Oregon pours out fine Washington wines

It may surprise you to hear that three of the best Washington wineries are headquartered in Oregon. Heck, it surprises me! But it's true.

These are not newcomers. All three made their first wines in the mid-1990s. All three make wine from Oregon as well as Washington grapes. And all subscribe to the notion that state borders are irrelevant when it comes to winemaking. In fact, being located just outside of Portland puts them as close to their Washington vineyards as many of the wineries scattered from the Puget Sound region to Spokane. My surprise is not that they have chosen to make Washington wine down in Oregon, but that they seem to do it consistently well, while making equally good wine from Oregon grapes. After all, we are long past the day when the two states could be clumped together as Pacific Northwest wine country, as if they were all of a piece. Making Willamette Valley pinot noir is quite different from Yakima Valley cabernet, or gewürztraminer from the Columbia Gorge.

Making them equally well is simply astonishing. So, who are they?

Sineann

I have frequently praised the wines of Sineann, which are released in great profusion in late summer and rapidly disappear from the marketplace. Sineann began as a partnership between Peter Rosback and David O'Reilly. O'Reilly is now making wines under the Owen Roe label with a different partner, but he and Rosback remain good friends and share a distributor, Triage. The new releases from both wineries are up to their usual high standards.

From Sineann comes a dizzying array of wines, most now using the ultra-classy glass stoppers that were first introduced on a pair of wines last year. This fall the winery offers no less than three gewürztraminers, 10 pinot noirs, a pair of zinfandels and a variety of Bordeaux varietals and blends. The pinots we'll save for another week; listed below are some of the other winners, many from Washington vines.

Sineann's Rosback also gleefully informs me that he has added a third dessert wine to the portfolio this year, at the behest of his wife, who noted that their daughters had sweet wines named for them but she did not. This long-suffering spouse now has her wish — sort of. The daughters' wines are called Sweet Sydney and CJ; mom's, a late-harvest syrah, is "The Old Ball and Chain."

New from Sineann

2005 Celilo Vineyard Gewurztraminer; $18. Pure pear and mineral, this is the fruitiest of the winery's trio of gewurz. Intense, clean and focused, it's a pleasure wine, forward and with a suggestion of sweetness.

2005 Resonance Vineyard Gewurztraminer; $18. This is the spicy one, with a bouquet of ginger, clove and mint wrapped into clean pear and stone fruits.

Sineann 2005 Oak Ridge Vineyard Gewurztraminer; $18. Fragrant and varietal, this showers you with its pungent and penetrating perfume, then wraps the palate in a cascade of pear, pineapple and grapefruit.

Sineann 2005 'Kingfish Cuvée' Sauvignon Blanc; $18. This is a dark, ripe wine, scented with honey, mint and vanilla tea — quite the opposite of the grassy, stony style of sauv blanc that I generally admire. But the winemaking is so polished that it blows away all my objections.

Sineann 2005 'Old Vine' Zinfandel; $36. From century-old vines — unique in the Northwest — this wine offers complex, soft, plummy fruit with the grace of old vines. Lightly liquorous and laden with plums, cherries, dates and figs.

Sineann 2005 'The Pines' Zinfandel; $27. The same vineyard makes this thick, concentrated wine, packed with black raspberry and black cherry fruit, wafts of smoke and clove and meat.

Sineann 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon; $30. Seductive and pungent with a wide array of Asian spices, incense and fresh earth. There are gentle reminders of umami — soy and balsamic, salt and mushroom — and the fruits are ripe and very slightly cooked. Raisin, spice cake, plum pudding — this is a baker's dream!

Owen Roe

Sineann wines, with their striking label graphics — woodcut patterns overlaid with the initial or initials of the featured wine grape — are easily spotted on retail shelves. Owen Roe uses a different but equally imaginative approach, branding each wine with its own imagery.

There are three basic groups. The O'Reillys are value-priced Oregon wines that feature an Irish wolfhound on the label. The mid-priced Owen Roes have their own woodcut label. The very limited vineyard-designates come in massive, weighty bottles and sport dark, iconic photographs of Irish monuments.

David O'Reilly makes some very nice pinot gris and pinot noir, but his main strengths are syrahs and Rhone-style blends, from excellent Yakima valley vineyards such as DuBrul and Elerding. Here are some highlights from the current releases.

New Washington wines from Owen Roe

2005 Abbot's Table Red Wine; $22. This hugely popular blend of 10 different grapes somehow keeps itself focused and delivers substantial, meaty flavors from excellent ripe fruit.

2005 'Sinister Hand' Red; $24. A southern Rhone-style blend, this dense, concentrated, serious effort puts the lie to those who claim that Washington-grown Rhones are overpriced and can't compete with the French.

2005 'Ex Umbris' Syrah; $24. A wonderful syrah, composed of grapes from several different, widely-scattered vineyards. The brilliance of David O'Reilly is not just in finding and coddling these grapes, but also in knowing how to put them together.

Andrew Rich

The third member of this odd triumvirate is Andrew Rich, a self-proclaimed "vinarchist" who makes wines very much in the David O'Reilly mode. Rich, who studied winemaking in Burgundy and apprenticed at Bonny Doon, is represented by Cavatappi Distribuzione. These new releases include some especially fine values; however, several will not be available until November.

New Washington wines from Andrew Rich

2004 Roussanne; $20. This is a lovely roussanne, a white Rhone grape that is only beginning to be planted in Washington vineyards. The wine delivers creamy, rich flavors without becoming syrupy or overripe. Fresh, palate-cleaning acids keep it lively.

2004 Cabernet Franc; $20. A crowd-pleaser that shows off the smooth and sappy side of cab franc. Delicious from the get-go, it manages its tannins perfectly and puts the fruit in the driver's seat.

2004 Tabula Rasa Red; $16. This Rhone-style blend is half syrah, 20 percent grenache, the rest split between counoise and mourvèdre. I like its spicy red fruits and a streak of ash in the tannins.

2003 Coup d'Etat Red; $23. Another Rhone blend — medium-weight — of mourvèdre/grenache/syrah. It's quite forward, fruit-driven, ripe and fresh; but not jammy or overpowering.

2003 Syrah; $23. This thick and quite tannic syrah showcases the dark and earthy side of the grape. Streaks of tar and smoke add length and flavor interest.

The Canlis Wine & Whisky Society

Lovers of fine wines and extremely rare (as in impossible to obtain) single malt Scotch whiskeys will want to investigate a new venture being sponsored by the three Canlis brothers, Matt, Mark and Brian. The Canlis Wine & Whisky Society offers members the opportunity to attend special dinners and tastings and access to the restaurant's extensive collection of whiskeys and rare wines.

Matt Canlis is an ordained minister for the Church of Scotland. As fate would have it, Matt's parish is in the Scottish Highlands — he is the source for most of these gems, which have been collected and brought into the restaurant one bottle at a time over the past five years.

The wines are pulled from the depths of the restaurant's 15,000 bottle cellar. Membership costs $300. For complete details, go to www.canlis.com/wine/ or phone 206-283-3313 during regular business hours.

Paul Gregutt is the author of "Northwest Wines." His column appears weekly in the Wine section. He can be reached by e-mail at wine@seattletimes.com.