2 wineries, 2 separate paths, 1 goal

Two young wineries, Long Shadows Vintners and Nicholas Cole Cellars — located at opposite ends of the Walla Walla Valley — are methodically putting together the components required to make world- class wines.

Each is working from an entirely different business plan and creative vision — and both are positioning themselves as major players.

Long Shadows is actually an umbrella winery that includes seven separate projects, each with its own, high-profile winemaker. As conceived by founding partner Allen Shoup, its goal is "to create seven or eight Leonettis — free-standing, 4- or 5,000-case wineries that are meeting world standards."

The first vintages (2003, 2004 and 2005) were in a real sense experimental, as the visiting winemakers, coming from as far away as France, Italy, Germany and Australia, got the feel for Washington vineyards and began to adapt their methods to Washington grapes.

Gilles Nicault, a French-educated winemaker who is responsible for managing all Long Shadows projects, calls his job a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." But he is the first to admit, "We have not yet seen where these wines are going. For example, with Sequel (the syrah project guided by Australian John Duval), we started with 20 percent American oak; in 2004, we went to 10 percent. John thought that was still too much, so we are down to 5 percent in 2005."

After working in borrowed space for these first years, Long Shadows moved into its own production facility just in time for last fall's crush. Set amid rolling hills in the wheat country a few miles northwest of downtown Walla Walla, it is, as Shoup once told me, " just a cement box buried in the ground." A $4.2 million box to be sure, with every winemaking bell and whistle that modern technology can provide.

Shoup's vision is playing out vintage by vintage, wine by wine, as each of the seven projects finds its own confident footing. Although every wine has been carefully made, I am still waiting for many of them to crystallize, if you will, into truly distinctive expressions of Washington fruit. They are getting closer.

The newest releases, which have already sold out at the winery, show confidence and improvement across the board. Of particular interest is the initial release of Saggi, which emulates a super-Tuscan blend and is the project of Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari. Roughly one third sangiovese, one third cabernet sauvignon and the other third a split between syrah and some not-so-Tuscan barbera, the 2004 Saggi ($45) is smooth, chocolatey and dark — a good first step.

Now in its third released vintage, the 2005 Poet's Leap Riesling ($20) is a bit drier than before and takes full advantage of what was a great vintage in Washington. Old-vine riesling from Dionysus and Weinbau form the core of the wine, which is immaculate, rich and generous.

The second release of Sequel Syrah ($55), from 2004, delivers lush berry, plum, cherry and currant fruit, wrapped in generous new oak. What was for me the star of the 2003 show, the Pedestal Merlot ($55), returns in 2004 as a silky, smoky wine that is perhaps more elegant, with grace notes of licorice, citrus, coffee and plenty of tart strawberry and raspberry fruit.

Randy Dunn's 2004 Feather Cabernet Sauvignon ($55) displays lovely aromatics, though at first it seems soft to the point of being a tiny bit airy. As it sits in the glass or decanter, it begins to open up, and clearly the flavors are there — blueberry and boysenberry and black cherry, with well-matched oak and acid. The 2004 Pirouette ($55) is another aromatic and seductive wine right out of the glass, with waves of perfumed fruit, dusty cocoa, bright espresso and toasted grain. All Long Shadows wines are distributed by Cordon.

At the eastern end of the Walla Walla Valley, bumping up against the foothills of the Blue Mountains and overlooking Leonetti Cellar, its high-profile neighbor, is Nicholas Cole Cellars. Mike Neuffer, retired from a thriving construction business, purchased the property and planted the first 42 acres in 2001. The vines curve along a series of south- and west-facing slopes, at an altitude of 1,100 to 1,300 feet, offering good frost protection.

Neuffer's inspiration is Bordeaux, and his well-stocked wine cellar includes many fine examples of the sorts of wines he hopes to make. Consulted by Andrew Will's Chris Camarda, Neuffer is serving as his own winemaker, slowly moving from a reliance upon purchased fruit to estate-grown grapes as his vineyard matures.

He's a meticulous, detail-oriented man, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his winemaking goals. In 2004, the freeze year, he cut back the entire vineyard because he was unhappy with the trellising. Waiting for flavors to mature, he often delays releasing his wines longer than any other new winery I can recall, despite his unconcealed impatience to show a visitor the results of his efforts.

Consumers will recognize his "second" wine, the GraEagle 2004 Red Wing Red ($25), a straightforward Bordeaux blend that is drinking quite well already. But the top-shelf wines, except for the Camille, have not yet been seen. The 2004 Camille ($48) is a polished blend of roughly two-thirds merlot, one-quarter cab franc and the rest cabernet sauvignon. The grape sources are Klipsun, Champoux and old-vine Canoe Ridge. "I'm trying to stress the right bank [style]," Neuffer explains. "Until the estate fruit is up and running, I lose a little flexibility. This 2004 is getting back on track; in '05 we use more estate fruit."

This new Camille is a gorgeous wine, scented with a mix of plum, berry, melon and mocha. The scents envelop you, and the flavors follow, good, still tight, still firm, still showing a little bit of green tea in the tannins. It's structured well, with a forward, lush roundness from the merlot, backed with more assertive tannins and some moist earth flavors from the cab franc. Just a hint of coffee comes through at the end. Decant this wine; I found it drank superbly after being open for a full 24 hours.

Neuffer and I tasted through a number of other wines in progress:

The 2005 Michele (a cabernet-dominated blend) built upon estate fruit with some Klipsun merlot. It showed exceptionally clean fruit flavors of ripe berries and melon and cassis, backed with thick, ripe, sweet and satiny tannins. Release is still a year away.

Better still (and two years away from release) is the Nicholas Cole Cellars 2005 Estate Reserve — a dark, thick and tannic wine, tasting at this point quite strongly of bourbon barrel, yet already showing the estate's clean and sharply defined fruit, concentrated with black cherry, cassis, herb, coffee, smoke and a bit of iron.

Last, but certainly not least, out came a Nicholas Cole 2005 Dauphiné Syrah, again from estate fruit, and due (hopefully) for release this fall. Young, spicy and lifted with grapefruit, pineapple and citrus scents, it is the sort of young, assertive wine you can guzzle down, yet it brings excellent concentration to the table, with pure purple fruits and crisp natural acids.

Two wineries, two completely different business models. One is working with the best fruit it can find from around the state, and using the skills of nine different winemakers to produce its wines. The other is focusing on a more traditional approach: estate-grown fruit; a single, dedicated vision; and a narrow, well-defined range of wines. Both are making wines that will build upon the pioneering efforts of this state's founding wineries and show the world that Washington wines rank with the best.

Finding the wine

Unless noted, all Wine Adviser recommendations are currently available, though vintages may sometimes differ. All wine shops and most groceries have a wine specialist on staff. Show them this column, and if they do not have the wine in stock, they can order it for you from the local distributor.

Paul Gregutt is the author of "Northwest Wines." His column appears weekly in the Wine section. He can be reached by e-mail at wine@seattletimes.com.