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Christina Kelly,
Avalon Wine Senior Editor

Christina Kelly spent the first half of her career as a journalist for daily newspapers and magazines. She left daily journalism to work in corporate marketing/communications, but as a passionate wine enthusiast, she continues to write about the Northwest wine industry (since 1997) for many national publications.

Christina is a multiple fellowship winner to the Professional Wine Writers Symposium in Napa, including 2012. Christina has written for Avalonwine.com for the past 12 years. She can be reached at winewriter@comcast.net.

Jean Yates
Avalon Wine Owner

Jean first worked with the Oregon wine industry in 1989, when she helped develop marketing brochures for wineries in the South Willamette. She then started Avalon, and has supported the industry through her wine shop and web site ever since. Jean enjoys promoting Oregon and Washington wines and bringing Northwest wines to the notice of the wine-loving public across the country. She previously worked in high tech marketing and research in Silicon Valley.

Jean built and continually updates the Avalon web site, writes our Wine Club Newsletter, numerous e-mail articles on NW wine, and articles for the web site. Her twenty five years of experience working with NW wineries and winemakers gives Avalon a deep knowledge of the industry. She's judged NW wine at various competitions since 1997. Jean's favorite activity is photography, and many of the images on the Avalon web site are hers. She's from NC via Palo Alto, and lives in the South Willamette wine country.

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June 8, 2010, at 3:29 pm

Oregon Wine – Black Cap Wine has Word of Mouth

By From Twitter - An Avalon Wine Tweet, on June 8th, 2010

eyrie-jason-daughters-250pWord of mouth brings the best wines to notice.

Black Cap is the word of mouth for today. Jason Lett’s personal wine project is known only by a small group of Oregon Pinot collectors.

at right, Jason and daughters, summer 2009

Jason Lett is well known in the wine industry. He makes over 10,000 cases of wine a year as winemaker and owner of Eyrie Vineyards.

He only makes Black Cap wines in the best vintages, and skipped the 2007 vintage – we’ve been waiting, impatiently, for almost two years. The 2008′s have finally arrived.

While Black Cap is flying a bit higher these days (Parker gave 93 points to both the 2006 Pinot noir and Chardonnay,) word of mouth, from friend to friend, is all Jason needs to sell out in a few weeks.

black-cap-2008-250pBlack Cap Pinot noir 08 $42.26 any 12  – The Black Cap Pinot noir 08 unfolds over hours and days. Complex and captivating, Black Cap has become one of most anticipated releases from Oregon. The 08 opens with a lush display of red and black raspberries mixing with morel mushroom.

The aromas more than hint at what’s to come in the satiny flavors: yummy raspberries and dark cherries build, picking up a thread of sweet huckleberry while vibrant acidity maintains balance. Hints of sage, mint, and violet permeate the finish, and the tasty berries linger. Very ageable, and highly recommended for the cellar.

Black Cap 08 deftly matches density and concentration with sophistication and elegance. I finished the bottle with the quintessential Oregon pairing: seared Chinook salmon with a strawberry-duck reduction. – Marcus

357 cases made.

Black Cap Chardonnay 08 $53.95 any 12 – Production is minuscule – 60 cases this vintage. Elegant and sensuous, Black Chardonnay also has a powerful side. It explodes with rich pear and apricot, honey, and stones. As it unfurls, lemon and jasmine enter the scene. Refined, focused, and built for long-term aging, Jason’s Chardonnays are helping the world take notice of Oregon Chardonnay. If there’s an aristocracy of Oregon wine, this Chardonnay ranks high among the noble. Three barrels were produced in 2008. – Marcus

69 cases made.

June 8th, 2010 | Category: Oregon Wine | Comments are closed

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