NW Wine Newsletter February 28, 2003

Avalon
NW Wine News
06-Mar-2003

The Avalon
Hot Ten
Best selling Wines
this week

1.Raptor Ridge
Pinot Noir Murto 2000
Wine Spec 91- $21.99- what a price for high rated
single vineyard Pinot noir!

2. Andrew Will
"Champoux" Red Wine
$55.99 Exquisite and limited-
Our favorite from
his current offerings

3. Andrew Will
Syrah 2001
$31.99 Excellent price,
first vintage,
not yet reviewed- great price
delicious and intriguing

4. Shea Wine Cellars
Pinot Noir "Homer" 2001
$64.99 The Reserve Pinot Noir Club selection, this is Patty Green's richest, most over the top, extracted and massive Pinot noir - very very limited

5. Beaux Freres
Pinot Noir 2001
$57.99 Low intro price,
Wine Spectator 92 points

6. Kiona Cabernet Reserve 99
Continues for 8th week,
even better than regular Cab
(Wine Spec top 100
wines of the world)

7. McCrea Cellars
Syrah 2001
Wild monster Syrah
from NW pioneer

8. Big Reds Club Membership
2-3 bottles a month of the best, hard to get NW reds

9. Patricia Green Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 2001
On sale, great price, stellar wine, elegant, rich, cellar for 6-8 years

10. Patricia Green
Pinot Noir
Balcombe 2001
Her most popular single vineyard Pinot noir, from a tiny site newar Domaine Drouhin

*first week
on the list

The Avalon
Top Ten Gourmet
Best sellers
this Week

1. Tazo Tea in
Wooden Storage Box

2. Tazo Beaded Gift Box

3. Metrokane
"Jack Rabbit"
Heavy Duty
Corkscrew

4. Eweberry
Marionberry Jam

5. Aloha
Passionfruit
Pepper Jelly

6. Picnic at Ascot
Hiking Backpack

7. Best from Oregon
Marionberry
Granny Jar

8. Best from Oregon
3 flavor Gift Pack

9. Oregon Gourmet Cheese Selection

10. Avalon Ocean and Forest Bounty Gift Pack

Focus
on Syrah

Do you like your Syrah bright, jammy and young, or big, tannic and oaky with a few years in the bottle?

Winemakers in the Northwest produce both styles, as Syrah has become one of the hottest grapes to come out of Eastern Washington and Southern Oregon. Some wine experts predict the scrumptious wine will eventually surpass Merlot in popularity in the next few years.

read more about syrah and see our list of available and recommended NW syrahs HERE

Jean's
Kitchen Sink Picks

What's on the kitchen counter today? Syrah in all its glory. There's a long row of bottles open with a big glass in front of each, half full of dark, almost black-colored wine. I've been going through a range of Syrahs from Washington and Oregon, small boutique producers and large established wineries. The counter, the sink, my teeth, and a couple of white cats are all showing purple stains!

The McCrea Cellars wines stand out from the pack. Doug McCrea is the pioneer winemaker who started making Syrah years before its popularity and his experience with the grape shows in the wines. When I first opened the 2000 Syrah, I was blown away at the immense tannic massiveness of his most available Syrah. As the wine opened up, fruit and spice appeared, and by the next day, the wine had softened to a lush, plush, spicy, oaky, smoky, rich monster with tiny hints of stilton cheese and licorice in the fruity nose.

The four "named" Syrahs from McCrea, Amerique, Ciel Du Cheval, Boushey, and Cuvee Orleans, each show unique scents and flavors from their varying terroirs. I was particularly enamored of the 2001 Ciel Du Cheval, with an intriguing note of rose petals and culinary herbs, and lovely complexity.

Andrew Will's first Syrah intrigues me with its hit of lavender and dried herbs in the nose, and its wild gameiness. This wine has not yet been reviewed, so we have been able to get a pretty good supply. I predict that it will be scarce as soon as the word gets out. Excellent value. The Dunham Syrah (91 points in Wine Spectator), Delille's D2 blend, L'Ecole #41's Apogee, Rockblock's Syrah, and Penner Ash's Syrah are all delicious, and would be fascinating to try if you are interested in exploring the newest "hot" varietal from the NW.

Many of the best NW Syrahs are at the upper reaches of what I'd pay for Syrah. I won't purchase these for everyday drinking, but they are so rich and yet have the complexity that leads me to think that they will be very interesting to lay down and try across a few years.

When it comes to everyday drinking, there are several Syrahs that offer excellent value. You know I love Kiona's wines, and their just released Syrah 98 is no exception. Just a lovely wine, not as dense as some, but drinking wonderfully and best of all, only $21.95 a bottle. Or $19.80 by the case. The 97 received 90 points from Wine Spectator. This one is better. If you can get some of Andrew Rich's tiny production when it comes out, his Syrah is a steal, as is Viento's. The Viento is wild and gamey, while Andrew's Syrahs tend to be rich, smooth, creamy, fruity and appealing. At the low end, the Chateau Ste Michelle and Snoqualamie Syrahs are both dependable and pleasant, and their Reserve Syrahs, hard to get, are outstanding.

