The earnestly kind folks over at DeLille invited Salty Seattle to come out and experience the oenological delights featured in their winter release yesterday.  We eagerly accepted the invitation, thrilled to be a part of what promised to be a superlative tasting.  The release featured five wines in total, one white and four reds.  We started with a crisp and healthy pour of the Chaleur Estate 2008 Blanc. It is 62% sauvignon blanc and 38% Semillon.  BIG DISCLAIMER: I typically loathe white wines. I don’t know what it is- I love reds, champagne is my very best friend, and a crisp rosé on a spring or summer day does me right nice. I’ve yet to wrap my palate around a bottle of white, but not for lack of trying. That being said, the Chaleur Estate Blanc was a refreshing lightly fruited nutty glass of rich smooth flavor.  I was very impressed with its ability to keep me drinking despite my prejudice. 

Next up- Harrison Hill 2007. This classic Bordeaux-style blend is predominantly cabernet sauvignon and all I have to say is LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS! After a couple meaty pours of this big, dark old-vine wine I coined it “Dirty Harry” and all hell broke loose from there.  People were clamoring to purchase Dirty Harry- lined up 10 deep to take case after case off the DeLille boys’ hands.  Bewitching, silky and in need of a cellar age or a good long steep in the decanter, this wine is the stuff of legend. 

It is probably not fair that the next pour was the Chaleur Estate 2007 Bordeaux blend.  It is virtually identical in grape composition to the Harrison Hill, though it hails from AVA-of-the-moment Red Mountain as opposed to good ole boy Sunnyside where Dirty Harry is from.  By all counts the Chaleur Estate is a well-balanced, great structured red.  It will stand up to the cellar for quite some time, and will go down in the history of DeLille as a fine, fine wine.  I was just so intrigued to note the vast taste difference in a wine blended by the same hand composed of the same grapes, the only difference being the terroir on which the grapes were grown.  The Chaleur Estate is perhaps more approachable and versatile, but Dirty Harry wins my heart for being the big bad boy who slings me on back of his motorcycle and romances me off into the sunset. 

The next tasting station showcased the Doyenne line, both the 2006 Syrah and the 2007 AIX.  The syrah was a very classic example of the grape, rich and meaty, yet vaguely floral at the same time.  The AIX is delicate and jammy, composed of 61% Syrah, 35% Cab Sauv ant 4% Mourvedre.  I am a big fan of this blend because I love how the Cab really shines through on the finish. It’s almost like you get the best part of both grapes doing what each of them do best, starting with the unctious fruit-forward Syrah and finishing up with the balanced smoothness of Cab.  I see this wine as a great stepping-stone wine, perfect for someone who wants to graduate beyond approachable into something mildly but overly complicated. 

After finishing up the tasting, I begged another half glass off the ever-charming part owner of DeLille, Jay Soloff, and proceeded to get schooled in the ways of the world by Greg Lill, son of the late great Charles Lill- granddaddy of DeLille Cellars.  According to Greg, whenever Charles would travel to a country where the food and drink might have a questionable effect on the digestive system, he had quite an exciting remedy.  He and his wife Lori would hunt down a bottle of the strongest local hooch upon arrival in each exotic locale.  They would then proceeed to take a shot every morning before brushing their teeth, and a follow-up shot right before bed.  This way any questionable bacteria would surely hit the high road, and the Lill’s were left to enjoy their vacation with a lightened conscience and a clear gut. Little stories like these really make a person understand what a truly nuanced character Charles Lill surely was. It’s no wonder he founded the greatest winery in Washington on the advice of his son and son’s friends Chris Upchurch (now winemaker) and Jay Soloff. 

Greg also taught me another clever trick that I will take to my grave- that of marking one’s territory (or should we say terroir?).  I noticed his glass had some sort of clever metallic wine charm hugging its stem, and upon closer inspection realized it’s the simplest and best way possible to lay claim to a glass.  He merely removes the foil from the bottle he’s opening, worries it into an even line, and winds it around the stem of the glass.  His foil happened to be black, but he made one for me that was silver by merely inverting the foil.  I see this idea going viral in the wine world- it’s so genius in its simplicity yet the possibilities are endless for creating various little foil shapes.  I may try to fashion a mini Koala bear just like those ones common 20 or so years ago that would tightly hug whatever you placed them around. 

The DeLille tasting left me with a great taste in my mouth and a strong urge for another glass, which they would only have been too happy to satisfy, but alas, I had a dinner to attend and I didn’t want to pull a drunken harlot move at the restaurant so Jonas and I picked up our case of zealously ordered bottles, made a pre-request for a magnum of D2 (coming out this fall) and went on our merry way.

Chris Upchurch, winemaker, talks wine

If I told you that one of the most esteemed wineries in Washington state, rather the United States, was an idea hatched on a cocktail napkin many years ago, wouldn’t that make you love it all the more?  Many accolades have been bestowed upon DeLille’s wines, and while I’ve certainly been known to wax verbose about a big red or two in my day, for the purposes of this entry I’m going to leave that to Robert Parker and the rest of the big boys.  Instead, I’m going to give you a little insight into the history of this award-winning wine Chateau situated on a humble hill in the heart of Woodinville wine country. 

