Delille Wine Dinner at Cafe Maxx with winemaker Chris Upchurch

"Old red wine, not worth a dime; we'll have to finish it after crossing the line."

Old Red Wine by The Who

Wine Watch top pick for Domestic White Bordeaux inspired blend:

This wine is featured in our gift box selections for 2016 and is considered to be a benchmark for Washington state whites as this 2013 vintage is the 20th release of  Delille’s Chaleur Blanc!  Delille is one of the pioneering wineries of Washington State and we have one of the top minds in the business here for a dinner at Café Maxx a week from tonight. 

We also have an incredible deal on the last of the 2013 vintage of the Chaleur Estate Blanc but if you want to meet Chris Upchurch there are only 24 seats available for this wine dinner coming up next Wednesday night at Café Maxx so respond to this e-mail or call 954-782-0606.  This dinner is limited to 24 in the wine room at Café Maxx and is $115 + Tax + Gratuity. 

Right off the bat, there’s bouquet of white pepper, lemongrass, brioche, grapefruit, caramelized pineapple and vanilla followed by sweet grass and white flowers. The mouth follows with almond butter, pineapple upside down cake, apple crisp and campfire smoke framing the dried fruit and honey. Wow, this vintage is complex and generously flavored – an outstanding Chaleur Blanc!         

2013 Delille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc
Price: $42.75       Sale $19.75
Quantity in Stock: 65

(94 points) Another stunning white from this team is the 2013 Chaleur Estate Blanc. A blend of 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Semillon that barrel fermented, it sports a light gold color to go with a sweet bouquet of buttered citrus, crushed rock, white flowers and toasted almond. One of the few serious white Bordeaux blends being made in the US, this medium to full-bodied beauty has a core of sweet fruit, integrated acidity, sensational purity and dry, clean finish. While I suspect it will age just fine, I see no reason to delay gratification and would drink bottles over the coming couple of years.  eRobertParker.com (Issue # 219 - Jun 2015)

Delille Wine Dinner at Cafe Maxx with Special Guest Chris Upchurch
Wednesday, January 18
7:30pm

Pass Arounds
St Andre cheese crostini with apple
Mini philo crab purse
Sea scallops and mango sauce

Delille Cellars Chaleur Blanc 2015
Price: $42.75       Sale $37.62          Case $437

(93+ Points ) "Fully ripe but exhilaratingly sappy aromas of tropical fruits, lemon oil, fig and honeysuckle. Very sexy, complex and smooth on the palate, with expressive flavors of citrus fruits, honey, wild herbs and flowers (Upchurch described the wine as "more Smith-Haut-Lafitte than Domaine de Chevalier in style," which isn't much of a stretch considering its high quality in recent years). Finishes with outstanding subtle length and thrust. The Sauvignon Blanc from Sagemoor, reportedly the oldest planting of this variety in the state, makes up a good percentage of this wine. Incidentally, this is DeLille Cellars' 22nd year of making a white Bordeaux blend in Washington." Review by Stephen Tanzer for Vinous, Nov. 2016

First course
Citrus and almond crusted snapper, butterscotch & Roussanne gastrique, braised Swiss chard
Roasted carrot, pearled couscous and vanilla custard

Doyenne Roussanne 2013
Price: $41.75       Sale $36.74          Case $426

(93 points) One of the top Rhone whites coming out of Washington, Delille's 2013 Doyenne Roussanne (100% Roussanne) is straight up terrific. Giving up tons of minerality in its citrus blossom, crushed rock, white currant and white floral-laced bouquet, this beauty is close to full-bodied, rich and textured, yet always stays balanced, fresh and lively. It has a great finish and keeps you coming back to the glass. It's great now, and while this grape can have an unpredictable evolution, I'm sure it will be an interesting and enjoyable effort in a decade or more. Still, as always, the easy and safe bet with these is to drink them in their first 4-5 years.   eRobertParker.com (Issue # 219 - Jun 2015)

Second course
Beef tenderloin tartare, balsamic & black Sambucca glaze, shiitake mushroom
red watercress and raisin walnut crostini

Doyenne Aix Red Mountain 2012
Price: $43.50       Sale $38.28          Case $444

(93 points) Once you move east out of the Southern Rhone Valley and into Provence, you hit the town of Aix-en-Provence, and you have a few producers who utilize Cabernet Sauvignon, Domaine Trevallon being the most notable. Delille's Doyenne Aix is made in this image and is always a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2012 Doyenne Aix (60/40 Syrah and Cabernet) is a one of the finest vintages of the cuvee to date and it offers full-bodied, rich, decadent notes of blackcurrants, black raspberries, smoke tobacco, chocolate and roasted-garrigue characteristics. Concentrated, ripe and with solid mid-palate depth, it's also fresh, lively and beautifully balanced. It will be better with short-term cellaring, yet have 15 years of overall longevity. (JD) (6/2015) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Third course
Blueberry BBQ glazed Duroc pork ribs, purple potato chips and red cabbage slaw

