SCOTT OVERTURF

Recently our state wine industry lost a quiet friend. It is fortunate for us that David Lake spent years in London working in the retail wine trade, while earning his Master Of Wine certification. 

Why? Because he ultimately chose to leave one of the world’s great cities and settle in very small and quiet Bellevue, Washington. There he invested his bank of knowledge of the wines of the world by becoming the only winemaker in America with an MW. I believe there were only a few dozen MWs back in 1978, when he arrived here. Even now, there are less than 300 in the world.

It was not the highly educated, gentlemanly and quiet Lake that would become our poster child or rock star for this fledgling industry. That fame would come to a self-taught, hard-working visionary and good old boy that reached cult status in 1980. 

In his first vintage, a 1978 Cabernet, Gary Figgins was chosen by what is now the “Wine and Spirits Magazine” as having made the best Cabernet in America. 

Meanwhile, back at Associated Vintners, David Lake was quietly wrestling with how to handle his first (1979) Cabernet. 

It was off the heels of our worst winter freeze since the 50s. Although AV released their ’79 Cabernet, much of it was recalled because it was so closed down, tight, with hard tannins dominating. 

I’m sure it was difficult for such an educated winemaker with a world view to submit to the pressures of releasing it too early, particularly since we had recently witnessed the same problem with Bordeaux in 1975. 

I suspect David was key in the call back. It was not false bravado that caused him to respond the way he did. It was his keen understanding of wine that evoked his assessment that this wine would drink in its peak phase 21 years later . . . the millennium. 

So that is what he called it. It got a custom label, a fancy price, and went to market as a sleeper agent-ambassador. I was nervous about the case I‘d invested in, when around 1990, it came in last place at the Kapalua Wine Festival taste off. I called David and asked his assessment of the longevity of Millenium. He said the wine was progressing right on schedule and Hawaii didn’t bother him at all. Darned if he wasn’t right. 

It was beautiful for our millennium party, still drinking good in 2005, at age 24. Most modern winemakers couldn’t even hope to lay claim to that kind of evolution from their first vintage. Certainly no one back then did. 

A side note of interest; only 15 percent of the fruit came from his favorite site, Red Willow. Eighty-five percent sourced from his #3 vineyard, Otis. 

If it took years to validate his success with red wine, the opposite was true with whites. His dry Gewurztraminers and Semillons were the best in the state but it was hard to sell grapes fermented dry when most demand was for sweet. It was 1980 and a new wine had just rolled in and taken Seattle and the country by storm . . . White Zinfandel.

Imagine a market where Semillon was less popular than it is even now! David’s was so good that it had to be acknowledged. The Tri-Cities Wine Festival, one of Washington’s two largest, awarded the 1980 AV Semillon Best Of Show honors. A side note here is that I have never had a host serve me a Semillon and yet Washington continues to make the best in the country. It is our house pour/no brainer with clams and mussels; a lesson in synergy.

In his first two vintages this young, unassuming winemaker had pronounced the fact that his Cabernet will age decades, made the best Gewurztraminer in America (in my humble opinion; I’ve seen his age 25 years), and got a Best Of Show for his Semillon.

None of these things were done back then. I don’t know anyone who could do it now! David Lake was like a modern composer of music; trained in the classical approach and then experimenting with the new. 

He pioneered Washington’s first Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Gris and vineyard-designated wines. I think he was the first to use left handed elves, too.

AV was a big winery with big numbers to make. David was responsible for creating a consistent, dependable product that could please a wide spectrum of buyers. When you combine that with his insistence on making wines of balance, not too ripe or over oaked, then you were pretty sure not to compete for major awards and press. People who knew David were impressed by him and never doubted he could make age-worthy custom wines of elegance.

I went over to DeLille Cellars because I figured David Lake had left a big imprint on the people who have achieved such success there. He was a consultant since their opening.

Pat Lille’s face lit up when we spoke of David. She has a wonderful story and rare glimpse at David, the giddy friend. 

They were madly preparing for opening day. It was the night before and David was upstairs helping Pat decorate the room and a very long table. They were bumping into each other and giggling each time as they happily met the pressures of opening. 

Chris Upchurch, DeLille’s formidable winemaker of consistency and excellence, was more pensive reflecting on his friend and mentor. He told how David called his attention to one of the oldest Cabernet vineyards in the state, Harrison Hill. He said if someone like Chris was to custom grow the fruit, he would probably have something special. Then he told him how that might become possible. 

The short of it is, after some key inquiries, Harrsion Hill Cabernet became part of DeLille’s palate of fruit sources. Ultimately, the quality became so high that they make a Harrison Hill blend that is 99 percent from that vineyard. I feel it is the most understated, supple of their Bordeaux blends. 

Chris discussed David’s great ability to assess the blend. One recent vintage, Chris was struggling to get his final blend right. He called David in to help. 

After analyzing the wines, David said, “Take the Red Willow grapes out of the mix. It doesn’t need them.” 

Chris said, “But David, it is the best part of the wine. And Red Willow, that is your jewel vineyard. You helped make it famous. Are you sure?” David was right. 

Somehow, by subtracting the best component, the wine became more seamless and complete. Chris had his final blend. But it is not the blends and vineyard advice that Chris cherishes. He would have found his way to the top of his craft anyway. What he holds closest about David Lake is one of those simplest ideas that is hardest to articulate. 

David showed him HOW to be a winemaker. As he searched for the words to complete this thing that moved him most, I told Chris it sounded very Zen. 

He said, “It is Zen, and the irony is David is not Zen at all.” 

I could tell from the depth of Chris’s feelings that David’s contributions in this house come through the man and then into the wines.

Imagine how many stories there are with how many people in the decades David has lived life here. We who have shared time with him are better for it.
Cheers to you, David.