New Winemakers with Impressive releases

June 2004
Perhaps it's the maturing of the NW wine industry, the improved education available to "newbie" winemakers and winery owners, the growing to adulthood of the second generation of winemakers' families, but there are some wonderfully talented new winemakers and wineries in the Northwest.

Black Cap Pinot noir 02 $36
Second Generation Lett Family

Winemaker Jason Lett's father is David Lett (Eyrie Vineyards), one of Oregon's pioneering winemakers and one of the first winemakers to grow Pinot gris in the US.

Jason says: "my father's holistic approach to wine growing has been my greatest influence. He has always emphasized that great wine is made in the vineyard. "

The first impression of this wine is that the bottle's label and packaging are handcrafted. The bottle has a beautiful appearance, with a wax signet seal and beautifully textured label. The Pinot noir is made from grapes from La Cantera and Bishop Creek vineyards.

Inside the bottle is a rich, full bodied Pinot noir, very true to the grape at its best. It is a big, dark wine, massive with creamy blackberry, marionberry, and black raspberry in the nose and flavors. Special hints of vanilla, spice, and just a touch of "red hot" candy make this wine special. A most impressive and cellarworthy wine. Cellar 3-5 years.

More about Jason Lett and Black Cap here.

Bergstrom Pinot noir 03 $22
Josh Bergstrom achieving family goals

There's not a winemaker in the NW with more positive publicity than Josh Bergstrom. Maybe the photo in Wine Spectator of Josh lying on his belly on a pile of wine barrels was a little much, but aside from the hype, this guy is making some excellent wines.

Some winemakers just seem to have a special knack for making delicious wines. Although Josh has an impressive education, his immediate hit wines right out of the gate show his special gift for the craft.

The Bergstrom Pinot noir 03 Willamette Valley is delicious, and different from the 02. The 2002 vintage was a perfect as it gets, and the 2002 Bergstrom was immediately, indelibly distinctive, with a purity of balance that made its $20 price a bargain. The 2003 version of the wine shows the same balance, but has a darker, meatier flavor profile, complemented by a sweet black berry and stone fruit quality. In a way, it's a more interesting wine than the 2002, with hints of spice, fresh earth, white pepper and toast wound around its sweet core. Although not as simply perfect as the 2002, the character of this wine shows the winemaker's skills and the evolution of Bergstrom's basic "Willamette Valley" Pinot noir into something special, uniquely "Josh".

More about Josh and Bergstrom Here.

Siltstone Winery
Pinot noir 01 $29
Joel Myers' New Role- Winemaker

The Ken Wright Guadalupe Vineyard Pinot noir has been one of my favorites for years, and now we have a chance to try a wine from a different winemaker, using Guadalupe Vineyard fruit. As with the Ken Wright version, this wine has masive black fruit and hints of spice, with a restrained thread ov vanilla toast and oak in the flavor and finish. Very cellarworthy, drink after 2006.

Avalon sent this wine to the Reserve Pinot noir Club in May, 2004. We chose it as a fascinating example of a new interpretation of the Guadalupe fruit, and as a delicious, big, darkly fruit and spice textured example of a 2001 Oregon Pinot noir.

Mark Ryan "Long Haul" Red 01 $35
Mark McNeill takes on Cadence with Finessed Big Reds

Named for the "Long Haul" that the fruit takes over the Snoqualmie Pass to get to his Seattle area winery, Mark McNeill has crafted a Boredeaux-Styled red with unusually mature levels of complexity and age-ability. His few releases are reminiscent of the first vintages of Cadence, and Mark expresses similar goals, hoping to craft wolrd class Washington reds that express the unique terroir of each of the four vineyards he works with.

The "LongHaul" is huge, very comparable to a high quality young Bordeaux, with no concessions made to immediate, soft, accessibility. This wine needs cellaring, or decanting and aeration if drunk in the next year. Emphasis is on depth of flavor, with an unmistakable nod to the French in its dark, brooding hints of licorice, black pepper, fine grained tannins, and gradually rising black fruit flavors, as the wine warms and breathes. Lay this wine down and bring it out when the winery's offerings become cult collectables.

The aroma is intense, with dark berries, cassis, fresh saddle leather, and smoke in the nose. Flavors open gradually to hint at bing cherry, vanilla, black berry, cassis, cinnamon, all woven into a deeply textured mouth feel. Long finish, promising more to come with time.

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