Despite his declarations that he would never work with Italian grapes, Gordon Taylor couldn’t resist the offer from Lonesome Spring Ranch when this lot came available. Those with an appreciation for traditional representations of Barbera from Piedmont may well need to approach this with an open mind because this is a full of milk chocolate, cherries and some hedonism rather … [Read more...] about Daven Lore Winery 2014 Barbera, Yakima Valley, $29
Baer Winery 2013 Malbec, Columbia Valley, $25
Few folks work as closely with prized Stillwater Creek Vineyard fruit as Woodinville winemaker Erica Orr does on behalf of the Baer family. It came off the vines Oct. 17, with the crop load at a remarkable 5.7 tons per acre and went into all French oak barrels for 22 months. That imparts aromas of toast and coffee along with blackberry, plum, blueberry, rain-soaked gravel and … [Read more...] about Baer Winery 2013 Malbec, Columbia Valley, $25
Panther Creek Cellars 2014 Lazy River Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, $45
The Lumpkins, successful and proud University of Washington grads, established their 30-acre Lazy River Vineyard in 2000 on Mount Richmond near Yamhill, Ore. In addition to their own winery, they sell to a handful of premier producers in the Willamette Valley, and Tony Rynders gets to work with their fruit on behalf of Panther Creek. He applies a practice of less than a year in … [Read more...] about Panther Creek Cellars 2014 Lazy River Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, $45
Fullerton Wines 2014 Five FACES Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $33
The Fullerton family bottles vineyard-designate Pinot Noirs featuring Croft near the Van Duzer Corridor and Momtazi in McMinnville, but here those two vineyards join forces with Keleri Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains for a drink of dark blue fruit. Its proprietary name is simple enough — the acronym for members Filip, Alex the winemaker, Caroline and co-owners Eric and … [Read more...] about Fullerton Wines 2014 Five FACES Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $33
Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2015 Umiker Vineyard Lochsa White Wine, Lewis-Clark Valley, $15
Karl and Coco Umiker’s vineyard in the Lewiston Orchards is in its second decade of life, and its growth has allowed them to present this proprietary blend as an entire estate presentation. Legally, they could label this is Chardonnay (86%), and there is a slight influence of 30 percent new barrel involved, but they round this out with Viognier (9%) and Riesling. The Chardonnay … [Read more...] about Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2015 Umiker Vineyard Lochsa White Wine, Lewis-Clark Valley, $15