-Cellar Selections - Oregon & Washington

Cellar Worthy
Northwest Wines

Here is a small selection of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and BC wines that Avalon recommends as the best we offer for cellaring. Not all wines are made to be aged- more and more are made to be immediately accessible, big, soft, fruity, toasty, lovely wines that don't necessarily improve with age.

These are the wines we recommend that were made to be laid down, from winemakers who in most cases have substantial histories of many successfully aged vintages. The few newer wineries whose wines we recommend are held in high esteem for their dedication to creating wines that can be aged.

We offer a few wines as magnums, and highly recommend the purchase of magnums for longer cellaring (over 5 years). Magnums, because they contain more wine, are less susceptible to going bad, and seem to age more evenly and successfully than smaller (or larger) bottles.

Big Reds

Note that several of these wineries, while highly regarded, are not popular with lovers of immediately big, approachable reds. Andrew Will's wines, in particular, are disappointing to those who open them immediately upon release, expecting to find a fully developed wine. If you cellar the wines of Andrew Will and Woodward Canyon, in particular, you will eventually experience some of the finest Bordeaux-style reds made in the New World.

Pinot noir

Many of the Pinot noirs from the fabulous 2002 vintage will be very cellarable, but are not yet released. In general, the "Reserve" or single vineyard Pinots that are most cellarworthy will be released in late 2004. We've suggested a few 2002 Pinot noirs here that we think will be especial standouts after cellaring, and will add more as they become available. Andrew Rich has never before made a Reserve Pinot, and we know that his extremely high standards would only allow him to create a reserve if the grapes were superb. Shea's Block 25 has never been offered before, and has a cult following among the few who have had access to it in the past.

Wine Serving and Cellaring Temperatures

Temp Fahrenheit

212 Boling water

77 Max temperature acceptable for wine

66
Port, red dessert wines, Cab Franc

64 Meritage blends, Syrah

63 Cabernet Sauvignon

61 Pinot noir

59 Zinfandel, Sangiovese

55 Ideal wine storage temperature

54 Dry rose, Gamay noir, Viognier

50 Lowest cellar temperature recommended

48 Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc

47 Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muller Thurgau

45 Champagne style wines

43 Ice wine and late harvest wine

41 Semi Sparkling muscat

Typical Timeline for Wine Aging

Chardonnay

Cabernet Sauvignon

Year One
Not bottled.
Not bottled

Year Two
Fresh peach, grapefruit, butter, obvious oak.
Not bottled

Year Three
Flavors integrated slightly, small gain in colour.
Deep purple, strong ripe berry-fruit, grippy tannins, stong oak.

Year Four
Enters a slightly dull patch as fruit fades and bottle development begins to appear.
Deep ruby with tinges of purple. Strong berry-fruit flavors now more accessible. Firm tannins.

Year Five
Fruit less obvious, more toasty flavors emerging.
Beginning of toasty, forest floor bottle development.

Year Six
Strong toasty, nutty, mealy bottle development with background of peach and grapefruit.
Strong development starts to compete with ripe berry flavors. Colour ruby/red.

Year Seven
Acidity mellows slightly, colour deepens.
Red colour with savoury earth flavors and the beginning of a beef tea complexity.

Year Eight
Still has a vestige of fruit but strong toast, nuts etc.
A slight brick edge to colour, more beef tea, mellow flavors. Sometimes tannins can appear stronger at this stage.

Year Nine
Fruit begins to "dry up" and the texture starts to become coarse.
Fruit fading but still evident. Strong bottle development. Tannins may begin to mellow.

Year Ten
Bitterness may begin to emerge.
Strongly developed composty flavors. Very integrated. Strong brick edge to red colour. Still has a few years potential for further development.

Name Size

Split 375 ml

Bottle 750 ml

Magnum 2 bottles

Marie-Jeanne 3 bottles

Double Magnum 4 bottles

Jeroboam 4 bottles

Jeroboam 6 bottles

Reboboam 6 bottles

Imperial 8 bottles

Methuselah 8 bottles

Salmanazar 12 bottles

Balthazar 16 bottles

Nebuchadnezzar 20 bottles

Solomon
28 bottles

Primat 36 bottles

What do the Names mean?

Jeroboam
(Founder and first king of Israel, 931-910 BC)
Rehoboam, son of Solomon
(King of Judah, 922-908 BC)
Methuselah
(Biblical patriarch who lived to the age of 969)
Salmanazar
(King of Assyria, 859-824 BC)
Balthazar
(Regent of Babylon, son of Nabonide, 539 BC)
Nebuchadnezzar
(King of Babylon, 605-562 BC)

Wine & Spirits 93 points: "Built on concentrated, intense fruit, this estate wine is a melange of savory spices, mince pie and pink peppercorn lined with smoke. The flavors aren't shy; its inky bl
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Avalon Tasting Notes

The most seductive, mouthfilling Beaux Freres Pinot noir to date. Let the fanfare begin!

It's an orchestra of mixed fruits, all delivered in a superbly
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Avalon's tasting notes:

Fragrant and spicy, with a pretty perfumed nose of lovely violets, graham and lush red fruit. Opulent, creamy red cherries and berries fill your mouth. Sweet
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Beaux Freres Pinot noir Ribbon Ridge The Upper Terrace 06 Wine Spectator 94 Points and Wine Spectator "HOT" Wine in Wine Spectator "Insider" for May 7, 2008:

Elegant and refin
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-Cellar Selections - Oregon & Washington

Cellar Worthy Northwest Wines

Cellar Worthy
Northwest Wines