Jared and Mikey Etzel, two sons of Beaux Freres' winemaker and co-owner Mike Etzel, have released their new vintage of Pinot noirs. The boys have grown up - their wines are better than ever. They're committed to keeping production small, with only 130 cases total!

Both Horsetail and Coattails Pinots will be very difficult to find, except at Avalon. Even though their wines have never been submitted for scoring, they will be sold out within a couple weeks.

Nathan, Jared, & Mikey Etzel

Horsetail Pinot noir 09

$26.05 in any 12 bottle order
$28.95 retail

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY AVALON

Energetically drinkable, greatly expanding as it glides seamlessly across your palate. Dark berries with bits of bramble, adding cola spice, dried cherries, sweet cigar and thyme notes on the long, fruit-filled finish. I love the combo of restraint and balance with youthful energy. Jared thinks this is the best Horsetail they've made and I agree with him 100%.- Marcus

Get this while you can - only 80 cases were made and they will disappear over the Memorial Day weekend.

Coattails Pinot noir 09

$66.56 in any 12 bottle order
$73.95 retail

Just two barrels - 50 cases - of 2009 Coattails were made, since the Etzel brothers have very (very) stringent standards as they work to establish themselves as a top-tier Oregon winery.

Coattails is built for long-term aging. So give a little space if you open it now and you'll find a fragrant, attractive nose of candied red fruit, fresh earth, and wafts of toasty oak. Layers of fruit unfurl, with a current of raspberry washing through the dynamically powerful finish.

I really appreciate Jared and Mike's tongue-in-cheek approach to naming this wine. They are a product of their humble, down-to-earth parents. Coattails 09 is dedicated to their mother. - Marcus

Winemakers Jared and Mikey on the 2009 Coattails: " The 2009 Coattails is limited in production numbers because we are determined to try to improve each successive vintage and we are willing to declassify the majority of our production. We were successful with the 2009, it has huge flavor concentration and remains balanced with great energy on the palate. This wine is going to age very well. Two barrels fit the criteria of what we are looking for in Coattails wines. We take every opportunity to improve in the vineyard and wine-making to produce a top-tier Pinot Noir. We will continue to push the envelope to produce the best Oregon Pinot Noir that we possibly can."

Update on the Winemakers and the Winery

A lot has happened in the year since we sent you the 2008 vintage of Jared and Mikey's wines. Mikey is now vineyard manager at one of the top vineyards in Oregon, Brick House Vineyards. I can't emphasize enough how much it says about his skills. Owner Doug Tunnell's Brick House wines were singled out by New York Times last year for a feature article. He is very involved with the vineyard and only hires the best.

Jared is at an equally prestigious job, living in St. Helena, CA and working for Denis Malbec (previously of Chateau Latour in Bordeaux), winemaking consultant to Kapcsandy (recently had back to back 100pt Robert Parker ratings), Blankiet, and Capture wineries. Jared and his brothers are also developing a very small project producing Cabernet Sauvignon from a beautiful vineyard on Mt. Veeder in Napa Valley. The scope of the project is "to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon from microscopic yields that has great flavor intensity but also has refinement and elegance." The first vintage is 2010 and is currently in barrel, It will be called "Lisa Chu Vineyard By The Etzel Brothers." - Jean

Youngest brother Nathan is currently in Denmark finishing his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at the Denmark Technical Institute. - Jean

Read More:
"Beaux Freres: Introducing the Second Generation"

Wine Spectator 94 Points
and HOT WINE

Sineann Pinot noir
Yamhill Carlton Resonance Vineyard 09

$37.76 in any 12 bottle order
$41.95 retail

Wine Spectator 94 Points

Plush, deep and complex, yet light on its feet, offering a mouthful of mineral-accented cherry, raspberry, green tea and spice flavors that sail smoothly and serenely over refined tannins. This has richness with moderate weight. Drink now through 2019.

 

Roots Cancilla Vineyard Pinot noir 08

$25.15 in any 12 bottle order
$27.94 retail

Cancilla Vineyards is the choice of some of Oregon's best up-and-coming winemakers. Because the vineyard is less known than, say, Shea, the wines typically come in at half the price of the famous brands. And the vineyard is proving to be a rising star, just like the winemaker. The Haden Fig Cancilla 08 is a fair comparison - and it sold out in a week.

The Roots Cancilla Pinot noir flavors are predominantly blackberry, black currant, and earth. The Cancilla Vineyard's characteristic hint of licorice and spice livens things up. Pair with lamb or pork and use light flavoring on the meat to let the wine's sweet spice shine through.

Black Cap Pinot noir 09

$42.26 in any 12 bottle order
$46.95 retail

Jason Lett's Black Cap Pinots have one thing in common across the vintages - every wine has aromas that produces a Pavlovian response...it makes you salivate for what you're about to taste.

Fresh-picked raspberries, the ineffable allure of morel mushrooms, a floral lift. It is supple and creamy, with a finish that starts shyly and builds with time. Like all Pinots that come out of the Eyrie cellar, this is made for aging and should be decanted if you are drinking it soon (which you should, just for the hell of it!). Jason has grown Black Cap from a microscopic bottling to one of Oregon marquee wines. - Marcus

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Marcus, Jean, Andy, and Wendy
541-752-7418

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