Sineann
Old Vine Zinfandel 04 $36/$32.40
There's
not much Zinfandel planted in the NW, and Lonnie Wright's "The
Pines" Vineyard is definitely the source of the best. Part
of the vineyard is relatively new (and Sineann makes a "Pines" Zinfandel
from it) but the mother load is the part of the vineyard that's
about 100 years old, planted by Lonnie's family and miraculously
still producing fruit. Peter Rosback makes his Old Vine Zinfandel
from this oldest part of the vineyard.
The
Old Vine Zinfandel is Sineann's flagship wine,
the one that everyone wants (although the Sineann Block
One Cab holds place #1 in my heart). In 2004, the crop
was small, and growing conditions were quite good. The
wine is intense, black, immensely concentrated. Perhaps
the age of the vines helps, but this wine has wonderful
balanced acidity, making the wine pairable with food.
It's the equal of the wonderful 2002 and 2003 vintages,
but available in smaller quantity.
The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit from one of
Washington State's best vineyards, Champoux Vineyard.
Since the fabulous Andrew Will Champoux 02 is
sold out, we wanted to point out this delicious wine made from
the same vineyard's fruit. While not as good as the Andrew WIll
(which is also over $50 a bottle), winemaker Holly Turner shows
her talents in this big, delightfully expressive wine. The previous
vintage received 90 points from Wine Spectator.
The
Three Rivers Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is intensely
concentrated, showing exemplary Walla Walla Cabernet varietal
fruit expression. Vivid aromas of sweet black cherries, black
currants, toasted coffee bean, and vanilla are followed by
flavors of candied blackberries, cassis, sweet earth, tar,
and black cherry fruit. A suave, splendid effort by Holly that
takes this winery a big step forward. Age able for up to ten
years, but enjoyable now.
Woodward Canyon Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon 02 The 2002 “Old Vines” Cabernet Sauvignon
is rich and powerful, made from vines planted back in the
early 70's located in the Champoux and Sagemoor
Vineyards, both located on benches overlooking the Columbia River on the Washington
side. Rick Small always makes an exquisite, complex, and cellarable "Old
Vine" and this is no exception. The 2002 vintage was just about perfect
in eastern WA, and the wine shows it. Released August 2005, this wine will
cellar well for up to 15 years.
Rick
Small says: "This 2002 “Old Vines” Cabernet
Sauvignon is a rich and powerful successor to the 2001 “Old
Vines”. The 2002 vintage was warmer than 2001 and
this wine reflects that. Flavors of ripe black fruits and
cassis marry with spicy oak and vanilla. The color is dark
purple and the flavor is concentrated, rich and long; the
texture is supple and silky but still the wine has fantastic
grip. This red wine will benefit greatly from additional
cellaring and with proper storage should last fifteen years
or more."
We
highly recommend this classic Cabernet Sauvignon. RIck
has worked with the vineyard sites for many years and makes
a complex, ageable, world class wine from these world class
vineyards.
Woodward Canyon Estate Red 02 $55
Woodward Canyon has a
mature Estate vineyard, and this Estate Red shows Rick
Small’s distinctive winemaking style.
A wine to age, this vintage has an unusually high amount
of Cabernet Franc, lending a meaty, densely concentrated
quality to the wine. Pie spices, vanilla, and toasted coffee
bean in the nose are complemented by big black fruit and
berry flavors, seamless tannins, and tremendous potential
for longer term cellaring.
Wine Spectator 90 points
: “Cabernet Franc and Merlot
in almost equal parts are supported by a smidge of Cabernet
Sauvignon in this firm red. A distinct minty note runs through
the rich berry and currant fruit, hinting at sage as it persists
nicely on the chewy finish. Best from 2007 through 2012. “
Rick Small, owner and winemaker, says:
“The Woodward Canyon
Estate Red is produced from the finest lots of cabernet
sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc
from our vineyard. The Woodward Canyon Estate Vineyard produced
less than two tons of fruit per acre.”
“The wine was fermented
in small, open top tanks with native yeast and was punched
down or pumped over two or three
times a day. After pressing in our basket press, this wine
went straight to new French chateau barrels for maturation.
In early August, the wine was racked from barrel, assembled,
and bottled unfiltered and unfined later that same month.”
