2008 Ross Andrew Winery Celilo Vineyard Pinot Gris        90 Points

The 2008 Celilo Vineyard Pinot Gris offers up a captivating bouquet of melon, citrus, tangerine zest, and mineral.  This leads to a crisp, fruity, dry finish with excellent depth and concentration.  Enjoy this crowd pleaser over the next three years.

2005 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon          91 Points
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon contains 4% Merlot with the fruit sourced from three top-notch vineyards. Deep crimson-colored, it offers up aromas of cedar, tobacco, red and black currants, and black cherry. Full-bodied, ripe, and structured on the palate, it has excellent depth of flavor and outstanding concentration. Give it 2-3 years in the cellar and drink it from 2012 to 2020.    
   

2007 Celilo Vineyard, Columbia Gorge AVA         91 Points
The 2007 Pinot Gris Celilo Vineyard, from a superb terroir for white wine grapes, is medium straw-colored with aromas of apricots, tangerine, spring flowers, and mineral. On the palate, it is crisp, refreshing, vibrant, and balanced. Dry, mouth-filling, and long, there are a great many Alsace wineries that would be proud to turn out a Pinot Gris of this quality.


2007 MEADOW, Oregon White Wine    90 Points
The 2007 Meadow is a Pinot Blanc [dominant] blend sourced from Oregon’s Willamette and Rogue Valleys. Medium straw-colored, it has an enticing bouquet of mineral, spice box, floral notes, melon, and tropical fruits. Complex, ripe, and lively, it is an ideal aperitif wine reminiscent of the village blends produced by Marcel Deiss in Alsace.
   

2006 Boushey Vineyard Syrah, Columbia Valley      91 Points
The 2006 Syrah Boushey Vineyard is a blend of three clones from this renowned terroir. Dark ruby/purple, it offers up a smoky, spicy nose featuring notes of meat, bacon, and blueberry. Layered and ripe on the palate with gobs of spicy, sleek blue and black fruits, this tasty, balanced wine will evolve for 2-3 years and be at its best from 2010 to 2017.


2005 Red Table Wine Columbia Valley     89 Points
The 2005 Red Table Wine, a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot sourced from three premier vineyards. Smoky, forward, ripe, and sweetly-fruited, the wine has layers of flavor, good balance, and a mediumlong finish. Drink this pleasing effort over the next 4-5 years.

2006 Boushey Vineyard Syrah, Columbia Valley       91 Points
A blend of three new Syrah clones that were fermented separately, then blended into a satisfying, though still young and somewhat jagged wine that will benefit from more bottle age. It comes out toasty and gamy, with undertones of cured meat, stiff tannins and moist earth. The classic Boushey vineyard flavors of herb, green tea and cured meats are here in abundance. — P.G. (12/31/2008)

Also penned as of the Best Washington wines of 2008

2005 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon        91 Points
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon contains 4% Merlot with the fruit sourced from three top-notch vineyards. Deep crimson-colored, it offers up aromas of cedar, tobacco, red and black currants, and black cherry. Full-bodied, ripe, and structured on the palate, it has excellent depth of flavor and outstanding concentration. Give it 2-3 years in the cellar and drink it from 2012 to 2020.


2007 Celilo Vineyard, Columbia Gorge AVA      89 Points
This is delicious, from 28-year-old vines at the exceptional Celilo Vineyard in Washington’s Columbia Gorge AVA. Bone dry and dappled with spice, this elegant wine has exceptional mouthfeel and length. It’s crisp, subtle and distinctive. — P.G. (12/15/2008)
   

2007 MEADOW, Oregon White Wine       88 Points
This is the first vintage for this spicy tasting room white. It’s lightly spritzy, crisp and bone dry, with white pepper and tart citrus skin. The four grapes in the blend—Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewürztraminer — complement each other without losing their individuality. Persistent and very refreshing this is a quintessential summer wine. — P.G. (12/15/2008)


2005 Red Table Wine Columbia Valley      88 Points
There’s a lot of Boushey vineyard Cabernet, a little Kiona vineyard Cab and a little Alder Ridge vineyard Merlot in this blend. Bright and spicy, it has deliciously lively plum and currant fruit, hints of loam and coffee, and natural acids that keep it buoyant through the finish. — P.G. (12/31/2008)

Seattle Magazine - August 2007
In case you haven't heard, Washington wines have arrived - with 500 (and growing) wineries, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate the history, people and places that have put our state on the wine map. Join us in a preview of the hottest new varietals, pioneering winemakers, swank wine bars and where to taste our favorite new releases. Read the article >

The best Washington wines of 2008, as picked by Seattle Times Wine Adviser Paul Gregutt.

