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June 2008 Washington Club
2005 Betz Clos de Betz Columbia Valley Red Wine
Last month the Père de Famille, this month the Clos de
Betz! And, just as the 2005 Père de Famille has received acclaim as the best
Cabernet Bob Betz has ever made, Bob feels that this is his best Merlot-based wine.
The varietal breakdown is 56% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, and 9%
Cabernet Franc, sourced in equal proportions from Red Mountain, the Horse Heaven Hills,
and the Yakima Valley. The wine is rich and dense, filled with deep black cherry,
roasted chocolate and spice. To hold you over while you wait for the Père de
Famille to reach maturity, this wine is much more ready to drink and will be the
perfect complement to a juicy steak dinner. It is $41.50 and we have just a few bottles
left for club members.
2006 K Syrah "The Deal"
Charles Smith hits another home run! "The Deal" is a
big, jammy, mouth-filling single vineyard Syrah from the Sundance Vineyard, a
north-facing site in the Wahluke Slope region of the Columbia Valley. How did he get
such rich smooth berry flavors from the first vintage of this wine? All the grapes are
crushed by foot (according to Charles) and come from low-yield vines in a cooler
vineyard in an extremely hot region. As for the origin of the name, Charles is cagey,
saying only "I put my passion into this wine and I kept the Deal!" Only 14
cases of this wine were released outside the winery, but we were able to get an extra
helping (thanks, Charles!) and have a case still available at $39.75 per bottle.
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