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Albariño continues to entice and mystify us with its personality. At once it is delicate, complex, beguiling, and unmistakably pure. The 2005 Albariño features soft citrus fruit, white peach, flower blossoms, and wet stone aromatics with lemon peel and subtle hay overtones. This wine is bone dry, very crisp, and well suited to pairing with vibrant seafood dishes like baked red Snapper with chile-laced herb butter and risotto.

The 2004 Blanco Dulce, our first late harvest effort, was produced exclusively from Viognier planted on the very steep slope of South Face. This voluptuous wine is proof that our effort was rewarded and hints at the quality we may expect from this remarkable piece of geological bounty. Harvested in perfect condition at an exceptionally high level of ripeness, this wine literally explodes in the glass with honey, citrus fruit, wet stone, rose petal and orange peel aromas. Rich, unctuous, and absolutely delicious, the wine avoids becoming heavy on the palate due to a fine balance of sweetness and acidity on the finish.

Rich, dense blackberry, currant, and plum fruit dominate the bouquet and flavor profile with earth, oak, and jam hiding in the background. The wine is lusciously thick and ideal with rosemary-sage stuffed quail or, for the adventurous, chocolate-dipped cherries.

The 2003 vintage began two full weeks ahead of schedule with an unusually warm March. The warm trend continued throughout the growing season and resulted in absolutely exquisite fruit which we harvested at peak ripeness. The lots were strenuously evaluated during barrel aging and blending trials. This wine was blended to highlight vivid, intense plum, blackberry, currant, and cherry fruit carried on a rich, smooth texture. This full-bodied wine’s substantial yet polished tannins are gracefully balanced by acidity and a lengthy, concentrated ripe fruit finish suggesting ageworthiness.

The 2004 Dolcetto certainly exhibits the vintage’s trademark structure. In fact, we gave this wine an additional four months in barrel to soften the tannins and give the wine a silkier texture. You’ll find our typical dried cherry, rhubarb, and plum aromatics balanced by juicy acidity and red fruits on the palate. The finish is fruit driven, delicately spicy, and smooth.

In 2004 we fought valiantly to save the tiny Grenache crop from the hordes of birds that descended from the skies. The spoils from our battle with avian pests resulted in some of the most impressive Grenache we have harvested. This wine features supremely ripe red berry, cherry and strawberry fruit aromas with flavors of plum and cherry pie filling. The generously fruity palette is followed by a warm, rich graham-scented finish of medium body with resounding fruit and mineral qualities.

The Malbec fruit on the vine at Abacela is a sight to behold, if you can see it. Long, healthy shoots carry large, deep green leaves that act like blankets covering small clusters of black berries. The 2003 vintage produced a naturally balanced crop load of fantastic quality. The resultant wine is also perfectly balanced with notable intensity to the ripe blueberry, huckleberry, cassis, and pencil lead aromas. The wine’s texture is medium bodied and silky with elements of earth and roasted herbs. A smooth, dry finish effortlessly matches berry pie filling, toasty, sweet oak, and mineral hints with velvety tannins. This wine will benefit from short term cellaring for two to four years.

For the 2003 Merlot we sourced four fantastic vineyards: our estate Cox's Rock vineyard in the Umpqua and Gold, Pheasant Hill, and Alta Seca vineyards in the Rogue. This wine shows how well suited Merlot is to Southern Oregon's distinctive terroir. Ripe blackberry, black cherry and red currant fruit showcase an intense bouquet with cassis, toast and oak subtleties. The dry finish features dark fruit, earth, licorice, smoke and plush, integrated tannins.

The 2003 vintage Port comes exclusively from our estate Fault Line Vineyards. The Bastardo is harvested from Jasper and Cross blocks, the Tinta Roriz from South Slope, and the Tempranillo from Southeast Block. In this warm vintage all three varietals attained exemplary ripeness simultaneously and were fermented together in a small open-top bin. Dense, rich, and finely textured, the wine’s natural balance of tannin and acid will allow graceful aging over the next 10-15 years. This is hedonistic liquid that begs for fare with particular grandeur like strawberries Foster with roasted pecans or a Partagas AA.

In 2002 we sourced our estate Cox’s Rock and Cobblestone Hill vineyards in the Umpqua and Steelhead Run and Conner Vineyards in the Applegate. This dark wine shows just how well Syrah is matched to Southern Oregon. Wonderfully ripe blackberry and marionberry fruit is the dominant aroma with smoky oak, pepper, graham, roasted nuts, and a trace of savory spices. A medium bodied palette features dark berry fruit and raspberry jam, earth, vanilla, and sweet anise. The finish balances fruit, acidity, and oak to give the wine noticeable length without being particularly heavy.

A remarkable geological fault line transects our estate. The contrast between soils derived form ancient mountains and those from youthful sea floor sediments could not be greater. Our 2003 Estate Tempranillo was constructed with select wine lots from both soil types and the blend is an intense, concentrated, full-bodied wine. Typical varietal characteristics of ripe blackberry and plum, mineral, cedar, and tobacco persist from the bold entry through the lengthy finish.

This purple - almost black - liquid offers a blockbuster array of plum, cherry and black currant fruit, followed by leather, smoke, anise, black truffle and vanilla. On the palate, the fine grained tannins and full body provide tremendous structure which slowly focuses to a beautiful, luscious and lengthy finish. With proper storage, this unfined and unfiltered wine will improve in the bottle for at least the next decade. Decanting is recommended.

For the 2003 vintage we were once again able to harvest Tempranillo fruit of exemplary quality from Southern Oregon’s Umpqua Valley. For this wine we sourced fruit from our estate Fault Line Vineyards, Cox’s Rock and Cobblestone Hill, and from our close neighbor, McCorquodale Vineyard. You’ll find a nose of ripe and effusive black and blue berries, mint, cedar, and mineral followed by well integrated oak and acidity. Expect a lasting finish with rich licorice, leather, and soft, balanced tannins.

The seventh version of our Vintner’s Blend is comprised of wine from 13 grape cultivars. Each varietal was harvested and vinified separately and underwent a rigorous selection process prior to blending. This edition offers abundant blackberry, black currant, cherry and coffee aromas and flavors. The finish is dry and medium bodied with leather, mint, baked berry pie, and vanilla.

With each vintage we marvel at how well this little known grape variety thrives in Southern Oregon's climate. In short, it's a natural. For 2004 we sourced our estate Cox's Rock vineyard in the Umpqua and Steelhead Run in the Applegate. Unctuous tropical fruit, honey and flowers mark the aroma suggesting sweetness. Au contraire, the wine is completely dry, medium bodied and full of complex flavors that finish with pineapple, banana and coconut nuances held together by remarkably well balanced acidity.