After a long tenure in the California wine industry, Doug Long retired to Washington state but soon caught the wine bug again, setting his sights on Eastern Washington and specifically Red Mountain. Along with some business partners, Long planted the Obelisco Estate vineyard in 2004 and released the winery’s first vintage in 2007. In 2011, Long bought out his partners and took sole ownership of the winery.
Many hands aid in the creation of Obelisco Estate wines, including some of the top winemakers in Washington state. Crafting of the red wines falls to Sara Goedhart (Goedhart Family and Hedges Family Estate) and Pete Hedges (Hedges Family Estate). They bring the experience of working with Red Mountain fruit including Cabernet and Syrah. The winery’s newest white wine, Riesling, was a collaboration between owner Long and Barrage Cellars winemaker Kevin Correll. With this team of impressive winemakers it’s no wonder that Obelisco Estate winery creates classic Washington state varietals with such high quality and caliber.
What we are drinking this week from Obelisco Estate:
2009 Electrum Cabernet
2011 Obelisco Estate Riesling – $18
A great dry Riesling with citrus and rose petal flavors and a tart lime pith finish. Our tasting team also picked up on wet rock minerality after the bottle had breathed a bit. This would pair nicely with spicy Thai or Indian food.
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon – $40
Very approachable with red fruit flavors including cherry, raspberry and plum. The palate was greeted with fruit forwardness and finished with a touch of sweet oak flavor.
2009 Syrah – $35
Pulled 100% from the Red Mountain’s Les Gosses Vineyard, this Syrah has an inky purple color and great black fruit flavor. On the palate were mint, eucalyptus and cherry cough drop flavors. Perfect for an herbed lamb on the grill.
2009 Electrum Cabernet – $65
Our tasting team took one whiff at this wine and said “that’s Red Mountain.” Darker in color than the Cabernet above, the Electrum was a much fuller wine with more pronounced tannins. A favorite of the tasters.
TableTalk Tasting Disclaimer:
Wines are tasted on a weekly basis by the TableTalk tasting team. Our policy is not to rate wines but to educate our followers and let them know about the people, wineries and wines from the Northwest region. Wines reviewed include purchased samples, samples provided by wineries and wine tasted independently at events and tasting rooms.