“McCrea Cellars
Producing Southern Rhone blends”

“The Sultan of Syrah Adds
to His Bevy of Purple Beauties”

In several Eastern Washington vineyards, Doug McCrea, known as the "Sultan of Syrah" has planted Grenache, Mouvedre, Counoise, Marsanne and Roussanne—all grapes used to produce a Southern Rhone blend wine. Once again, McCrea is at the forefront of producing new varietals in Washington State.
READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE
(it's towards the bottom of the page)

"Taste Washington Showcases
140 Washington wines,
85 Regional Restaurants"
"Now That's Some Taste!"
With Washington state emerging as one of the premiere wine growing regions in the country, the chance to taste through some of those wines is coming soon. Read article here....

New and Sale Wines

Patricia Green Cellars
Pinot Noir 2001
Shea Vineyard
$29.59 was $39.99
Highly recommended
by Avalon
This is one of the best values in Oregon Pinot available right now. Last year Patty and Jim made a tiny amount of wine from this vineyard and it was much higher priced. This year, they have more, and have reduced the price. A wonderful wine to cellar, it will drink well across 6-8 years of proper aging.- JY

Shea Wine Cellars
Pinot Noir 2001
$29.59 was $39.99
Highly recommended
by Avalon
Here is the companion wine to Patty's Shea listed above. Patricia Green a also made this wine, and it is altogether different than the 2001 Shea from her own label. She made the wines for Shea Wine Cellars in a much more extracted, California style, with big plush fruit and lots of toast. This wine will drink wonderfully across 4-5 years of aging, and is a fruity, plush Pinot noir. -JY

Owen Roe Pinot Gris 2002
Casablanca Vineyard $22.99
very limited highly recommended
Just released, David O'Reilly has produced another mind bogglingly rich wine, this Pinot gris is made from fruit that was left on the vine through 2002's unusually long season, comes in at 15% alcohol, although you'd never know it. Just a rich, rich, deeply flavored wine, not a hint of heat, layers of fruit, just shows what Pinot gris can be in the hands of a master of over-the-top winemaking.-JY

O'Reilly
Pinot Gris 2002 $12.99
Riesling 2002 $11.00
Great values from the makerz of Owen Roe and Sineann- David O'Reilly and Peter Rosback makes wines under the Owen Roe, Sineann, and O'Reilly labels, with the O'Reilly label designated for their less expensive wines. Well the price is great but there's nothing else "less" about the O'Reilly wines, made in very limited quantities and mostly distributed locally here in Oregon.

We opened the Riesling at the store for customers last Saturday and they went nuts over it. The fruit is from the Rosa Vineyard in Yakima, a vineyard below the famous "Rosa Mystery Block" of Owen Roe fame. Daivd asked the vineyard owner to grow to his specifications, and the result is this excellent, serious wine, at a bargain price.

The Pinot Gris is similarly well priced and offeres excellent value and refreshing flavors.

Sineann Pinot Gris 2002 $15.99
I saw Peter Rosback recently (Sineann winemaker with David O'Reilly) and he was so excited about this Pinot gris.

He says: "This may be the best Pinot Gris we've made. That's saying a lot considering the quality of our '99. The wine is already displaying impressive depth and will only improve for quite a time. Most of the fruit comes off the Wyeast Vineyard in the Hood River Valley. Located on a south-facing slope at high elevation in a famous fruit growing area, the fruit ripens fully while retaining good acidity."

Sineann Riesling 2002 $16.00
David has this to say about the Riesling: "The grower, Hal Medici, and I have been convinced that we could make a great Mosel-style Riesling off his thirty year-old vines. We have been making Icewines for many years under the Medici Vineyards label. This year (2002) Hal agreed to sell me the fruit. This wine is the result. A near perfect harvest brought in Riesling, ripe with a fair amount of botrytris and great acidity. The wine is amazing, evolving on the palate in myriad ways."

Beaux Freres Pinot Noir 2001
Wine Spectator rating 92 points!
SALE PRICED THIS MONTH!!! $57.99
suggested retail $69 Read more....

Beaux Freres "Belles Soeurs" 2001
Wine Spectator rating 90 points!
SALE PRICED THIS MONTH $38.95
suggested retail $50 Read more....

Abacela Tempranillo 2000 $23.99/$21.60

Carabella Pinot Gris 2001 $15.98
92 points in latest Wine Spectator! Ann highly recommends...

Carabella Chardonnay 2001 $19.99
Dijon Clone Chard, Ann highly recommends

SALE Continues
Kiona Red Wines
Kiona is one of our favorite NW wineries, producing great, rich red wines at very reasonable prices for 20 years. Their 2000 Cab is pretty much a clone of the 99 that was named one of the top 100 Wines of the World by Wine Spectator, and their 99 Reserve Cab is a steal, even better than the regular Cab, we think. shop here....