New releases underscore top quality of Washington wines

Whatever the coming winter may hold in store, the winemakers I've spoken to are quite pleased with the vintage just in.

A quick bloom during intense early June heat set the crop and encouraged even ripening. Later, heat spikes shrank the grapes and reduced the tonnage but concentrated flavors and accelerated the onset of harvest. The fall rains, which have caused problems in Oregon and parts of California, did little harm here, as the grapes were safely fermenting at most wineries by mid-October. Meanwhile, new releases from the 2005 vintage are proving that Washington's spectacular numbers growth is being closely matched by a rise in quality across the board. So many good wines are hitting retail shelves just ahead of the holidays that I can only offer highlights here as I don't have the space to focus on each winery's entire lineup, though many deserve it.

Here is a mixed case of outstanding new releases. They may be purchased from specialty retailers or (in most instances) ordered directly from the wineries themselves.

Arbor Crest

www.arborcrest.com

2004 Columbia Valley Syrah; $20: Washington is becoming known as the place for syrah but few in the $20 range are this good. The key to success is the fruit, sourced from the Stillwater Creek and Sundance vineyards. Let this wine breathe for a while and note the complex aromas of cured meat and smoke wafting over berry and currant fruit. This lovely and graceful wine will reward your time and attention; I found it took a full day for it to reach its flavor peak.

Des Voigne Cellars

www.desvoignecellars.com

2005 "Montreux" Syrah; $27: This small Woodinville winery makes a big statement with its colorful labels, featuring beautiful poster-art graphics of famous jazz musicians. The star of the new lineup is this Montreux Syrah, a raw blast of wild berries, spicy cranberry and rhubarb. The chorus is tart and peppery, smoky and herbal, and it keeps on rocking through a wild and unrestrained finish.

Furion Cellars

www.furioncellars.com

2005 "Wicces Basium" Red Wine; $25: This new producer has made a perfect wine for Halloween (Wicces Basium, says the winery, may be loosely translated as "witches' kiss"). In any language it's a supple Rhone blend of 60 percent syrah, 25 percent grenache and 15 percent mourvèdre. The fruit flavors are beautifully integrated, and the finished wine is just 13.4 percent alcohol, which keeps it racy rather than sappy.

Gorman

www.gormanwinery.com

"Big Sissy" Conner Lee Vineyard Chardonnay; $35: Chris Gorman first made his mark as a red-wine specialist, but this luscious chardonnay, his first, shows him to be equally adept with white wines. A wild yeast fermentation in 100 percent new French oak really piles on the rich butterscotch flavors of toast, nutmeg and caramel. Happily there is plenty of thick, powerful fruit to match.

J. Bookwalter

www.bookwalterwines.com

2005 Columbia Valley Merlot; $38: The 2005 continues along the established path of Bookwalter's recent red-wine releases: big, no holds barred, rich and jammy. The alcohol, at 14.8 percent, is not shy, and can be tasted in the finish. But the brambly fruit is ripe and nicely woven together, coated with appealing barrel flavors of coffee and chocolate.

L'Ecole No 41

www.lecole.com

2006 Columbia Valley Semillon; $16: L'Ecole "owns" semillon in Washington, and it is hard to think of any winery in the country that does a better job with the grape. The fact that consumers do not seem to have jumped on the semillon bandwagon does not deter L'Ecole's Marty Clubb — he offers four different bottlings and sells out of them all. Put your preconceptions aside and try this delicious, rich and succulent wine with its deft flavors of nettle, lime, melon and vanilla custard.

Mark Ryan

www.markryanwinery.com

2006 Conner Lee Vineyard Viognier; $28: Rarely have I had a better viognier from America. This is a riot of citrus and stone fruits, lightly peppery in the mouth but also creamy and textural. It's generous, subtle and refreshing — not tiring — and designed to accompany a wide variety of sauces, cheeses, pasta and poultry.

McCrea Cellars

www.mccreacellars.com

2006 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Roussanne; $25: Roussanne, one of the six white grapes of the Rhone, is not often presented as a pure varietal, but Doug McCrea does a great job with this new release from Red Mountain's Ciel du Cheval vineyard. Creamy and refreshing, it's got plenty of texture and wet stone flavors to liven up the finish. This is a good option for chardonnay lovers who yearn for something new and different.

O• S

www.owensullivan.com

2005 Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Franc; $30: O• S generally produces one of the best cab francs in Washington, and this is no exception. The aromas are lifted and intense, even a bit high-toned, but the wine is packed with juicy red-fruit flavors and barrel notes of coffee and tobacco.

Seia Wine Cellars

www.seiawines.com

2005 Clifton Hill Vineyard Syrah; $30: Clifton Hill is one of the Milbrandt vineyards located in the Wahluke Slope AVA, and Seia is one of several small wineries making excellent syrah from this fruit. Ripe, concentrated flavors of plum and berry are accented with a streak of citrus, then finished with a hint of mint.

Sineann

www.sineann.com

2006 Old Vine Zinfandel; $36: This is made from century-old vines at the Pines vineyard, on the Oregon side of the Columbia River gorge. Sineann's Peter Rosback consistently makes the finest zinfandel in the Northwest from these grapes. Released at less than a year old, this wine shows bright primary flavors of ripe raspberries, with plenty of tart acid behind 15.6 percent alcohol. Though it's a bigger style, it is reminiscent of the lovely Nalle zins from Dry Creek Valley — succulent and bursting with berries.

Vin du Lac

www.vindulac.com

2006 "LEHM" Estate Dry Riesling; $20: The Lake Chelan region is just now reaching an age where some of the estate vineyards are settling in and beginning to show what this exciting new appellation-in-waiting is capable of. Vin du Lac's 'LEHM' bottling is finely detailed with citrus rind, stone, light herb and yeast; the wine is nicely meshed and the flavors refined. Though almost completely dry, it is not lacking in substance, length or flavor.

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