2000 Merlot Columbia Valley
Varietal Composition: 84% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc.
Alcohol: 13.8%
Bottling Date: November 20, 2001
Release Date: Spring 2002
Production: 1,977 cases (750ml), 40 cases (1.5L), 55 cases (375ml)
Tasting Note: The wine shows extraordinary definition and focus for such a young wine.  The ability to blend with such incredible components has allowed the wine maker to produce a spectacular wine with deep color, ripe Bing cherry and concentrated cassis, chocolate and mocha.  Vanilla spice from new barrels makes for a surprisingly complex red wine.  The finish is long and generous. Wine Spectator 91 Points

2001 Syrah Bacchus Vineyard
Appellation: Columbia Valley
Varietal Percentage: 100% Syrah; Bacchus Vineyard, Pasco, WA
Vinification: whole-berry fermentation; 72-hour cold maceration followed by a 17-day primary fermentation using multiple Côtes-du-Rhône isolates; pneumatage employed for cap management; bladder-pressed prior to complete dryness; finished in cask
Malolactic Fermentation: spontaneous inoculation; 100% complete
Oak: six weeks in near-neutral American and Oregon oak barrels for settling and ML inoculation; not fined nor filtered
Winemaker’s Notes: Typical of the Bacchus Syrah is its wild cherry and black cherry components, but this year those are overlain by a red raspberry essence, a characteristic of many Rhône-style wines.  An un-wooded wine intended for early consumption, the Bacchus Vineyard Syrah consistently succeeds in providing great enjoyment of foods with which it is paired. Favorite pairings include peppercorn New York steak, cubed leg of lamb and shitake mushroom kebabs, spicy red sauces atop penne pasta, and al fresco lunches of coppacolla sausage, Gorgonzola cheese and salt-cured black olives.

Glen Fiona

Syrah Walla Walla Valley

Appellation: Walla Walla Valley
Varietal Percentage: 90% Syrah; Pepper Bridge Vineyard, Morrison Lane Vineyard, Cailloux Vineyard. 10% Viognier; Morrison Lane Vineyard.
Vinification: whole berry co-fermentation of both varieties; 72-hour cold maceration followed by an 18-day primary fermentation using multiple Côtes-du-Rhône isolates; pneumatage employed for cap management; bladder-pressed before complete dryness; finished in cask.
Malolactic Fermentation: spontaneous inoculation; 100% complete.
Winemaker’s Notes: In this wine one finds baker’s cocoa, ripe blackberry and even white peppercorn, a pleasant and piquant alter-ego of the black spice. It easily succeeds in providing a sensational addition to the Rhône-style section of your cellar. Glen Fiona’s benchmark wines are made from Walla Walla Valley fruit, and they continue to be the winery’s finest offerings in its range of appellation-based Syrahs. An age-worthy, finely structured wine, the 1999 Glen Fiona Walla Walla Valley Syrah is fully capable of reaching its peak from 2007 to 2009.  If you can’t wait, it shows well now and will be a pleasant and perfect accompaniment to peppercorn steak, grilled vegetables, salmon, lamb chops or kebabs.

2001 Melange Columbia Valley
Varieties: 31% Sangiovese, 25% Syrah, 23% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon
Harvest Date: 09/24-10/12/01
Oak: Aged in 30% new oak for 10 months. 54% American and 46% European oak.
Alcohol:  13.8% 
Bottled: July to mid-August 2002 
Cases Produced:  7,483
Tasting Note: Rich in texture, almost explosively flavorful, more in the mouth than on the nose, bursting with berry, floral and spicy character that lasts and lasts on the generous finish. 

2001 ‘Barrel Fermented’ Semillon Columbia Valley
Blend: 89% Semillon, 11% Sauvignon Blanc
Vineyards: Yakima Bend Ranch, Klipsun, Charbonneau, Seven Hills Vineyard, Vanessa, and Fries.
Oak: aged in 2^nd year French oak with 65% aged sur lie for 6 months. Malolactic fermentation introduced in barrel.
Alcohol: 13.9arrel.cedonarstdk.ivan.comery ’% by volume
Tasting Note: Remarkably brilliant and buoyed by crisp acidity, this wine shows loads of ripe citrus layered nicely with floral notes of orange blossom, honeysuckle and sweet nectar. 

Giuseppe Quintarelli

Established early 1900s Owner Giuseppe Quintarelli Production 4,500 cases Vineyard area 30 acres (12 ha)

Quintarelli is often termed Valpolicella's magician. His approach is strongly traditionalist with few concessions to modernity. Although his wines, technically, can display faults--and bottle-to-bottle variance--they are so weighty, multi-layered, full of personality and, well, unique that any faults seem to enhance their character rather than detract from it. The "standard" Valpolicella is a ripasso, the Amaroneis nothing short of stellar.

Best Drinking: 2000 to 2015
Drink with: Drink it when you'd drink Port; and suffer less the next morning
Wine background
14% plus 3% residual sugar. Made as Amarone, except that less of the sugars are transformed into alcohol. Quintarelli does not try to force wines in any direction, lets them take their own course in barrel.

Nicolas Belfrage MW Apr 04 2000 Rating: 90 out of 100
Redolent of ripe cherries on the nose. Great richness of ripe cherry, cherry liqueur fruit on palate, sweet and scrumptious but with a satisfying bitter twist at the back which prevents anything cloying. Acidity also helps give balance.

Robert Parker 90 points

The 2000 Il Blu boasts a dense ruby/purple color in addition to aromas of espresso, sweet, toasty French oak, new saddle leather, black currants, and blackberries. Deep, medium to full-bodied, and powerful, it requires 2-3 years of cellaring, and should last for 12-15.

Robert Parker 89 points

The deep ruby/purple-colored 2000 Chianti Classico reveals a seductive, sexy bouquet of sweet black cherries, leather, camphor, licorice, and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, earthy, round, and heady, with no hard edges, it will drink well for 4-5 years.