Holy Cow! Winemaking with style, humor

This Valentine's Day, let's forget the hearts and flowers. How about jazzing life up with a bottle of Holy Cow?

Here's the back story. In 2006, K Vintners' Charles Smith — he of the wild, frizzy hair and otherworldly syrahs — entered into a partnership with Precept Brands to produce and market his supremely successful house wines named, you guessed it, House Wine.

House Wine was designed as an everyday wine at an everyday price, but he has more wine ideas sprouting like spring flowers in his agile brain.

"Once I had partnered with Precept," the voluble Smith said, "I found myself in a vacuum, and I wanted to do more creative things. I always wanted to do riesling; in the right soils it makes the greatest wines in the world. And in the old days it was what started Washington. So I came up with Kungfu Girl and I thought 'this is just the tip of the iceberg.' The iceberg turned out to be Charles Smith Wines."

Charles Smith Wines is what Smith has dubbed his "modernist project." His goals are clearly stated, and remarkably humble.

"I thought there should be something in the sweet spot; regionally focused and vineyard driven. Instead of building these wines on winemaking, extraction, oak and extended aging, they're wines that are grown in the vineyard and put in the bottle intact. They taste like the varietal, and they taste like where they came from."

The first wine to be released under the Charles Smith label was last summer's Kungfu Girl Riesling, which was my featured Pick of the Week on July Fourth. Now we're seeing the follow-up wines, which together will create a complete modernist portfolio.

So, why Holy Cow? "I always liked those cattle crossing signs," says Smith. "I wanted something angular and modern, like the sherry signs in Spain. But my cow has the smallest head and legs; it's like modern art. Holy Cow also refers to the sacred cows of India; it's not one-dimensional kitsch. The back label has a branding-iron logo — HC on a rocker base. So it's the rocking Holy Cow brand; which makes it more complex for a rock-and-roller like me."

The 2006 Holy Cow Chardonnay ($12) is a full, fresh, medium-bodied wine that shows good structure and length. It has no oak and no residual sugar, just plenty of fruit and clean highlights of lime and quinine.

Its companion, the 2006 Holy Cow Merlot ($12) features ripe cherry fruit accented with baking spices, cut tobacco and a hint of earthiness. Both wines feature a friendly black-and-white cow on the label, with a halo over its head. Put them side by side and you'll see that the two cows are facing in opposite directions. They make a great, easy-to-spot display.

Coming March 1 will be the next addition to the Charles Smith lineup, the 2006 Boom Boom Syrah ($15). Remember those big, black bombs that were often featured in the old Road Runner cartoons? That's the Boom Boom front label. The back label features — what else? — a lit match.

None of this would be worth more than a giggle if the wines weren't so good. The syrah delivers plenty snap and sizzle; blueberry and boysenberry fruit underscored with layers of carefully managed vanilla, tobacco and silky tannins.

With these new releases, says Smith, he is attempting to pin down the essence of Washington grapes — the brightness of the fruit, the immediate accessibility of the wines — while retaining length and detail. Most inexpensive wines, if they are any good at all, are front-loaded with formulaic flavors of vanilla and sweet jam. These offer a more natural expression of flavors that come from the vineyard itself.

Other new Charles Smith wines are coming soon, priced a bit higher. A Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon (untasted) will be followed by three syrahs, all produced from the same Royal Slope vineyard and vintage. Named Heart, Skull and Old Bones, they differ only in the technical details of the winemaking.

We tasted the Old Bones, a blend of the Heart and the Skull, aged in brand new 500 liter puncheons. It is sure to become a cult wine, as it is unbelievably dark, saturated and concentrated. You literally can't see through it; it's black to the rim. Still young, hot and volatile, it is for those who love high-end, super-extracted syrah, and don't cringe at high-alcohol content.

All the Charles Smith wines are labeled Washington state rather than using the more standard Columbia Valley appellation. "Washington is not a generic term," explains Smith, "and that's a great thing. These wines typify the best that Washington has to offer."

A notable birthday

Pioneering Mendocino winemaker John Parducci, who started making wine in 1932, turns 90 this month. I've had many fascinating conversations with him over the years, and he's a no-nonsense farmer who is never shy with an opinion. I'm happy to know that he still goes to work daily at McNab Ridge Winery, where his grandson is winemaker (the original Parducci winery was sold some years ago). Congratulations to John and his wife, Margaret, with whom he celebrated a 70th anniversary last year.

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