Delille Cellars D2 2013
Price: $34.50       Sale $30.36          Case $352

93 Points "Ruby-red. Complex, perfumed aroma of blueberry, licorice and cocoa powder. Plush, sweet and deep; this round, seamless, fruit-driven blend boasts terrific immediate appeal. There's a hint of intriguing salinity here but not quite the umami richness of the outstanding 2012 example, even if this wine possesses riper fruit. Velvety and delicious right now and long and lush on the aftertaste.” ---- Review by Stephen Tanzer (Nov 2016)

Fourth course
Crispy confit duck leg, gorgonzola polenta, mixed berry demi glace
Medley of roasted winter vegetables

Delille Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Four Flags 2013
Price: $64.50       Sale $56.76          Case $658

(95 points) Up there with the incredible 2012, yet in a more focused, tight, backwards style, the inky colored 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Four Flags comes from four separate vineyards (Klipsun, Grand Ciel, Ciel du Cheval and Upchurch) and exhibits classic Red Mountain characteristics of black fruit, smoked herbs, licorice, graphite and dusty minerality on the nose. Possessing serious intensity, full-bodied richness, ripe, yet present tannin and a fabulous finish, it needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years, and it will drink beautifully through 2038. This was another massive lineup of wines from the team at Delille, and as I think the scores show, I'm not complaining. The 2013s show the more elegant, streamlined style of the vintage nicely, while the 2014s offer a more unctuous, hedonistic style. These are both terrific vintages and ideally readers will have both in their cellar. The news here is the consolidation of the Doyenne releases under the Delille Cellars label. In the past, the estate kept their Rhone variety blends separate and released them under the Doyenne label, with no mention of Delille. Going forward, all of the wines will be released under the Delille label, with the Rhone inspired releases including Doyenne as part of the wine name. I think this is a good move and simplifies the labels. In addition, I'm working on a retrospective here to show the overall aging curve for a few of the cuvees. This will be published as a standalone article later this year. (6/2016) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Dessert
Dark chocolate tart, raspberry cassis chocolate sauce

This dinner is limited to 24 in the wine room at Café Maxx and is $115 + Tax + Gratuity.  For Reservations call 954-782-0606.

By the 1990’s Washington State’s winemaking trends had clearly shifted to Bordeaux varietals. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlots were receiving high praise and scores from many wineries around the state. Yet no one was blending these grapes in the traditional style.

We knew that blending these sister grapes would create wines where each varietal would contribute its own attributes and still give us classically structured wines where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  Wines that would showcase the purity of fruit that is Washington State terroir.  It is here where we thought we could contribute and shine in the industry.

At DeLille, we believe that Washington State is a Grand Cru wine growing region, created 10,000 years ago.  The challenge for us has always been and remains: to create special wines from the uniquely expressive terroir that Mother Nature gave us a long time ago,” states DeLille Cellars’ acclaimed winemaker Chris Upchurch. “We know that this challenge of discovery is never ending, and is becoming tradition here at DeLille Cellars.”

Chris’ love for wine started in his youth, with extensive travel throughout the Grand Cru wine-growing regions of Europe and the west coast of the US. "I had to start off developing my palate and my perspective. How can you make great wine if you don’t know what that is?" he reflected.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington, Chris began his career as a wine merchant, working with several of Seattle’s best-known restaurants. This experience allowed him to hone his palate while tasting wines from around the world. Deep in his heart, Chris knew he wanted to express his passion in the production end of the wine industry.

Armed with his love of wine and commitment to learning its craft, Chris initially developed a successful grape-brokerage business contracting grapes from Washington State and selling them to winemakers. Chris uncovered his true calling once he started spending endless hours in the vineyards. That love of the land, the vine and its fruit, fostered Chris’ passion of winemaking and his passion for charting a course in Washington State.

An acclaimed professional winemaker for over twenty years, Chris still spends much of his time in the vineyards of Washington State, primarily Yakima Valley and Red Mountain AVA’s. Reflecting on the great European winemaking tradition, he remarks “The truly long-lived wines are made in the vineyards. I expect to be here for many years to come.”

