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April 2008

Greetings from Ross Andrew Winery!

Spring has arrived and along with it snow, twelve minutes of sun some more snow and the release of three great new wines. We invite you to join us on May 31st and June 1st as we release our flagship Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2005 vintage, and two white wines from the 2007 vintage: our Celilo Vineyard Pinot Gris and our newest wine, Meadow that hails from Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

THE DISH:

2005 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon:

The critics have been thrilled with the 2005 vintage red wines from Washington and we couldn’t agree more. Mother Nature gave us a wonderfully balanced ripening season which has delivered wines with a richness, structure and bold flavor profile that will give tremendous pleasure now, but will also reward those who desire to cellar their wines.

The Cabernet Sauvignon we harvested in 2005 was beautifully ripe with incredible flavors. This guided our blending trials towards crafting a wine that is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot. The Cabernet portion comes from three of Washington State’s heavy hitting vineyards: Ciel du Cheval, Klipsun and Alder Ridge. These are complemented by the rich and concentrated Merlot from Ciel du Cheval. While the resulting wine is bigger than what we’ve produced in the past, the aromas are incredibly inviting and the palate concentrated.

From Steve Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar (Nov/Dec 2007 review), three months after bottling:

“…aromas of black fruits, menthol, mocha and tobacco leaf. Dense, rich and penetrating; sweeter than the red blend but with a stronger acid spine to frame its cassis and licorice flavors. The wine's chewy, rather powerful finish suggests energetic extraction.”

2007 Celilo Vineyard Pinot Gris, Columbia Gorge

The sophomore release of this wine is as delicious as last years’ nearly instant sell-out. For those of you who couldn’t get enough of the 2006, you’ll be thrilled to hear there’s more available this year. Ok, it’s only thirty cases more, but it’s a step in the right direction. The 2007 harvest season at Celilo was very similar to 2006 and the two wines share the same beautifully focused, signature profile of crisp Bosc pear, ginger, apricots and minerals. The flavor and acidity are bright and focused. We fermented this wine longer than our 2006, resulting in a drier style that we know will be a hit. While we’d like to produce more of this wine, this particular block of old vines (32 years) is only 4 acres, of which we get 2. That said, until we are allocated more, we are at capacity. We don’t anticipate this wine will last past release weekend.

2007 MEADOW, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Meadow represents our expansion into the vineyards of Oregon. We made a few phone calls to friends in the Willamette Valley and with a little persuading, were able to come up with some great fruit from small, focused growers. The resulting wine is a blend of 49% Pinot Blanc, 25% Gewurztraminer, 13% Riesling, and 13% Pinot Gris. The nose is incredibly bright, floral, and fruity with hints spice and rose petal. The wine is totally dry (not at all sweet) with great acidity and character that finishes with a hint of citrus and gooseberry. It’s delicious. Like the Celilo Pinot Gris, we don’t have much available.

We look forward to seeing you on May 31st and June 1st.

Regards,

The Team at Ross Andrew Winery

View PDF of April 2008 Release