With each passing year, my list of the year's Top 100 Washington wines gets more competitive. We now have nearly 600 wineries in the state, so even limiting it to one listing per winery means that five out of six wineries won't even appear on the list.

Washington wines do well on other Top 100 lists, and though these are not inexpensive wines, they are far less expensive than most of the wines that show up elsewhere. This list is the only one that focuses exclusively on wines made with Washington grapes — and the only one compiled by a single individual living and working here.

Whether or not you always agree with my choices, I hope they will encourage you to explore many of the wineries (listed from 1 to 100 on page 10), and not just for the specific wine on the list, but for all of their wines. Quality is rarely an accident; if the winery made one great wine, they probably made quite a few really good ones.

Every wine on this list has been scored 90 points or higher by me on the standard 100-point wine-rating system. Within each scoring category, I have listed the wines from least to most expensive, awarding a higher slot to the cheaper wines, because they offer the most value. They have all been released within the 2008 calendar year, but be advised — some are already sold out. Your wine seller can guide you to what is still available, and in some instances he or she may have a newer vintage in stock. (See a list of wine shops on page 10.)

This special NW Ticket edition of the Wine Adviser column will close out the year. In 2009, Wine Adviser will move to Pacific Northwest Magazine, the Times' Sunday magazine, and will appear weekly beginning in February. I wish you all a holiday season filled with good friends and family, good health and, of course, good wine!

Paul Gregutt's Top 100 Washington State Wines For 2008

1. Betz Family 2005 Père de Famille Cabernet Sauvignon ($55)

2. Leonetti Cellar 2005 Reserve Red ($110)

3. Cayuse 2006 En Cerise Syrah ($65)

4. Quilceda Creek 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($115)

5. Woodward Canyon 2006 Estate Red ($60)

...

66. Ross Andrew 2006 Boushey Vineyard Syrah ($28)

74. Seven Hills 2005 Pentad Red ($50)

75. Fidélitas 2005 Boushey Vineyard Red ($50)

76. Spring Valley Vineyard 2005 Derby Cabernet Sauvignon ($50)

77. Pedestal 2005 Merlot ($55)

78. Feather 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($60)

...

Paul Gregutt is the author of "Washington Wines and Wineries The Essential Guide." His column, Wine Adviser, will begin appearing in Pacific Northwest Magazine on Feb. 1. 2009. He can be reached by e-mail at wine@seattletimes.com.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
 

One Man's Wine
By Roger Downey

Suppose that, right out of college, you decide you want to spend your life making wine—your own wine, not someone else's. Your family isn't wealthy, nor does it own vineyards or a winery, both fairly high-capital enterprises. What do you do to break into a very high-stakes game?

Ross Mickel is doing it the hard way. To get a toehold in the business, he worked the harvest in Oregon's Willamette Valley, picking up what he could during the most frenzied weeks in the winemaker's year. With a little experience under his belt, he began apprenticing to established winemakers, trading his labor for their experience. In time, he established an ongoing year-round relationship with Bob Betz, one of the Northwest's most respected wine scientists and educators, and, in a very small way, one of its most respected winemakers as well.

Delivering Betz wines to the specialty shops selected to carry them, Mickel made more connections, so that when, in 2003, he released 250 cases (3,000 bottles) under his own Ross Andrew label, he wasn't just another unknown competing for top retailers' attention and shelf space. Mickel's ongoing association with Betz also helped when buying grapes; his second (2001) release, due out this fall, was composed of fruit from name acreage like Alder Ridge, Boushey, and Hedges.