The Harrison Hill vineyard, planted in 1962, has the second oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines in Washington State. In 2009, Harrison Hill became part of the Snipes Mountain AVA (lying within the boundaries of the Yakima Valley AVA), Washington State’s 10th official viticultural area. Snipes Mountain AVA is distinctive with an elevated topography and unique soils not found elsewhere in the Yakima Valley AVA. Snipes Mountain is the second smallest AVA in Washington, bigger only than Red Mountain.

Owner Steve Newhouse makes certain the yields are of the lowest in the state. The resulting wines are complex, expressive and exhibit "Somewhereness". This, coupled with its elegant black cherry signature, compels us to bottle it as a single-vineyard wine. Five acres of cabernet, merlot and cabernet franc are grown here.

DeLille Cellars long-term goals have always been to create our own vineyard, so that we have the proper control of the fruit we use to make our wine. Ultimately, this control is vital to making fine wine. We also believe that it is imperative to wait for the finest vineyard site opportunities.

Grand Ciel in the Red Mountain AVA is DeLille Cellars' first owned vineyard. In partnership with Jim Holmes of Ciel du Cheval Vineyard (see below), we developed this site as a "state-of-the-art", no expense spared vineyard. Grand Ciel Vineyard was designed to produce great vintages with the best of both worlds - namely concentration and hang-time complexity. With the French grape clones we chose; along with high density planting and traditional Guyot-trellising, this vineyard slows everything down. Our first harvest from Grand Ciel Vineyard was the 2004 vintage.

Klipsun Vineyard is perhaps the most respected in the state. Wine & Spirits Magazine has named Klipsun Vineyard one of the Top 25 vineyards in the world. On your first visit to Klipsun Vineyard, you can see that this is one of the best -maintained vineyards - a tribute to David and Patricia Gelles and their vineyard manager, Julia Kock. Klipsun cabernet and merlot are famous for their superior ripeness and jammy plum nuances. They also produce some of the most ripe and powerful sauvignon blanc in Washington.

Dick Boushey's vineyard is near Sunnyside. It is a cooler site and therefore perfect for merlot, which often ripens too quickly at other sites. Because Dick combines his cool site with lower yields and a stingy use of water, his merlot harvests well into October. This long hang-time gives the wines great expression and depth. Dick Boushey is also producing some of the best syrah in the state as well, which is an important part of our Doyenne.

Jim Holmes is the owner of this great Red Mountain vineyard. Here, over 20 year-old vines of cabernet sauvignon and merlot produce wines with the best grip and structure anywhere. This vineyard has always been a major part of the Chaleur Estate. The added bonus is that Jim's vineyard is also a Grand Cru vineyard for Syrah. It is the dominant force for our Doyenne.

Sagemoor historically has played a lead role in the Washington State wine industry. Todd Cameron, vineyard manager, now carries on that tradition. Simply stated, Sagemoor provides us with the oldest and some of the finest sauvignon blanc vines. The wines from here tend to have a nice combination of power and crisp, natural acidity.

Red Willow vineyard is one of the oldest vineyards in the state with Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted in 1973 that are still in production today. Red Willow is the results of 4 generations of farming dating back to the 1920's growing potatoes alfalfa and hay. In 1971 Mike Sauer enlisted renowned WSU viticulturist Dr. Walter Clore to start planting wine grape on the slopes where his other crops wouldn’t grow. Here the elevation is at 1,300 ft. which places it above the Missoula Floods and escapes the deep soils that it created. Here the soils are poorer ancient soils which as Mike discovered, is perfect for wine grapes.

Owned by our celebrated Winemaker Chris Upchurch. Upchurch Vineyard is the newest vineyard source for DeLille Cellars.

From the beginning, Upchurch Vineyard has been dedicated to sustainable farming. Certified by L.I.V.E. (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) a non-profit organization that promotes and certifies sustainable vineyard practices.

Stillwater Creek is a family owned vineyard on the Royal Slope of the Frenchman Hills in Washington State. The Thomas Alberg family has combined the talents of two of the most experienced people in our industry with winemaker Mike Januik and vineyard manager Jerry Bookwalter.

The vineyard is distinguished by its unique soil composition, a combination of sandy to silty loam mixed with large amounts of fractured basalt. The vineyards are south facing and are planted on some of the steepest slopes in Washington- up to 22 % grade in many parts of the vineyard.

In 1992 we started with 2 wines, both blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Our Chaleur Estate Red featured Cabernet Sauvignon in the lead while our D2 was Merlot dominant.  In 1994 we were fortunate to acquire the rights to Harrison Hill vineyard which had some of the oldest vines in the state. Now over 50 years old, Harrison Hill has become one of the most sought after Bordeaux blends in the state.  In 1995 the same philosophy contributed to the creation of the Chaleur Estate Blanc, a Bordeaux style white wine blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.