Winter 2003

Dear Friends of the Winery,

Most followers of Washington wines love the warmer vintages and 2003 should prove exceptional as our measured heat units for the year hit a new record! This vintage looks much like 1994, when we had rich color extraction and intense fruit flavors. A mild, cool spring helped the vines recover from some slight winter injury last October. An extremely warm July kept berry size and cluster weights down, resulting in lower yields than normal. We started harvest on September 3rd at Seven Hills Vineyard at a rather hectic pace, then some moisture and cooler weather brought on our typical fall warm-day cool-night pattern, extending hang-time for much of our remaining fruit. By the end we had harvested 475 tons, or about 27,000 cases. Our new concrete-tilt barrel storage facility was completed in the nick of time and we have moved in, in a big way.

As we harvested our last Cabernet, I was delighted to be on my way to the Wine Spectator's New York Wine Experience. It was an honor to be pouring our wine against some of the world's best, including first-growths from Bordeaux and cult Napa Valley Cabernets. Frankly, it was also quite humbling! Four Washington wineries made the lineup, including my neighbor Woodward Canyon. I watched the frenzied mob lineup at Haut-Brion across the aisle, Diamond Creek next door, then give me the "who are you" eye on their way to the Screaming Eagle queue. There was a generous crowd of in-the-know tasters who sought us out, but I took more delight in the handful of uninformed curiosity tasters who stepped forward for their first taste of Walla Walla. First sip, a raised eyebrow. Pondering over a second taste, the subtle but clear impression emerged that indeed, we were in the right crowd. We stood shoulder-to-shoulder in quality with the very best wines, and one-upped many of the big names, gaining huge recognition those two evenings.

As the holiday season approaches, we look forward to welcoming you the first weekend in December for the Seventh Annual Holiday Barrel Tasting and Open House. Our icon Chef Cristiana Fagioli will prepare an innovative five course meal specifically paired with our new wine releases on Friday and Saturday evening, December 5th and 6th. Call Cindy at the winery for dinner information. Expect the fireplace to be warm when we open our doors from 10am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday to showcase our new winter wine releases. In the cellar, we plan to barrel taste two new wines to be released in 2004, the 2002 Columbia Valley Syrah (May 2004) and a very special Estate Bordeaux blend from Seven Hills Vineyard (December 2004). We have hand-selected a variety of fresh cheeses specially chosen to complement these wines, and will serve salmon mousse from Rafael's in Pendleton.

The popularity of our single vineyard Semillons is soaring! These include the 2002 Fries Vineyard Semillon from the Wahluke Slope, 2002 Seven Hills Vineyard Estate Semillon and, for our second vintage, 2002 Seven Hills Vineyard Late Harvest Semillon. Consistently crisp and viscous, the Fries Semillon shows marvelous creamy apricot and pear flavors, with hints of fresh fig and honeysuckle. The Estate Semillon shows more complex tropical flavors of pineapple, melon, and kiwi, with a rich nutty crème brulee finish. Harvested exactly 3 months later, the Late Harvest Semillon was pressed while frozen, generating a luscious golden nectar at 45 percent sugar. At its fermentation finish, this dessert wine has 16% residual sugar, intense floral aromas, and a thick viscosity of ripe pear, honey and butterscotch. With only 170 cases, we hope to have enough to go around.

The new 2001 Pepper Bridge Vineyard Apogee rocks (as my teenagers would say)! Equal parts Cabernet and Merlot, with a touch of Cabernet Franc, this wine shows its characteristic bold aromatics, with spicy aromas of nutmeg and clove, earthy hints of tobacco and leather, and dark black cherry, plum and cassis. With successful implementation of our acreage contracts and low yield targets, the 2001 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon just gets better and better. With an average vine age in excess of 25 years, the 2001 vintage is classic Cabernet, with highly integrated aromas of dark blackberry, herbs and sage, with ripe plum, black cherry and currants on an earthy toasty finish. The new 2002 Schoolhouse Red seems to be growing in popularity as it is a fun, drink-me-now wine, with nice fruity flavors that have you reaching for a second glass.

A wine trip to Walla Walla is not complete without a tour of the newly dedicated $4.1 million dollar Center for Enology and Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College. The October 17th Grand Opening was a stand-up only crowd, and that evening's auction and celebration dinner raised nearly $88,000 for student scholarships in the arts, culinary, and enology and viticulture programs.

Wine & Spirits December issue reviews their Top Ten Cabernet Sauvignons of the year. Washington State landed three of the top six, including Andrew Will, Quilceda Creek, and yours truly, the L'Ecole Nº 41 2000 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet. Wine & Spirits also blessed us once again, naming L'Ecole Nº 41 as one of their 100 Wineries of the Year. The October 15 issue of Wine Spectator has a fabulous article on Washington and, more specifically, the Walla Walla Valley.

Our production crew has been busy this year, in more than one way. Congratulations to Mike Sharon, Production Winemaker, and his wife Christine on the birth of their daughter Clara Lee on October 28th (Mike has always been good at timing). Matt Ellis, Associate Winemaker, must be a better planner; congratulations to Matt and his wife Kim on the birth of their daughter Brooke this last July.

We hope to see you all at the Holiday Barrel Tasting in December!

Martin and Megan Clubb, and the staff of L'Ecole Nº 41