Many beginning winemakers try to hedge their bets by making half a dozen different wines; often, distracted, they fail to ring the bell with any. For the foreseeable future, Mickel plans to make just one, labeled as cabernet sauvignon but containing a legally permissible admixture of merlot fruit. This choice has both advantages and disadvantages: In Washington, as in California, the cabernet market is dominated by famous labels with long pedigrees and commanding high prices. A newcomer has to price his product modestly enough to persuade sophisticated buyers to experiment (Mickel's '01 Ross Andrew will run $25), but high enough to indicate that he's serious about contending with the big names. (Fair or not, wines priced under $20 rarely develop much buzz where buzz counts.)

A lot of cabernet winemakers go for maximum heft and impact: The result can be impressive but rough, and need a few years in bottle to lose their asperity. Mickel prefers a suaver approach; the wine he's releasing this fall has been a year in bottle to date, but, a distinctive cabernet aroma apart, it's as easy on the palate as wines made mostly from the traditionally softer merlot grape, though the blend is actually four-fifths cab.

Mickel upped his production slightly for the '01, to 350 cases; 425 cases of the '02 are slated for '05 release. When you consider that the '03 Ross Andrew is already waiting to be blended before the '01 is released, you can see why Mickel favors a wine that asks to be drunk right away. "It's a pretty big investment, spending three years making wine before you find out whether anyone likes the style of wine you make."

Meant to Be
By Roger Downey

The ancient folkways of the grape never really took root in North America, so it's understandable if our winemakers' tales are fraught with epiphanies: sudden midlife course corrections, abrupt trade-ins of hot urban concrete for cool Mother Earth. Maybe it's a sign that wine has finally gone native that an easygoing Bellevue boy could drift into winemaking as if it were the most natural move in the world.

An English major at the University of Washington, Ross Mickel had his first brush with the wine game when a childhood friend suggested he work as a wine waiter at the friend's family's restaurant. Since the childhood friend was Mark Canlis, Mickel abruptly found himself counseling some of the region's wealthiest and most knowledgeable wine consumers on their beverage choices before he was all that secure in the subject himself.

Once in the wine bag, Mickel got serious, flying to UC Davis for weekend winemaking classes, with luck and contacts at home ensuring that theory got blended with practice. A college classmate working at Woodinville's DeLille Cellars introduced Mickel to DeLille winemaker Chris Upchurch, who put him to work as a "rat" around the winery. In another lucky twist, Ste. Michelle winemaker Bob Betz was using DeLille's plant to produce his own wines, and Mickel soon found himself assisting one of America's most admired winemakers in crafting his spare-no-expense boutique syrahs and Bordeaux-style blends. In 1999, Mickel produced his first solo wine from the 2000 harvest, a fairly standard "meritage" blend of 55 percent cabernet sauvignon grapes, 40 percent merlot, and 5 percent cabernet franc. But thanks to his reflected credibility from Master of Wine Betz, Mickel was able to procure grapes from some of Washington's best growing sites, including Alder Ridge, Milbrandt, and Taptiel.

Briskly tannic without raspiness, refreshingly acidic, the three-year-old wine favors fruitiness over weight, a distinct advantage when most Washington reds, no matter how gnarlyexcuse me, "age-worthy"are consumed the year of their release.

Mickel is delighted at the reception his debutant is getting. "I think people I know who taste it are thinking, 'What can I say nice about it?' because after they do, they say, 'I like it! No, I really like it." He'll have no trouble placing the mere 200 cases made at about $25 per bottle. That won't come close to paying off what Mickel and his partners ("well, parents") have invested in the enterprise so far, but it's a great base to build on.

On the threshold of wider recognition, does he regret not having a more stormy tale of struggle to tell? "Not really; I've been lucky, sure. But looking back, it seems like it was all just meant to be."

Where to buy and drink wine discussed in this week's Sips column:

Ross Andrew 2000 Columbia Valley Red is available on the wine lists of Eva, Chez Shea, Canlis, el Gaucho, Waterfront, and Jack's Steakhouses in Issaquah, West Seattle, and Sand Point. It is also available at retail shops including Pike & Western, McCarthy & Schiering Queen Anne and Roosevelt, and Pete's Wines Eastside and Larry's Market in Bellevue.