2006 Old Vine Zinfandel
Our flagship wine. It is the oldest producing vineyard in the Pacific
Northwest at nearly 100 years old. Every year it makes either the best
wine we put out or very close to it. In 2006 we picked at 26 Brix,
cropping at under two tons per acre. The wine is dark and immensely
concentrated. To those who wonder if Zinfandel can be ripened outside of
California, we offer this example. Not only does Zinfandel ripen on
this old vineyard, it maintains balancing acidity to produce a wine that
ages beautifully.
2006 Pinot Wyeast
Can't say enough good things about this wine - one of the real thrills of the vintage. We expect Resonance to shine. Phelps Creek is automatic. To have this vineyard step up to that level of quality is very exciting. Located at fairly high elevation in the Hood River Valley, 1600 feet, the grapes are able to retain higher natural acidity. The higher acidity gives the wine brightness in its youth and a better ability to age gracefully. That and great concentration of fruit (from 1.5 ton per acre crop sizing) have produced a delicious wine.
2006 Pinot Noir Resonance and Resonance Reserve
(Formerly known as Reed & Reynolds) This vineyard produces our best Pinot Noir - one of Oregon's best Pinot Noirs - every year. 2006 is no exception.
The growers, Kevin and Carla Chambers, are fully biodynamic. The fruit off the oldest block of grapes was the best Pinot I've ever tasted off the vine. The wine is incredible: deep color, full, rich taste and a remarkable mouth-filling texture. I like to say our growers achieve the potential of their respective vineyards. Kevin exceeds his. The Reserve is a special selection of the oldest block of vines fermented in oak fermenters. As good as the "regular" Resonance is, this is even more concentrated with a remarkably persistent aftertaste.
2006 Riesling Medici
Again one of the best wines we made in 2006. A pretty strong statement when one considers the extremely high quality of the wines we have sitting in barrel in the winery. The Resonance Pinot, the Old Vine Zin, the Block One Cab and others are just fantastic. It has beautiful floral aromatics; rich, complex flavors that evolve on the palate; lively acidity to lighten the flavors. The vines are almost 30 years old, are cropped and tended like Pinot Noir and were left to hang late into October of 2006, long enough for nearly half of the clusters to be botrytis-affected.
2005 Pines Zinfandel
We pulled juice from the fermenters right after de-stemming in order to further concentrate an already very concentrated must. We wanted to see if we could increase the intensity of a wine that routinely delivers a strong blackberry character. You'll find we succeeded.
2006 Pinot Noir Oregon
A stunning blend of our best vineyards. When first assembled, the wine shocked us with its depth and complexity. The finish of this wine is very, very long and deep.
2005 Blend
That's right, Blend. I don't want to say we named this wine "Blend" just to add the letter "B" to our front labels. The wine is a blend of wines made from grapes grown by Lonnie Wright in the Columbia Valley near The Dalles, OR. It is made up of Syrah, Merlot, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Cabernet. Tastes more like a $40 wine than a $24 wine.
2006 Pinot Gris Oregon
Just another vintage of intense, well balanced, food-friendly white wine. The Oregon is a blend of about 80% Wyeast Vineyard, 20% Covey Ridge Vineyard fruit. We bottled in screwcaps.
2005 Red Table Wine
Try to find a better red wine value! The RTW is a proportional blend of all the reds we make in a given year. Don't hesitate if you are inclined to try this wine. It flies out the door.
2004 and 2005 Merlot
Dark and concentrated. The crop size is kept small, 2.1 tons per acre, and it pays. These wines are dark, aromatic with chocolate overtones and complex, silky tannins. The older versions have aged beautifully. The 2005 uses fruit off the Champoux Vineyard and may be the best we've made to date.
2006 Gewurztraminer Oak Ridge and Celilo
Two of the most exciting wines we made in 2006! The Celilo has markedly higher acid and a distinct minerality, one of the best white wines I've made. The Oak Ridge is more phenolic and mouth-coating.
2006 Sweet Sydney, 2006 CJ port and The Old Ball and Chain
In order to amplify our tradition of producing over-the-top wines, we bring you these monsters. We may have totally lost it - how strong does wine have to be?
Sweet Sydney is a Zinfandel Icewine named for the winemaker's beautiful and, well, sweet daughter, Sydney. Freezing Zinfandel effectively removes water as ice crystals concentrating sugars, flavors and aromas. In 2006 we pulled the juice off at 50+ brix! After fermentation the wine ended up with 9% alcohol and 34% residual sugar. We use this wine as dessert with strong, flavorful cheeses.
CJ gets its name from the winemaker's energetic and spicy daughter, Casey Jane. It is a port-style wine made by using very ripe Zinfandel and an artisan made eau-de-vie. It is wonderfully aromatic, very rich and smooth, truly a remarkable wine. Women go nuts over this stuff
What can we say about The Old Ball and Chain? Black, rich, whimsical; it is made by partially drying Syrah then treating it as a red wine. The alcohol is about 14.5% with 8% residual sugar.
