In This Newsletter:
Westrey Sale
Collector’s Corner: Cristal
OG Oregon Producer
Stock Up & Save On
Westrey
Westrey Sale
Collector’s Corner: Cristal
OG Oregon Producer
Stock Up & Save On
Westrey
Amy Wesselman and David Autrey of Westrey are farmers, first and foremost. They’re not bombastic enough to chase the ephemeral fame of trendy styles. Instead, they live their time-tested values. They prize sustainability, sourcing exclusively organic or LIVE-certified vineyards. Their fruit is all dry-farmed, too, because they believe it produces “better wines and respects the scarcity of water.” Their estate vineyard, Oracle, was originally planted in 1977 and revived, quite literally, by Amy and David after they purchased the property in 2000.
Westrey is the type of estate that only becomes famous if some visionary importer stumbles upon their ancient farmhouse in the backcountry of France. I could see Westrey poured at Kermit Lynch’s table alongside a cellared bottle of Lapierre Morgon or a glass of Westrey moving Terry Theise to transform prose into poetry. To say these are wines for reflection seems trite, but there are few other Willamette Valley producers that truly inhabit that space.
Westrey’s wines remind me of reconnection, partly because so much of their wine is held back before release. Maybe it’s because the wines speak quietly of place and time; they evoke memories of youth as not better but different. Reviewers talk of vintages by their weather events alone, as though blanket summaries can encapsulate all that has been and all that will be in each bottle. But winery-cellared bottles have stories to share of their transformative time in bottle, too. Reminding you that youth isn’t necessarily a time of immaturity, but rather a point along the journey that led to now. These are wines that speak of time passing as a cherished necessity, not as something to be feared.
So, take home a bottle or two, pop a cork, and really listen. You may be surprised by what you hear.
Westrey is the type of estate that only becomes famous if some visionary importer stumbles upon their ancient farmhouse in the backcountry of France. I could see Westrey poured at Kermit Lynch’s table alongside a cellared bottle of Lapierre Morgon or a glass of Westrey moving Terry Theise to transform prose into poetry. To say these are wines for reflection seems trite, but there are few other Willamette Valley producers that truly inhabit that space.
Westrey’s wines remind me of reconnection, partly because so much of their wine is held back before release. Maybe it’s because the wines speak quietly of place and time; they evoke memories of youth as not better but different. Reviewers talk of vintages by their weather events alone, as though blanket summaries can encapsulate all that has been and all that will be in each bottle. But winery-cellared bottles have stories to share of their transformative time in bottle, too. Reminding you that youth isn’t necessarily a time of immaturity, but rather a point along the journey that led to now. These are wines that speak of time passing as a cherished necessity, not as something to be feared.
So, take home a bottle or two, pop a cork, and really listen. You may be surprised by what you hear.
5% off any 3-6 in-stock bottles of Westrey
10% off any 7+ or more in-stock bottles of Westrey
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your charge.
Sale ends Sunday, April 13th at 9 am Pacific.
10% off any 7+ or more in-stock bottles of Westrey
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your charge.
Sale ends Sunday, April 13th at 9 am Pacific.
We offer nine in-stock Westrey options on sale now, including:
Westrey Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley 2018 750ml Displayed Price: $18, that’s $17.10 at 5% off and $16.20 at 10% off, 18 bottles in stock now
Decanter 93 points “A showy and opulent Pinot Gris with six years of bottle age, this wine defies expectations of simplicity for the variety aromatics of ripe stone fruits and dried white flowers with a hint of clover honey. The palate shows richness, honeyed peach and nectarine flesh, and dried notes of tarragon and mint offer complexity and freshness, showing the real ageability of this stalwart Willamette Valley varietal.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $24
The next best price is $24
Westrey Reserve Chardonnay, Willamette Valley 2017 750ml Displayed Price: $33, that’s $31.35 at 5% off and $29.70 at 10% off, 5 bottles in stock now
Decanter 92 points “[Tasted July 2024] The 2017 Reserve Chardonnay from Westrey balances richness wonderfully with saline minerality and savoury dried florals. Chamomile, white pepper and seaspray aromatics play nicely with smoky grilled lemon notes. The palate shows savoury lemongrass, oyster shells and piquant notes of citrus rind alongside spiced pear, with white pepper carrying the finish. Drinking Window 2024-2029.”
