Who Is Tinte Cellars?
I was a little confused at first who Tinte Cellars was since as you see on their logo it also includes 2 other winery names of William Church and Cuillin Hills?
Now This Couple Comes Along
For Tim Gamble and Teresa Spellman Gamble, Tinte Cellars is the culmination of a lifelong love of great wine and a commitment to building strong, inclusive local communities. In 2018, the opportunity arose to purchase two exceptional Woodinville wineries—William Church and Cuillin Hills. The wineries represented two distinct approaches to Washington winemaking, but were united by an unrelenting commitment to quality and community. Plus, they were neighbors and collaborators already! It felt like kismet. Tinte was born, and they look forward to preserving the legacy of these two great brands, (Teresa also has great dining tips for Woodinville and Seattle. I never would have found Taylor Shellfish Farms without her)
The two wineries will be under the Tinte Cellars umbrella and all they needed was a winemaker to keep the integrity and style separate and unique.
In Comes Noah Fox Reed
2015 William Church 2 Spires Red Blend
Sometimes these 2 Spires don’t play that well together. This time they do. Sourcing grapes from the cooler site of Dineen Vineyard, blending 66% Syrah with 34% Cabernet Sauvignon still kept the style of William Church of powerful but yet elegant. The wine has 14.4% Alcohol but no heat. There is not much technical data on aging but I detect a very small doable amount of Residual Sugar and assuming a combination of new oak (Guessing American And French) and neutral. Let’s review.
My Review
In the glass this wine is very extracted but not over extracted and displays that dark red to black Syrah Skin colors with a medium to full body viscosity. On the nose black and blue fruits. It almost resembles a huckleberry pie with a graham cracker crust, hints of licorice root, vanilla bean and grilled herbs. On the palate a rich but elegant mouth full of ripe fruit mimicking the nose, the acidity is medium and lots of boysenberry type flavors as the hints of herbal tones are in the back drop with a tad of spice and silky sweet tannins. A very fun wine to drink by itself or with Meats on the Grill. I don’t have the tech sheet but my trained palate detects that slight amount of Residual Sugar (Nothing close to what California Wines have ) that Noah must have copied some stylistic tricks from Dave “Merf” Merfield over at Northstar Winery. For me, I personally prefer all Wines with ZERO Residual Sugar or as we call it in the biz “Bone Dry” I could be wrong without a tech sheet but my palate is sensitive to any amounts even .3 Grams of sugar per liter and I will deduct 2 points for that being there. I will score the wine 89 Out of 100. A solid quality to price ratio at a winery price online of $38.00 which if Napa this would be $65.
My Summary
As you know I am Captain Washington. I would love to be representing all of these small production wineries in all 49 other States but right now that I know of, you only have one of the other methods I discussed in my previous video blog, which is online ordering unless you have the good fortune of living in Woodinville, Washington. I hope one day , all the wineries that have no superhero as passionate as me will want to form a coalition to represent them all in one portfolio so you can have better availability than waiting for delivery to your home. Thanks to Teresa for all the tips during my journey and emails back and forth. Sorry I missed you and Tim as you were in France. Next trip for certain. I wish this couple nothing but success. They are really making a difference in the world and in Washington State Wines. Check out their website and buy some wine. https://tintecellars.com/wineries/
Grape-fully yours, Larry
Beautiful Dineen Vineyard!
Larry The Wine Guy 