from Avalonwine.com

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Just luscious. Swirl this one is the glass for awhile and scents of red raspberry, oak, and pie spices emerge, and the flavor- a burst of juicy red raspberry, followed by red cherry, a hint of violets, all in a viscous, lush framework of very finely grained tannins. Very Beaux-Freres-like, and no wonder! It was made by Mike Etzel, Beaux Freres winemaker and co-owner.

The grapes come from the Ana Vineyard, part of the Weber Vineyard that was sold to Andy Humphrey, who manages the property. Andy also manages the remarkable Goldschmidt Vineyard

In 2001, vineyard manager Andy Humphrey purchased the oldest portion of the Weber Vineyard, a Red Hills of Dundee site with 28+ year old vines. He renamed it Ana Vineyard. Andy possesses a deep understanding of vineyard physiology and works to optimize the growing conditions to produce excellent fruit. The beautifully focused Ana wines are currently made by friend and winemaker Mike Etzel of Beaux Freres.

Ana Vineyard has a great advantage entering the
Oregon Pinot noir market. Mike Etzel, co-owner and winemaket at <strong>Beaux
Freres , makes the Ana Pinot noir. The grapes come from the Ana Vineyard,
part of the Weber Vineyard that was sold to Andy Humphrey, who manages
the property. Andy also manages the remarkable Goldschmidt
Vineyard from which Dusky Goose Pinot noir is made.

Made by Mike Etzel (of famed Beaux Freres) Intriguing foresty, herbal notes in the nose, like the scent of a forest floor on a warm day. A delicious, medium to full-bodied Pinot noir with loads of fruit. It has a dark ruby color with sweet black cherry aromas and has a lovely soft palate with fine tannins. 200 cases were made. <P></P>Andy Humphrey, owner and vineyard manager of Ana Vineyard, works closely with Mike Etzel of Beaux Freres, who uses Ana Vineyard fruit in his Beaux Freres Belles Soeurs Pinot noirs.

From the winery: "The 2003 Ana Reserve is a delicious, medium to full bodied pinot with loads of fruit. It is a dark, ruby color with sweet black cherry and rose petal aromas and has a lovely soft palate with well-integrated tannins."

Established in 1976, the Ana vineyard is one of the last remaining own-rooted plantings in the Red Hills. At 435 ft this Jory soil site is bordered by the Arcus, Weber and Goldschmidt Vineyards. Planted with the Pommard clone, and trained using the double-guyot method this vineyard is meticulously farmed by owner Andy Humphrey.

Andy also sells grapes to several fine wineries, including Beaux Fr&egrave;res, Elk Cove, Il Dolce Vida, Laurent Montalieu &amp; NW Wine Services, Lachini Vineyards, and Lemelson.

Pinot Noir is very fragile and needs to be protected from excessive exposure to oxygen. Hence, the winemaking style once the wine is in barrel is called reductive, meaning its exposure to oxygen is intentionally reduced to the bare minimum. The traditional racking process of transferring a wine from barrel to barrel in order to aerate it (commonly done with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah-based wines), is not practiced at Beaux Frères. Our only racking occurs at the end of the 10-14 month period our wines spend in barrel, when it is racked out of barrel into a holding tank, from which it is bottled. This is the only time the wine is exposed to air, and even then it is minimal since we transfer the wine under an inert gas to protect the perfume as well as fruit intensity.

Belles Soeurs wines feature fruit grown on select vineyard sites in Yamhill County. The wines benefit from the same integrity in the winemaking
process as Beaux Frères. The sites are non-irrigated and managed to very low yields. The wines are not manipulated or filtered.
We age the wines in the same French oak barrels used in our estate bottling, however the percentage of new oak is intentionally lower.
This wine is assembled primarily with fruit from the Shea Vineyard as well as Medici, Pelos-Sandberg,
Weber, and a bit of Beaux Frères. The deep plum/ruby hued wine exhibits a nose of sweet, ripe cherry jam
intermixed with spice, underbrush and dried herbs de Provance characteristics. Full bodied, fleshy, and
undeniably appealing, it is a full throttle Pinot with no hard edges. A stunning premier cru from Beaune
meets a gorgeous Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley, and viola – 2004 Belles Soeurs.

Established in 1976, the Ana vineyard is one of the last remaining own-rooted plantings in the Red Hills. Andy Humphrey
farms these Pommard clones planted at 435 ft. in Jory soil and trained in the double-guyot method. This vineyard is bordered
by Arcus, Weber, and Goldschmidt Vineyards.
Wines we have made from the Ana Vineyard tend to be wonderful sweet cherry and pomegranate character.
This wine is no exception. It is not darkly colored but posses a compelling perfume as well as beautiful
texture and opulence. On the palate this wine offers up smoky black cherry intermixed with pomegranate
and hints of raspberries and plums. It is medium to full bodied with a satiny texture as well as
notions of spice box, clove and cinnamon. Already complex and showing a wonderful sense of balance,
this is a wine that you can begin enjoying immediately.

Thanks for your support -we appreciate your orders and your suggestions. Our customers always give us our best ideas!

Marcus, Chris, Kevin, Wendy and Jean,
541-752-7418

Avalon Wine
201 SW 2nd Street
Corvallis OR 97333
541-752-7418
www.avalonwine.com
store@avalonwine.com

Marcus Looze
Manager
marcus@avalonwine.com
541-752-7418

Chris Haggerty
Customer Service
store@avalonwine.com
541-752-7418

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