Winery Note “The 2017 Dundee Hills bottling consists 100% of 41-year-old Draper Selection clonal material from Oracle, Westrey’s estate Vineyard, located in the Dundee Hills. Their old, own-rooted, non-irrigated vines really showed their greatness, producing a beautifully balanced and complete wine. It displays the broad, rich character of the 2017 vintage with the vibrant acidity from the first cool vintage in four years. Aromas of ripe pear and baked apple are accompanied by balanced fruit and wonderful natural acidity on the palate. The Chardonnay has a very “Burgundian” texture on the palate.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Westrey Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $24, that’s $22.80 at 5% off and $21.60 at 10% off, 13 bottles in stock now
Decanter 89 points “Tasted July 2024] A dense and riper-styled Pinot Noir from Westrey, 50% of the fruit from Carlton Hill Vineyard and the other half from Holmes Gap in the Van Duzer Corridor. Dark berries and forest floor notes mark the aromatics, and the palate is dusty blackberries with hints of wild herbs with a zippy acidity to lighten the finish. Drinking Window 2024- 2030.”
Winery Note “A harmonious wine with strawberries and cherries on the nose, and bright, ample fruit on the palate. Very food friendly; we love it with meats straight off the grill.”
Westrey Reserve Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2014 750ml Displayed Price: $44.50, that’s $42.28 at 5% off and $40.05 at 10% off, 2 bottles in stock now
Winery Note “Favorable bloom conditions in the Dundee Hills yielded good set, and plenty of sunshine ripened it beautifully without any disease pressure. The crop was bountiful, with thick skins, good structure, and voluminous fruit. Vine age ranged from 13 – 37 years. One of the most highly-acclaimed vintages by winemakers and wine-writers alike. The Reserve barrels were carefully chosen for their expression of their vineyard of origin and their aging potential. The wine displays spicy red-raspberry, red currants, earth, and spice. Hints of vanilla sweetness and rich coffee round out the palate.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Westrey Reserve Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2015 750ml Displayed Price: $36, that’s $34.20 at 5% off and $32.40 at 10% off, 6 bottles in stock now
Winery Note “This wine displays plenty of fruit, while still being framed in a structure of balanced acidity and alcohol. The vineyard source for the 2015 is 100% our Oracle Vineyard. The wine has a weighty flavor spectrum of wild raspberry, red currant and sweet spice. Fruit aromas are complemented by notes of sweet clove spice and the slightest hint of vanilla oak. On the palate the wine is open and opulent, with loads of pure Pinot fruit, leading into a rich mid-palate and a balanced finish with a hint of well-integrated tannin.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Westrey Carlton Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $38, that’s $36.10 at 5% off and $34.20 at 10% off, 2 bottles in stock now
Decanter 91 points “[Tasted July 2024] Bright fruits and gravel dust aromas make a show of things in this Pinot Noir from the Carlton Hill Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton appellation. The palate shows ample spice and red fruit, such as currants, tart Montmorency cherries, and spiced blood orange. An undercurrent of pine bough and white pepper lifts the wine to its finish. Drinking Window 2024 – 2030.”
Winery Note “Carlton Hill Vineyard, planted on Willakenzie and Peavine soils, brings a plump, juicy, darker fruit to the wine Look for blackberries, cherries, and hints of mushroom and earth.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Westrey Oracle Vineyard Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills 2016 750ml Displayed Price: $33, that’s $31.35 at 5% off and $29.70 at 10% off, 10 bottles in stock now
Decanter 92 points “[Tasted July 2024] A lively and bright-fruited Pinot Noir from the old vines of Oracle Vineyard was planted originally in 1977 in the Dundee Hills. Red currants and cranberries alight from the glass with notes of fresh spearmint and lively red florals. The palate is loaded with juicy red bramble berries, tart blood orange and a zesty saline marine minerality to the finish. Drinking Window 2024 – 2031.”
Winery Note “We started harvest on September 13th after two weeks of cool weather that provided for physiological ripeness without excessive sugar gain. Once the sun came back out, sugar accumulated quickly even though nights remained cool. The very small crop (average of 1.55 tons per acre) yielded grapes of intense concentration. The resulting wine aged beautifully, with strawberry-raspberry fruit and layers of mushroom, spice and earth.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Westrey “Cuvée 23” (Oracle Vineyard) Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills 2015 750ml Displayed Price: $54.50, that’s $51.78 at 5% off and $49.05 at 10% off, 3 bottles in stock now
Decanter 91 points “[Tasted July 2024] The Cuvée 23 is from 39-year-old Pommard vines, in the dry-farmed Oracle Vineyard. It’s showing beautifully with forest floor aromatics, of mushrooms, pine tar and violets. The palate retains freshness at the nine year drinking interval, spiced chicory root, wild anise and clove envelope dark berries and spiced black plums. Drinking Window 2024 – 2030.”
