (88 pts.)
2018 Long Shadows Wineries Merlot Pedestal- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Better than the first 2 Long Shadow wines. 82% Merlot, 14% Cabernet and 4% Malbec. Spice, dark cherries, red bell pepper, blueberries and coffee beans. 92+ (92 pts.)
2018 Long Shadows Wineries Pirouette- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Spice, plum, oak, cherry and earth. Firm tannins. Needs time as they seem to use new French oak on their wines and this shows. (90 pts.)
2018 Long Shadows Wineries Chester-Kidder- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
64% Cabernet, 28% Syrah and 4 Petit Verdot. Oak, cherry, smoke, vanilla, plum and spices. Again needs some serious time to develop. 91 points (91 pts.)
2018 Long Shadows Wineries Syrah Sequel- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
The best showing of the Long Shadow wines. Dark cherry, coffee beans, menthol, spice floral notes. Medium finish. (92 pts.)
Again, why I do the 3-day wine reviews is simple as these wines were not showing well on day 1 but maybe they would have been better day 2 and 3 but for $60 a bottle I will not find out. Posted from CellarTracker
Long Shadows early on was an interesting idea, but I don’t think we now need outside winemakers advising on how to make Washington wines, if we ever really did. We have plenty of Washington winemakers now who really know what they are doing, so the concept of Long Shadows now is really obsolete.
I had a lot of people say age them and would agree but on the pop and pour just not impressed and honestly I have had some with age and there are so many better from Washington for less. I find it interesting Long Shadows is a no show at the Walla Walla Syrah Festival and the vintage pour had plenty different offerings than Syrah last night.
Probably don’t want to see how average their wines are compared to others in the Valley.
My impression of Long Shadows has always been that they are hugely tannic early, but with 5-8 years of age they soften nicely. We’ll go do a tasting every 3-5 years when we are out in Walla Walla just to check in, but aren’t generally wow’d.
I have a few Long Shadows wines going back to 2006 (including apparently a 2008 Poet’s Leap that I forgot I had), and as I’ve gradually opened them over the years, I don’t know that I’ve really come to enjoy them a ton more. Yes, they do soften with age, but for me they have never arrived at a point that made me truly glad I spent the money and cellar space on them. I don’t hate them, but there are so many other wines from Washington that I like more.
You seem to have a good bead on Washington wine. I’ve been on Long Shadows’ mailing list for the past handful of years, and find them to be a fair value, but nothing really gets me excited to drink. I also get Leonetti, Cayuse, and most recently Reynvaan, and they are for special occasions due to price point. I used to get Pepper Bridge and Betz, but tired of both and dropped them. Whenever we visit Walla Walla or Woodinville, I always find a wine or two I like, but rarely do I find one that inspires me to join a club or mailing list.
I have not had Januik, at least I don’t ‘remember’ having one. I just looked at their website and it appears they have three different levels?
Might you have other suggestions for Washington wines to try? Cause like others have commented, Long Shadows isn’t scratching the itch anymore, and I’d like to have a source of wines in the sub $50 range for everyday drinkers.
I’m sure John knows much more than I do, and is much more up-to-date (I moved out of WA in 2011, and haven’t been back for wine-related stuff since then), but you didn’t mention Andrew Will, which is one of my favorites and I believe still has at least a few in that price range (like everyone else, their prices have gone up over the years)… Cadence also has some I like.
Michael, if you’re looking for a winery whose lineup is very strong and are generally below $50, I’d suggest you try more wines (if you haven’t already) from L’Ecole No. 41. I also am a huge fan of Soos Creek, but note they only do Bordeaux varieties (mostly blends), but are almost all in the $20-$30 range. Finally, the several labels under the K Vintners / Charles Smith umbrella contains lots of great wines, many under $50.
I’ve enjoyed Andrew Will as well. I was in Seattle this past week for work and was able to stop by the Rotie Cellars tasting room in SoDo as well as the K Vintners tasting room. I enjoyed my time at both, albeit for different reasons. At Rotie, most of their wines are at or below the $50 threshold (their Northern Blend is crazy good for the price if you like the WA state funk), as was their Big G (100% Grenache). K Vintners was less funk driven but plenty of options under the $50-75 threshold (The Boy, The Beautiful were standouts).
We’ve been visiting Walla-Walla and/or Woodinville for about 10 years now.
In most cases with Washington wines, their shipping costs end up being too high for repeat shipments, so we end up buying a few bottles and taking them home as luggage. AK Air has had a deal where wine flies free between Washington State and Alaska (home).
I despise clubs that force you to buy x number of bottles they decide to send you, two/three/four times per year. With Long Shadows, you get to modify the shipments, and the costs to ship are not bad. I think that’s why I get them now.
I can’t recall visiting Andrew Will. Will need to visit that one on our next trip. Have not had Cadence or Soos Creek either - thank you.
L’Ecole - yes, many times. We will usually stop here before Woodford Canyon.
K - yes, several times.
We have a few dessert wines in the cellar from Rotie. I do not recall if I liked their reds though.
We may take a trip to Walla Walla this fall. I’ll ask for rec’s before we go.
I will second Andrew Will and Rotie at this price point. Rotie I still buy every year and think they are the highest quality for value in the WA Rhone category. (Btw I did not know they did dessert wines. I have never come across that from Rotie).
I have not had recent vintages of Andrew Will but still have some from the 1990s that are drinking really well.
I guess I am burying the lede here as the one addition I would strongly recommend is JB Neufeld. Really great Bordeaux blends for under 50. In fact I think there premium bottle (Old Goat) is around 50 if I remember. For my taste these need to age a few years (particularly old goat). But these are great wines at a great price.
My bad, I was thinking of a different winery and NOT Rotie when I said I had their dessert wines. I had a brain fart. I was thinking of Rotta winery out of Paso Robles. I have a bunch of their wines in the cellar. My g-friend loves their Black Monukka.
I was surfing through my collection of Washington wines in Cellar Tracker and forgot I really enjoyed Tero Estates. It was a surprise tasting in their downtown tasting room, the last time we were there. I tried to find their website, but it appears to be shut down.
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