Last weekend I was driving through Woodinville’s Artisan Hill area, stopping by to visit Sightglass Cellars and pick up wine at a couple other tasting rooms, when I stopped in surprise. I noticed a new wine tasting room sandwich board I’d never seen before. It advertised Lord Lion Winery. I couldn’t resist pulling over and finding a parking space to go check it out.
It turns out Lord Lion had by that point already been open for four weeks. This tells me Jen and I need to make it out to Artisan Hill and the Woodinville Warehouse District way more often than we do. We don’t want to miss anything cool or new that’s going on!
The owners, Graham and Gillian Cox, were incredibly personal and friendly. They shared the story of their winery with me. They’re new to winemaking. They’re from England, and wanted to use a Lion (representing Britain) on their logo. They would have liked to have been called Three Lions, but since our local highly revered Three Lions Pub is already using that name, they settled on the respectable Lord Lion instead.
Their logo features a majestic male lion wearing a monocle, and the logo also features a top hat. They proclaim “Pride in every bottle.”
The owners explained that the suit of armor in the corner is named “Sir Drinkalot.”
The smaller suit of armor on the tasting room counter is his son “Sir Sip a Lot.” (I love these winemakers’ sense of humor!)
This was the current tasting menu as of my visit in late September 2018. Notice that they make a Carmenere!
I was fortunate to visit on a nice day so I could see how they throw their doors open and set up a cute little patio for their wine tasting guests to enjoy.
I loved the funky lamps hanging above the tasting counter.
As I always do, I asked if the tasting room is dog friendly. The resounding, enthusiastic answer was “Yes, we’re VERY dog friendly!”
I snuck a peek into the production facility area of the winery. You can tell the Coxes have been busy at work in here! Graham mentioned that they were working on fermenting a Viognier today.
My first tasting pour was the 2015 The Royal Pride, a 100% Chablis style Chardonnay from Sagemoor Bacchus Vineyard.
I love that it was aged in stainless steel, so didn’t come across as oaky.
My second tasting pour was the 2014 Merlot, which has a bit of Cab Franc and Carmenere blended into it. I found it nicely soft and well rounded.
My third pour was the Splended 2013 blend. It’s named after Gillian’s horse, who lives nearby in Woodinville. “He’s big, black and beautiful,” she says, just like this wine. The wine is 43% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc. This Bordeaux blend smelled fabulous to me, and is known as a crowd favorite.
My fourth tasting pour was the 2013 Carmenere. It tasted oaky and woody, with a bit of pepper, but in a good way. As I tasted it, Gillian explained that their wines are aged two years in the barrel and then two years in the bottle.
If you’re curious about Carmenere, be sure to stop by and taste theirs.
My next pour was the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, which was comprised of 14% Cabernet Franc to round it off. Loved it!
My final pour was the 2014 Reser-Rex (Rex is Latin for “King.”) The grapes for this wine were grown at Kiona vineyard on Red Mountain. This wine has 15.1% alcohol. It was my favorite of the day and I took a bottle home for my cellar.
The Lord Lion Winery tasting room is located at 18808 142nd Ave NE, Suite 5B, Woodinville WA, 98072.
I encourage you to come meet our newest local winemakers! Lord Lion Winery is open Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5pm.
-Carrie
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