The inventor Alexander Graham Bell is quoted as saying, “When one door closes, another opens.” When Woodinville Wine Cellars’ owner Stan Barrett decided to close his doors in 2017 it seemed a great loss to the wine community who had grown fond of the wines crafted by talented Sean T. Boyd.
Now winemaker Sean T. Boyd and his wife Kristin Jostad have opened a new tasting room with a brilliant lineup of wines released under their own label, Sightglass Cellars.
“Throughout the aging process, wine evolves and improves in subtle ways,” explains Sean, as much an innovator around vitis vinifera as Alexander Graham Bell was when tinkering with early telephone inventions. “During this time there is a settling and clarifying process where the suspended solids in the young wine slowly sink to the bottom of the tank or barrel. A sight glass is used to distinguish the ‘clear’ wine from the ‘hazy’ wine. We think this is one of the most important moments in winemaking.”
Sean says it all started to take shape in 1991 when he took his first winery job at the famous Penfolds in Australia, building on his experience at the legendary Miguel Torres in Spain, and other prominent winery estates in Australia, New Zealand and Portugal.
Sean and his wife, Kristin Jostad, founded Sightglass to continue the vision Sean had started during his tenure at Woodinville Cellars. “With Sightglass Cellars, I did not want to recreate a winery from Italy or France. I wanted to focus primarily on Washington State and the diverse soils,” he says. “Our back label has a map of Washington and our website has an interactive map with links to the vineyard websites. We will be growing this over the years as we add new and distinct vineyards.”
He describes his winemaking philosophy as minimal intervention. For example, his Chardonnay sourced from Conner-Lee Vineyard saw no oak or malolactic fermention, thus preserving the purest essence of the grapes. “I don’t make wines to be heavily extracted or Bordeaux style, I make them to best show off the vineyard they come from,” says Sean.
Every sample we tasted shined, emanating with beautiful poise, balance and singular sense of place. Sean’s commitment to his craft is evident in every pour.
Most weekend afternoons you can find Sean at the tasting room in the Arisan Hill District (next door to Finn Hill Winery) at 18800 142nd Ave NE, Ste 5B, Woodinville, (425) 503-3779, www.sightglasscellars.com
Here are 3 releases we sampled:
Sightglass Cellars 2015 Stillwater Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec, $33
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-94 pts.)
Supple and polished, this is chock-full of rich black fruit flavors swirling with earthy expressions of baker’s chocolate, loam, coffee beans and violet amid hints of leather, smoke and spice. The notes deepen on the mouthfilling finish.
Sightglass Cellars 2017 Conner-Lee Vineyard Chardonnay, $22
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-94 pts.)
Fermented in stainless steel tanks, this unoaked version delivers fresh aromas and flavors of crisp apple, pear and lemon citrus notes that spread out on the rich, pure palate with ever-expanding limestone minerality on the focused finish.
Sightglass Cellars 2017 Artz Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, $20
Editor’s Choice – Excellent (90 pts.)
Well structured and lively, with generous mouthfeel loaded with zesty lemon-lime and green apple flavors that deepen with earthy expression of slate, pea shoots, vine stem and spice.