2016 Guardian Cellars Chalk Line

• By Stephen Tanzer
  Focus on Washington: The New Normal (Nov 2018), 11/1/2018, (See more on Vinous...)

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Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Future Top 100? (+FP Closed REMINDER), 7/11/2018

  (Guardian Cellars Chalk Line) FP Closed REMINDER: We will be closed for pickups on Friday July 13 and Saturday July 14, returning to our normal hours July 19-21. ---- Hello friends. I really wish there was a market where I could bet on future Wine Spectator Top 100 wines. Or maybe not. As someone only two generations removed from a family member nicknamed Horsey because of his predilection for the racetrack, I’m probably best putting distance between myself and the wagering. That said, I think our long-time list members will agree that my crystal ball over the years has been pretty accurate when it comes to Spectator’s Top 100 lists. Today we have what I believe is the strongest candidate yet from Washington in 2018 (among wines that actually still have inventory in stock). And it comes from a familiar winery:I recently learned that the following review will be included in the August 31 issue of Wine Spectator: Wine Spectator: Copyrighted material withheld. I must not be the only one who knows about that upcoming review, because there has been a run on this wine. Because of that, I’ve asked for (and been granted) a hold on a parcel, but a) that parcel is only barely big enough to warrant an offer; and b) it evaporates fairly quickly. Please place all order requests by the end of Sunday, and we’ll do our best to agitate for as much as possible. Now then, back to the crystal ball. A few years ago, when our list members began asking for more predictions about which northwest wines would wind up on Spectator’s list, I did what any applied-math-major-turned-wine-retailer would do: a proper statistical analysis. Since then, we’ve continued to update our database of Spectator Top 100 wines from the PacNW; it now covers 88 wines from 11 years. Nerdy? Sure. But also fun, and better yet, fairly predictive! Spectator is nice because they make their criteria for the Top 100 very clear: score, price, and production (there is also a fourth, qualitative, fudge factor, but until we can install a wine spy on the inside – don’t doubt us! – we’ll have to ignore that one in favor of the quant factors). Looking at other 92pt northwest wines that have made the list over the years, we have a group of thirteen wines. Their prices range from $22-$48, and their production from 600cs-30000cs. Chalk Line is a (92pt | $25 | 1340cs) wine. Normally, I’d say it’s borderline, because the other four 92pt/$25 wines on the list had production levels of 3888-8000cs, so this is smaller production. But… most of the data points in our database are from the Harvey Steiman era of reviewing. The more recent Tim Fish era has been more, shall we say, parsimonious when it comes to northwest reviews. So actually, I’d say the best analog for chalk line is last year’s list, which included 2014 Gorman Zachary’s Ladder. That one also had a 92pt review, with a higher price ($30) than Chalk Line, and lower production (600cs). It’s only one data point, but because of recency, I’m giving it plenty of extra weight. All in, I’d put the odds of Chalk Line ending up in this year’s Top 100 list at 70/30; pretty darned good odds. And one thing I can say with 100% certainty: the wine will be sold out by the time that list is released. Ten paragraphs in, and no real mention of the wine yet. Yikes. I’ll aim to keep this brief. For the longer story on Jerry Riener’s background as a police officer and evolution into his role at Guardian Cellars, see our inaugural Guardian offer from way back in October 2010. Chalk Line is Jerry’s gateway wine into the Guardian lineup, a very Washington blend of Cab (42%), Merlot (28%), Syrah (28%), and PV (2%). The vineyard sourcing here is excellent – a trio of Red Mountain sites (Quintessence, Obelisco, Klipsun) alongside Stonetree and Conner Lee – and the wine clocks in at 14.3% listed alc. Red Mountain is all over the nose and the palate; the nose in the form of loads of ferrous earth and spice notes overlaying a core of dark plum and blackberry fruit; the palate with its signature intensity and robust tannin structure. Still, those tannins are well-managed here, polished; I can see why Tim Fish was texturally charmed by this wine, which has the mouthfeel of many considerably pricier bottlings. This is a balanced, beautiful blend, with nary a shred of excess weight. Bravo to Jerry, and fingers crossed that the crystal ball is clear this year.