Owen Roe, 2010 Sinister Hand, Columbia Valley

Owen Roe winery is named after Owen Roe O'Neill, a 17th century Irish Patriot from County Cavan, Ireland where winemaker David O'Reilly, one of 12 children, was originally from. Despite an age-old clan rivalry between the O’Neills and the O’Reillys, the two families were united in the opposition to Oliver Cromwell’s English tyranny over Ireland in the 1600’s. The photographs on all of his wine labels commemorate sites in Ireland where O’Neill lived, fought, and died. 

Adorned on the label is a giant picture of a severed left hand which turns out to be his own family’s crest. It tells a story of a rowing competition between the O’Reilly’s and the O’Neills. Whoever touched land first after rowing across the lake was to be rewarded with the land he touched. Lagging behind, one of the kinsfolk grabs his sword to cleave his hand and tosses it ashore to touch land first. He won the land and later ruled over it as king.  Each wine and each label depicts a different chapter in the Owen Roe saga, utilizing the back label to convey the story.

Owen Roe is committed to practicing the highest standards of winemaking. Since the first vintage in 1999, Owen Roe winery has been working to produce exceptional wines from fruit sourced from small vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and the Yakima Valley in Washington State, a place where the fruit ripens slowly and fully, resulting in excellent acidity and balance, in an effort to showcase the best expression of each variety.    

The interest in these areas is further enhanced by the remarkable diversity of soil types within each region; allowing them to create wines with distinctive and unique personality, even within the same varietal. They employ as natural practices as possible in the vineyards.  The principle of good earth stewardship is very important to everyone they work with, so no herbicides or pesticides are used in these vineyards. David O'Reilly is a firm believer in the principle that great wine comes from great grapes. All of the grapes are hand harvested, handled with minimal processing, small-lot fermented, and aged in French Oak barrels. 

Typically they are racked only once after malolactic fermentation. Once in the winery, only minimal and traditional handling practices are employed to gently coax the most authentic expressions of each varietal.

"Everything we do is meticulous," said O'Reilly. "What we do is totally uncompromised. It is a lifestyle that includes hard work, but the product is thoroughly rewarding."

As someone who believes in working with the best, O’Reilly insists on feeding his crews in Oregon and Washington at lunchtime with fresh food. He hires a cook to serve lunch daily. The crew sits down for the meal and talks about the work of the day or things they hear in the industry. If O’Reilly is in town, he joins them for a meal.

Everything O'Reilly does is also thoroughly Irish. "I like to tell people that I got involved in the business to follow an Irishman's dreams," said O'Reilly with a wink and an Irish brogue that comes and goes. "Imagine making a living by drinking!"  He jokes of course, because O'Reilly is dead serious about wine making. Although he enjoys the high ratings bestowed on his wines, O'Reilly says he is more satisfied with great taste.

In a relatively short time these spectacular wines have built an excellent reputation among the restaurants and shops of not only Washington State, but also New York, San Francisco, and Chicago.  His wines generally sell out every vintage, and his beautiful labels are immediately recognized by consumers.

Owen Roe's 2010 Sinister Hand blend is a Chateauneuf-du-Pape-style blend composed of 71% Grenache, 24% Syrah, and 5% Mourvedre. A small crop of intensely flavored fruit in 2010 means fewer bottles than usual of an especially big Sinister Hand. Deep purple. Dark fruit aromas are accompanied by juicy raspberry and cranberry preserves, with herb and savory spice accents. The first sip of this wine surprises the palate with soft, supple flavors of raspberry jam and currant. The mid-palate opens up to a complex layering of minty eucalyptus, black pepper and leather and finishes with a structured backbone of earth and spice. The overall palate is vibrant and lush, with fine tannin structure and a medley of earth, hint of coffee and baking spice accenting the layers of fruit.  Syrah adds pepper, Grenache adds raspberry jam. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity, smooth tannins, and a long finish.

It's not an unfamiliar sight to see O'Reilly touring the hills surrounding the Yakima Valley in his Ford Explorer, scouting out vineyards. Although a designated appellation, the Yakima Valley has been under the radar for many years, with the Walla Walla and Columbia Valley appellations garnering most of the attention. O'Reilly, a stickler about fruit, is convinced that the Yakima Valley has yet to yield all its gems in the hills surrounding the desert floor. With a cool, dry climate and shallow soils on top of volcanic rock, Yakima Valley vines produce smaller grapes with high acidity and lower pH levels - exactly what O'Reilly wants for a balanced wine.

