Current Releases

This vintage of Père de Famille is consistent with the past several years, heavy on Cabernet character, with Petit Verdot playing a key supporting role and a bit of Merlot adding fleshiness. There’s a notable development, however: an increase in the Cabernet Sauvignon from the 1973 block at Red Willow Vineyard. I love wines from older vines: there’s typically an added dimension from deeper roots, thick trunks and shy bearing buds. Among the oldest plantings in the state, this vineyard’s contribution brought additional richness and complexity to the blend, without added astringency. The 2009 is full blown, with a powerful aroma of black currants, plum and blackberry. Completing the aroma are scents of violet, smoke, rock and vanilla bean. Classic Cabernet structure is reflected in its firm grip of tannin, but there’s enough fruit density to make it lush and pliant. This is another vintage where it’s easy to use the word “complete” to describe the overall character of this Cabernet.

Mid-summer heat built Merlot power in 2009. The thicker grape skins caused by higher summer temperatures create one of Merlot’s splendid sensory traits, the smell of sweet chocolate. And it’s here in the 2009 vintage of Clos de Betz. Add subtle creamy vanilla oak from French oak barrels, rich baking spices, saddle leather and black pepper and you have the nuance of this vintage, all playing out on sweet black cherry and mulberry foundations.

There’s plumpness to the mid-palate, broad and expressive, while the finish lingers, lively and satisfying. Despite the addition of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is structurally Merlot, pliant, supple and with enough spine for moderate to long cellaring.

We’ve been making Syrah for 13 vintages at Betz Family, but only once before, in 2005, did we make this wine. Any special blend must be different from, and even better than, the wines we craft each vintage. By definition these wines are made in small amounts, and yield an expression that is unique and compelling.

It all came together once again in 2009, when we saw something special in a blend of barrels that stopped us in our tracks. Unlike the three Syrahs we craft each vintage which are expressions of single sites, Syrah Chapitre 3 (Chapter 3) focuses on the grape character itself, rather than the vineyard origins. I typically view Syrah as a chameleon, expressing itself best as a wine that reflects its vineyard origin. But, hey, we’re not in France, and there are no rules, so we can blend to make the best wine we can.

And that’s what the 2009 Syrah Chapitre 3 is, a blend from three vineyards in two AVAs that sing together to make a most persuasive wine. Two barrels hail from Red Mountain, Ciel du Cheval Vineyard and Ranch at the End of the Road, and two from Boushey Vineyard in the Yakima Valley. We know these vineyards well; we’ve been farming most of the Betz Family rows since the 1999 or 2000 vintage. During our frequent barrel tastings several barrels stood out in 2009; but these four fit together seamlessly.

Its purple black color hints at its density, confirmed by the penetrating aroma. This is like a classic from the northern Rhone, with a deep cassis, blackberry foundation. Layered atop are smoke, wild game, and roasted meat aromas, with saddle leather, rock and spice-rack completing the picture. It enters full, has a dynamite mid-palate and simply lasts on the palate. It’s as smooth as baby skin until the steel spine subtly reveals itself. It will be hard to cellar this, but lay some away, at least for a couple years, to bring to light why we make this so infrequently.