DeLille Estate

The great success story that is DeLille winery mirrors that of the life of Charles Lill, the beloved granddaddy co-founder of DeLille who passed away in 2008.  By all accounts, Charles Lill was a real gentleman and a hard worker throughout his topsy turvy life.  A descendant of Huguenots who fled persecution in France during the 17th Century, Lill ended up in a then-German controlled region of what is now called the Czech Republic.  During World War II, Lill became a Luftwaffe pilot, and ended up in the hands of the Soviets, confined to a Russian prison camp. 

He was treated with slightly more deference than his compatriots since he wore the Luftwaffe uniform, thus he enjoyed the special privilege of cooking for the Russian officers.  This position gave him the freedom to recognize an opportunity to flee the camp when he boarded a passing Swiss train one day while harvesting potatoes for the officers’ meals.  He escaped to Switzerland, and post-war, found himself in Munich where we worked as a statistician for the US government.  He was able to save just enough money to secure passage to Vancouver BC and eventually Seattle, albeit with only $20 in his pocket. 

He began rebuilding the great legacy bestowed upon him as a descendant of the DeLille family the second his feet hit the Seattle pavement as an insurance salesman.  Over the centuries, his DeLille family ancestors were hit with a series of life-shattering hardships, including losing land that was once a winery in a territorial dispute. They are obviously of hearty stock; Charles Lill proved yet again that a DeLille phoenix can rise from the ashes of war and strife, and in this case make some damn fine wine.  Lill’s hard work for decades allowed him to retire from business in the early 1990’s, however his son and a couple of friends had grand plans for Lill’s golden years. 

Jay Soloff and Chris Upchurch

Jay Soloff, Chris Upchurch and Charles’ son Greg Lill had hatched a plan on a cocktail napkin to turn Charles Lill’s rustic slice of the American dream perched on a hill in Woodinville into a world-class winery, and Greg presented Charles with the idea on a family vacation in Hawaii.  Luckily for the three, now owners of DeLille, and for the rest of us who regularly enjoy their wines, Charles Lill loved the idea, albeit with one stipulation.  He wanted the winery to take his ancestral name, both to honor the winning spirit of the past, and to leave a legacy his progeny could be proud of for years to come.  Thus, DeLille Winery was borne.

Grounds of the estate Charles Lill created

Chris Upchurch is the winemaker, and since he cut his teeth on Bordeaux-style reds, he wanted to bring that approach to Washington winemaking.  By most accounts, DeLille was the fourth winery to set up shop in Woodinville, and it’s now considered among the very best, if not the best in the state.  While other longstanding wine houses in the area have opted for commercialization and commoditization with their wines, DeLille has kept things fairly small and classy.  They buy new oak barrels every year in which to age their wines, as Upchurch believes that to reuse oak is akin to a cup of tea with a used tea bag.  At upwards of $1000 per barrel, it’s easy to understand why you may end up paying a bit more for their product than some of the neighboring wines down the hill. It’s certainly worth it, though, as you’re guaranteed consistent quality in every bottle, which is more than I can say for some Chateau’s in the vicinity that have adopted the cheap and easy approach. 

Doyenne label painting

I had the great privilege to attend a release event at DeLille recently, and as usual, the wines were spectacular.  Upchurch maintains a firm following behind his Bordeaux-style wines, of which DeLille currently produces five.  He has gained almost equal notoriety, however, for the wines that fall under the Doyenne and Grand Ciel labels as well.  One to watch for next spring- the brand new Rosé. Upchurch won’t tackle anything he can’t make the very best, which is why you won’t see him trying to cultivate Sauternes out of our new-world Washington soil just yet.  Despite its newness, the rosé is something Upchurch has mastered so completely that it sold out completely before it even made it to market last spring.  Better get your hands on some next spring before it meets a similar fate! 

I was also struck at the tasting by how convivial and downright welcoming each and every one of the folks I met at DeLille was.  Despite being one of the most established cult wineries in the country, the DeLille posse has not gotten a bit too big for its britches.  Although the three active partners, Soloff, Upchurch and Lill (now Charles’ daughter Pat Lill Jorgenson is also a shareholder/partner) are not related by blood, DeLille is still very much a family affair.  Jay Soloff was kind enough to give us the grounds tour despite it being a chill November day. The way he waxed romantic about the history of both the estate and Chateau itself as well as DeLille Wines made it apparent that his vested interest lies far deeper than in his pocketbook. 

Jay Soloff and his lovely lady Catherine

If you have the opportunity to head out to the DeLille Chateau for an event, by no means should you pass it up.  Alternatively, if you’re looking for a one-stop shop for some lush, elegant holiday wine, visit their tasting room called the Carriage House, opened from 11-4:30 daily.