“With such low yields,
the resulting wine is deeply concentrated with black fruits
and cassis. The nose leaps
from the glass. Spice and vanilla from new oak integrate
beautifully with cabernet-dominated fruit. The texture is
supple and the finish is rich and long. With proper cellaring,
this wine should age for ten years from vintage. “
Andrew
Will Estate "Two Blondes" Red 02 $49.95/$44.95
Parker categorizes only four or five Washington wineries
as "Excellent" in
his most recent book. Andrew Will is one of them. Winemaker and owner Chris
Camarda makes exquisite wines, in very limited amounts, and until now, from
purchased fruit. With his acquisition of an Estate vineyard in Zillah, in the
heart of the Yakima wine region, he moves much of his attention to the development
of his own source of grapes.
The
Two Blondes Vineyard is next door to Sheridan Vineyard,
whose grapes are used by Chris and other famous winemakers.
The very high quality of the Sheridan site's grapes was
unexpected when the first wines from the site were released
in 2001. The fruit is stunning, making rich, nuanced reds
that get better with each vintage. Chris's Two Blondes
Vineyard is younger than next door Sheridan. His initial
planting was destroyed by cold, and he's taken much care
in deciding how the vineyard is set up. He works with satellite
imaging of the site and remote sensors that allow him to
check conditions via computer.
Knowing
the energy Chris has expended on Two Blondes, and his super
winemaking skills, we are so excited to offer this first
vintage of what will hopefully be an annual "Estate" release.
The wine is a blend of red grapes grown on the site. Chris
likes to work with a site, rather than a varietal (note
that, except for Sorella, he makes wines named for the
single vineyard their several different varietals come
from).
We'll
be cellaring some Two Blondes each year, and plan a vertical
tasting in about eight years, when the first vintages should
be at their peak. This is a wine for the long term, one
that will reward wine lovers and provide a fascinating
reference standard to future vintages.
THE
CANADIAN WINE YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
Osoyoos
LaRose 01 $33.29/$36.99 is the pet project of the
owner of wine industry giant Vincor. Believing that British
Columbia can make world class Bordeaux style wines, no expense
has been spared in the creation of this winery. Sixty acres
of vineyards were planted near Lake Osoyoos in the Southern
Okanagan Valley, just north of the US border. A highly respected
winemaker, Pascal Madevon, was brought in from Bordeaux to
make the wine. Noted Bordelaise viticulturist, Alain Sutre,
has overseen the vineyards since 1999.
The wine’s name, Osoyoos Larose,
reflects the partners’ roots in France and Canada. Osoyoos
refers to the location of the vineyards in the Okanagan Valley,
on the mountain slopes above Lake Osoyoos. Larose is derived from
one of Groupe Taillan’s most prestigious estates in Bordeaux,
the Deuxième Cru, or second growth, Château Gruaud-Larose,
which reflects the centuries-old winemaking traditions of the world-famous
wine region.
Osoyoos Larose wines are made
in the town of Oliver in an 11,500 square foot winemaking center
specifically designed and constructed
adjacent to Vincor International’s large winery. The wine
is made extremely carefully, to protect the grapes and fermenting
wines during vinification. The winery utilizes gravity flow, and
avoids mechanical pumping where possible. The equipment in the
Osoyoos Larose winery was sourced exclusively for its own wines
under the direction of Groupe Taillan’s consultant, Alain
Sutre. The facility employs some of the most advanced technology
in the world.
The first
release from the winery, the Osoyoos LaRose 01, is
a wine with layers of flavor, heralded by a rich ripe strawberry
scent in the nose. The wine has a firm, fine grained tannic
structure, with plenty of fruit to sustain aging. Chocolate,
green olive, vanilla, white pepper and smoke notes emerge from
an overall black cherry and black berry flavor. Drinking well
after several years of cellaring, this wine is the dark horse
of the "Big Reds" category. We were so impressed
with the wine, we're sending it to our "Big Reds" Club
this month. A winery you'll want to know about, the wine compares
to Meritage from the NW at much higher prices.
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About Jean Yates
Jean Yates is owner of Avalon Wine,
and has worked to promote Oregon and Washington wine for over
19 years through her wine shop, web site, and articles.
Jean previously worked in the
computer industry and does most of the work on the Avalon website.
She is a passionate photographer and many of the images on this
site are hers