There is no shortage of grapes here, but at times it has been a battle to convince local growers that less fruit of higher quality will be their best fiscal bet. Eastern Washington crop farmers are used to big yields - 5 to 10 tons of fruit or more per acre.

The Columbia Valley AVA is Washington's largest viticultural region covering just over 1/3 of the land mass of Washington state. Within the Columbia Valley AVA lie all of the AVAs of Washington except the Puget Sound AVA and part of the Columbia Gorge AVA. Many different micro-climates are found within this larger region and these influence quite heavily the Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Chardonnay grown here. The arid soils, warm days and cool nights provide perfect conditions for fruit forward balanced wines.

Story compiled from excerpts from Christina Kelly at AvalonWine.com, and other sources found on the web including;
http://www.avalonwine.com/Owen-Roe-Winery-New-Vineyards-New-Winery.php, 
http://www.northwest-wine.com/owen-roe-winery.html
www.winepeeps.com
www.owneroe.com

Two Shepherds, 2010 Grenache Blanc, Saarloos Vineyard

Sometimes folks just talk and talk and talk about what they are doing but than you never get to see the results.  And than sometimes you get to watch someone with so much passion and attention to detail knock it out of the park. I think this would sum up William Allen, wine aficionado, blogger, hedonist,Rhône lover and nice guy!

This is Two Shephards' first vintage of Grenache Blanc, from the Saarloos Vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley. To preserve the wine's natural acidity and freshness while adding body and texture, it was fermented and aged in neutral French oak for eight months on the lees. 

“The nose leads with aromas of white peach, citrus and candied lemon with nutty undertones, followed by a creamy, round palate with a nice beam of acidity running through. With air, aromas and flavors of green melon and honeysuckle emerge, and a pleasing wet stone minerality accents the finish. Alcohol was kept at a moderate 13.9% abv – impressive! “  K&L Wine

Another review reveals; "Nose of Asian spice, kiwi fruit, limestone, lemon zest, and pear. Good intensity and a complex set of flavors create an expressive, vibrant bouquet. The palate opens with a burst of lively acid that gives way to a balanced mid-palate of ruby grapefruit, tangerine, limestone, and peppery spice. Great flavor integration that will only get better with time had me thinking this wine will last 5-7 years." Beaus Barrel Room Blog


Wine blogger turned winemaker William Allen felt "so strongly about a movement back to wines of balance, elegance, and modest alcohol," he writes on his blog www.simplehedonisms.com in the fall of 2011, "that after several years of pontification I...put my money (all of it) where my mouth is and started a new micro label (<300 cases) called Two Shepherds."

Not sure how long it is going to last, but we have been pouring it by the glass. It will be exciting to see what the next harvest brings Two Shepherds.

Grenache blanc is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol and low acidity, with citrus and or herbaceous notes. Its vigor can lead to overproduction and flabbiness. However, if yields are controlled, it can contribute flavor and length to blends, particularly with Roussanne. Since the 1980s, it has been the fifth most widely planted white wine grape in France after Ugni blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon and Sauvignon blanc.

Grenache blanc responds best to low fermentation temperatures which produces a fresh, dill scented wine in its youth. The grape is fairly flexible in winemaking and can be exposed to malolactic fermentation, extended skin maceration, lees stirring as well as oak aging.(wiki)







In Santa Ynez; the Saarloos Vineyard painted by artist Richard Rice.
http://richardricefineart.com/works/763666/saarloos-vineyard-14x18

Darioush, 2010 Viognier, Napa Valley

Estate grown Viognier derives its unique style from a four-acre vineyard site in the Oak Knoll appellation. The cool micro-climate of the vineyard allows this temperamental varietal to slowly develop robust and concentrated oral and fruit characteristics. The fruit, and resulting wine, is minimally handled to express its pure and fragrant nature.

Bright and alluring fragrances of macadamia nut, guava and honeysuckle introduce the distinctive 2010 Signature Viognier. A notable crisp green apple acidity pleases the palate while delightful flavors of Asian pear, star fruit and white nectarine harmonize with a nuanced nish accented by orange zest, clove and to ffee.

