When people ask me about Washington wine while traveling, I figure it’s going one of two ways. One, an interesting discussion will evolve about the power of hype and marketing and manufactured demand. Or two, I’m an asshole.

(At this point you probably know my views on the Washington wine industry. I feel the under-qualified, underachievers far outnumber the good people doing really good work.)

That’s why I like running into Christophe Hedges. He is a breath of brutally honest fresh air in this state full of what sometimes seems palate-dead cheerleaders. His family’s wines are a benchmark for me. I judge all Bordeaux-style Washington wines based on the Hedges offering that is closest in price. Fuck Leonetti and Quilceda. I’m talking about excellent wines at a comfortable price range, that average people can find and purchase with no problem. I’m such a radical, I know.

Hedges Family Estate wines are consistent, and they exhibit the flavorful evidence of nuance, terroir, and grape vines that have been through puberty. A few weeks ago I had a chance to taste their new estate wine alongside two 10+ year old versions. Wow, that’s what I’m talking about. The 1996 Hedges was a crazy quilt of classic Cabernet descriptors: a dark herbal streak with a slow-cooked** blackberry, brambly aroma and flavor. It was seamless and subtly powerful, with a silky body that left just a slight squeeze from the fine tannins. It was a true claret, as in it could have masqueraded easily as a 5ieme cru, or a higher end Napa Cab, what I call a Grace Kelly.

My point(s)/rambling thoughts : Who does make a wine for aging anymore? … Washington does not produce enough great wines AT EVERY PRICE to even come close to calling itself a great place for wine…not yet. …. I wish people would quit chasing after $100+ designer jeans wines. There are some wineries in our state getting it right for much less scratch. …. And maybe if more winemakers were less insecure about bombarding us with their swinging dick fruit bombs, we’d have more WORLD-class wines like those I taste from Hedges.

( **slow-cooked: When a fine wine ages, the fruit takes on a deeper, more layered flavor, and this is my short hand for remembering, what it tastes like to me. For non-Northwestern-berry-eaters, bramble is a tart and earthy flavor that kinda reminds me a little of cranberry or pomegranate, not as astringent, but with a similar back of the mouth zing. )