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2005 Acclaim
December 2005
Gifts to make a wine lover cheer
With that, here's my top 10 most coveted wines of the year. Not necessarily the very best, but the ones I would spend endless hours to track down — and occasionally have.
#5 Betz 2003 Columbia Valley Syrah "La Serenne" ($47):
Washington Syrah at its best, made by a Master of Wine. Literally.
November 2005
Syrah Columbia Valley La Serenne 2003
93 points | $44 | 345 cases made
Serious stuff, brimming with fresh, lively plum, pomegranate and dusky spice aromas and flavors, lingering effortlessly against fine tannins. Best from 2007 through 2013.-H.S.
November 2005
Wine & Spirits Magazine recently published its Special Issue 2006 Annual Buying Guide. They named Betz Family Winery one of its 100 Wineries of the Year from around the world. Fifty nine international wineries and 41 American wineries were recognized with the "Winery of the Year" designation, and we joined 16 other US wineries listed in the "American Artisan" category. We were thrilled to take our place alongside the other 99 wineries like Joseph Phelps, Pride, Henschke, Beaucastel, Loosen and Antinori, as well as other Washington wineries like Cayuse and McCrea.
The magazine recommended each of our wines they tasted, and reinforced our belief that every one of the Columbia Valley's sub regions offers unique contributions to our final blends. They paid particular attention to our two Syrahs, saying "Both are towering, yet completely different from one another, a remarkable achievement from the hands of a master of place."
November/December 2005
International wine critic Steve Tanzer comes to Washington every year to review the latest round of the state's new wines. He recently published the November/December 2005 issue of Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, and we're ecstatic. He had high praise for all our wines, both the current releases and those to be released spring 2006.
In this current issue Betz Family scored his highest rating, 93, for any Washington Syrah and was one of only 5 wineries to notch a 93 point rating for Cabernet Sauvignon. Following are his critiques of our wines.
2003 Betz Family Clos de Betz Red Table Wine Columbia Valley 92
(58% merlot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cabernet franc and 6% petit verdot) Bright ruby-red. Currant, tobacco and musky espresso on the nose, with suggestions of exotic chocolate, graphite and mocha. Lush, suave and sweet, with generous black raspberry and mineral flavors. Wonderfully plump in the middle. Finishes very long and sophisticated, with sweet tannins. A steal at the price.
2003 Betz Family Cabernet Sauvignon Père de Famille Columbia Valley 93
(includes 13% merlot, 8% malbec and 3% petit verdot; largely from Red Mountain fruit) Bright ruby-red. Classy cabernet aromas of cassis, blueberry, iodine, minerals, tar, tobacco leaf, mocha and sexy oak spices. Sweet, lush and thick; conveys a high-pH feel without coming across as heavy. The chewy, layered currant and spice flavors are perked up by a captivating minerality. Finishes with firm, broad tannins, palate-saturating fruit and terrific length. This wine was quite approachable when I sampled it but may well close down in the bottle. (I retasted the 2002 Père de Famille next to the 2003. The earlier vintage showed superb grip and minerality, still needs five or six years of cellaring, and should be long-lived, while the 2003 came across as much more forward.)
2003 Betz Family Syrah La Cote Rousse Columbia Valley 93
($44) Saturated ruby-red. Sexy aromas of superripe red fruits, smoky oak and black walnut. Fat, pliant and generous, with compellingly sweet flavors of berries and licorice. Creamy and complete, and not at all rustic or animal. Offers a superb combination of volume and shape. Finishes very long and ripe, with fine-grained tannins.
2003 Betz Family Besoleil Grenache Columbia Valley 92
($35; includes about 15% syrah) Medium red. Superripe, liqueur-like aromas of cherry, black raspberry, black walnut and wild herbs. Sweet and sappy in the mouth, with wonderfully opulent, mouthfilling raspberry fruit complemented by a minerally component. Exotic and liqueur-like but with terrific verve. Finishes very long, with sweet tannins. Fascinating American grenache. (A barrel tasting of the 2004, which includes 22% mourvedre and 12% syrah, showed a wilder, more peppery/spicy wine with even more lift and structure to go with its great ripeness.)
2003 Betz Family Syrah La Serenne Columbia Valley 90(+?)
($44; from Boushey Vineyard fruit) Bright ruby. Wild, musky aromas of black raspberry, pepper, smoke, licorice, espresso and game. Lush on entry, then dense and peppery, with flavors of sweet berries, hung game, black cardamom and caraway seed. Offers excellent focus but the flavors are a tad rustic. A serious, structured wine that's currently a bit tough, with its components not yet in sync. Today this comes across as less fruity and less voluptuous than the '02 release.
August 31, 2005
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Père de Famille
"93 Betz Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Père de Famille 2002
Big, rich and plush, with beautifully formed currant, blackberry, cherry, and sweet spice flavors that mingle and linger effortlessly on fine tannins. Put together well, just needs time to settle in. Contains 17% Merlot and 6% Malbec. Best from 2007 through 2015. 705 cases made."
June 2005
2002 Clos de Betz
"93 Betz Family Winery 2002 Clos de Betz (Columbia Valley)
Master of Wine Bob Betz has refined his winemaking to a style that is breaking new ground for the region. The Merlot-centric Clos de Betz (57% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cab Franc) is incredibly dense, concentrated and inky, yet retains amazing elegance. Its silky mouthfeel, brightness and finesse support supple, ripe, immaculate fruit. It's all wrapped in pillowy tannins. Editor's Choice."
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Père de Famille:
"93 Betz Family Winery 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Père de Famille (Columbia Valley)
The mouthfeel of this stunning Cabernet is utterly distinctive. Full, lush, packed with smoky black fruits, it seamlessly extends through the midpalate with no hint of chalk, stem, earth or roughness. Voluptuous, smooth and coated with chocolate, espresso and dried orange peel."
May 2005
Washington wonders
Gary Werner gives his top 10 personal recommendations of Washington State wines:
#1 95 points Betz La Côte Rousse Syrah 2002
Pronounced blackberry and spice fruit on the nose. Full, dense flavours of blueberry, blackberry and liquorice fill the mouth. A wonderful and hedonistic wine. Drink 2005-2008. Not available in UK.
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