VINIFICATION
~ Meticulous attention to detail and minimal handling
~ Hand-harvested into small 28 lb. baskets
~ Hand-sorted and whole cluster pressed
~ Barrel fermented and aged 7 months sur-lie with bi-monthly batonage
~ Barrel lots racked prior to bottling

COMPOSITION 100% Viognier
APPELLATION Darioush Estate Vineyards, Ashley Vineyard, Oak Knoll
COOPERAGE Aged 7 months sur-lies in 15% new French oak, Burgundy cooperage
WINEMAKER Steve Devitt
AVAILABILITY 1499 cases

Proprietor Darioush Khaledi

Darioush Khaledi, a man passionate about fine wines founded Darioush in 1997. Khaledi grew up in Iran's Shiraz region, a wine-growing region until the Islamic revolution. His father made wine as a hobby, and as young boy, Khaledi used to sneak sips from the barrel. As an adult, he became a devoted collector of fine wines.

Immigrating to the United States in the late 1970's Khaledi's passion for wine never waned. In the early 1990's he embarked on a worldwide search for the ultimate vineyard estate. Darioush is the culmination of this search.

Winemaker Steve M. Devitt

Steve Devitt is Winemaker/Vineyard Manager of Darioush. Steve manages all winemaking and viticulture activities at Darioush. His understanding of microclimates, the local soils and the wines they produce enable him to create Estate wines that best express the character of each individual vineyard. As a winegrower, he believes that the best winemaking begins in the vineyards. Steve personally manages the Estate's extensive new vineyard developments and all aspects of the Estate's wine production.

The Darioush Estate is committed to hand harvesting and handsorting each grape cluster prior to crushing. This is a meticulous and labor-intensive method, but it ensures that only the finest, fully matured grapes are used in our Darioush wines. This approach includes small lot whole cluster pressing, destemming, cold soaking, extended maceration, barrel-to-barrel racking and bottling without filtration.

This minimalist approach preserves and expresses the true varietal character of Darioush Signature wines.

Visit the website

Tavosa, 2010 Grenache Rosé, Sonoma Valley

Tavosa Wines is located in Sonoma, California. The Benz and O'Connor families have partnered with winemaker Justin Estes to create small batch wines inspired by Old World wine regions.

Tavosa already had a foot in the door at the girl & the fig, so when the wine was ready, it was welcomed with open arms. This is the first wine from a small family winery that has dreamed about making this happen, and indeed it has.  We were fortunate to have worked with Nick's wife Lenka, so we had an insider tip when the wine was ready. And with only 48 cases of their first wine, we were happy to be in line.

Among the grapes that Tavosa purchases come come from the Kick Ranch, vineyards that we have grown to respect for their enthusiastic efforts with Rhone grape varietals. Kick Ranch has become a “reference point” vineyard for Rhone varietal grapes in Sonoma County, and in addition, some killer Sauvignon Blanc wines. The vineyard is on a beautiful hillside planted on historic land - a vineyard flourished there by 1880. 

In a recent Q & A with owner Nick Benz, he contemplates the start of his personal wine business.

Nick Benz

Why did you decide to start Tavosa?

The old adage...find something you love and you will never work another day in your life.

What was the biggest lesson you learned this year?

Patience.  The wine industry can be an obstacle course.  To succeed you need the patience and solid plan forward.

Their first wine, a lovely refreshing Grenache Rose has the aromas of rose petals on a plate of fresh cut summer melons. 

Justin Estes, Winemaker -  In 2007 he received an internship offer with the highly acclaimed Pinot Noir producer Kosta Browne. After two months of complete immersion, he knew he found his career path. The following Southern Hemisphere harvest took Justin to the Barossa Valley in South Australia where he worked at Teusner Wines, a renowned producer of Rhone varietals. He fell in love with the aromas and blending capabilities the grape has to offer.  After another harvest at Kosta Brown, Justin took an opportunity at Landmark Vineyards where he met Nick.

When winemaker, Justin Estes was asked, what would you pair with the 2010 Grenache Rosé?
His response was a sensible one for a very refreshing wine --- I would pair this Rosé with a hot summer day and good friends.

websites:  Tavosa
                Kick Ranch