Ste. Michelle makes return to top form

Sometimes we take the Big Winery wines for granted.

I mean wines that come from big corporate enterprises. They’re made by The Suits – which means that they don’t have a good, mom ‘n’ pop-type story. They weren’t made by a Boeing engineer turned struggling artist in some dank warehouse.

A story is what consumers, retailers and the press love. Even the world’s leading wine critic gets seduced by a story. A close friend analyzed a recent Parker book and noted that, “To score with Parker it helps to have a back story. I have sketched a composite of Parker’s ideal winemaker. She is a curmudgeonly but gracious 80-year-old baroness from St. Emilion who makes about 1,500 cases a year with equipment she borrows from her neighbors at Chateau Petrus. The Baroness complains that she doesn’t have the money to purchase her own equipment.”

“‘If I wanted security and prosperity, I’d work for the government,’ the Baroness tells Parker over a simple lunch served outdoors surrounded by her flock of peahens. To add to the back story, the Baroness once refused to release an entire vintage because of a handful of tainted corks. Parker would note that he tasted the wine (from an untainted bottle the Baroness stashes away in a dingy and cramped cellar) and deemed it the greatest wine she has ever made.”

Take that, Mr. Corporate Winemaker!

Sometimes I feel sorry for the big wineries. Their corporate wines seem to be always underfoot. The very fact that they have that corporate marketing muscle behind them means that they get into all the grocery stores and gas stations. Which means that they are not collectible. They are not rare.

And sometimes, granted, they are not very good.

But … sometimes they really are delicious. And affordable. And easy to find. As I slog through the tons of mediocre wines from the Big Boys, one major producer always stands out. And that is Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

Ste. Michelle’s Columbia Crest brand, currently their biggest, best known and I would guess best-loved lineup, has gotten its fair share of good press in recent years, and deservedly so. But the old Ste. Michelle brand has taken some lumps.

I too have felt that there was some slippage, especially in the red wines, in the early vintages of this century. Suddenly they seemed thin, tannic, herbal. The white wines were better, but then Erik Olsen, who was making them, left to work in California.

In 2003, the Chateau brought in Bob Bertheau, and he instantly brought fresh ideas and energy to the entire wine program.

Well, instantly is a bit of an oxymoron in the wine world. Bertheau’s first wines, a lineup of five different chardonnays, were released in 2005. I am still waiting for the full effects of his regime to be reflected in the red wines, which are just now hitting the shelves. But Bertheau has really nailed it with his first three vintages of the whites. He set the stage by writing this engaging note with the release of his 2003 chardonnays:

“You’ve heard the sentiment ABC – anything but chardonnay. Inspired by heavy-handed, oak-splintery wines that you never want a second glass of. Well, with these 2003 chardonnays, we want to turn this expression around: Chardonnay, Back Again. Here are three key elements:

“Better separation of programs. If we are going to have five chardonnays, there need to be obvious differences.

“Better integrated oak. Oak is a spice, not the main ingredient.

“Softer, more complex mouthfeels.

We are now into Bertheau’s third released chardonnay vintage, and everything he has promised has come to pass. The latest chardonnays are wonderful wines. And the newest Ste. Michelle cabernet seems (at last) to be a return to form.

So ladies and gentlemen, this is one Big Winery that deserves a Big Round of Applause. Here are three wines to savor:

Chateau Ste. Michelle 2005 Canoe Ridge Estate Chardonnay; $20. This exceptional value is loaded with fruit flavors of cut green apple, pineapple and melon. The fruit is set in a creamy frame and finished with beautifully restrained oak accents that support it without burying it.

Chateau Ste. Michelle 2005 Indian Wells Chardonnay; $17. Here is another super ripe, rich and luscious chardonnay. It’s a tropical fruit-flavored California take on Washington terroir. Plush, smooth and plump, it carries its weight well, with an especially fine, lingering finish.

Chateau Ste. Michelle 2004 Indian Wells Cabernet Sauvignon; $17. These are the flavors that have been missing from Ste. Michelle cabernets for some time. This is crisply-structured, varietally true cabernet. The ripe fruit flavors of blackberry and black plum are amplified with spicy cinnamon from aging in American oak.