Winery Note “This is the third time we have made an old vine Pinot Noir cuvée: the 23 indicates Westrey’s 23 vintage making wine in the valley. This cuvée was harvested on September 28th under sunny skies and after a wonderful cool night. Coming in at 22.9 Brix, with good acidity (TA 6.4 g/l) and a ph 3.29 it was a wonder in a ripe vintage to see the 39 year-old vines show their true colors. The clusters were completely destemmed into 1500 liter open-top fermeters where they underwent a 16-day indigenous fermentation and were racked directly into 6 barrels with 1/3 new French oak. On the nose, it is coy at first: presenting earth, truffle, and notes of Marionberry as it hints at the depth it possesses. On the palate: big rich, seamless fruit that is weighty and mouth-filling. Layer after layer of black currant, coffee, rose petal, high-notes of pomegranate, and low notes of limestone fleshed out by layers of Pinot fruit, simply a wonderfully complete wine.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Westrey “Nadja” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $49, that’s $46.55 at 5% off and $44.10 at 10% off, 9 bottles in stock now
Decanter 92 points “[Tasted July 2024] There are pretty savoury aromatics from the Justice Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills. Wild dried herbs, lavender, and strawberries are effusive as aromas leap from the glass. On the palate, candied strawberries combined with notes of white pepper and green tea leaves, pomegranate pulp, and anise provide complexity and depth to this wine a decade on. Drinking Window 2024 – 2033.”
Winery Note “Our pick of the vintage! Blackberry and cherry fruits are enriched by clove and earth on the palate. It is showing beautifully now, and will age for at least a decade.”
Louis Roederer is synonymous with quality and sustainability. Converting their estate vineyards to organic and biodynamic farming practices and high-density plantings, which all help lower yields and improve quality, these are meticulously farmed plots. Each vineyard is vinified separately for precision blending. Favoring Chardonnay, the resulting wines are among the most age-worthy and elegant on the market.
Roederer’s Cristal is one most sought-after bottlings in Champagne—a tête du cuvée that always lives up to the (enthusiastic) hype. Cristal Vinothèque—a late released bottling—represents the pinnacle of Champagne, a true insider’s must-have.
In Stock Now:
Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut, Champagne 2006 750ml $459 special, 1 bottle in stock now
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 97 points “The 2006 Cristal is a rich, explosive wine that captures all of the natural radiance of this warm year. Ample and full-bodied, the 2006 is one of the more extroverted recent Cristals. As such, it will drink well now, even though it has more than enough body to drink well for another 20 years or more. This shows real density and tons of character. It’s a big wine. “In retrospect, we might have preferred a lower dosage, but the wine was quite difficult to balance in blending, so we had to go for a higher dosage,” Lécaillon adds. Dosage is 9 grams per liter. Disgorged: 2014.”
Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut, Champagne 2015 750ml $379 special, 7 bottles in stock now
The Wine Independent 98 points “The 2015 Cristal is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. No malo-lactic was employed and 25% wine was aged in oak. The dosage is 7 grams per liter. An exquisitely delicate yet complex perfume of clover honey freshly shaved ginger marzipan and jasmine slowly emerges from the nose giving way to a core of pear tart persimmons and apple butter. The palate is an exercise in finesse featuring very fine bubbles and fantastic intensity with a myriad of spice and floral nuances finishing with impressive persistence and jaw-dropping poise. This is a style for those that embrace purity soft-spoken expression and impeccable crafting. It won’t disappoint those who love Champagne in its initial youthful perfume flushes yet will undoubtedly reward the patient with a richer toastier more obvious and opulent style with 5-10 years+ of cellaring.”
Louis Roederer Cristal Vinothèque Edition Brut Millésime, Champagne 1999 750ml $1,245 special, 2 bottles in stock now
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 97 points “Roederer’s 1999 Cristal Vinothèque is endowed with tremendous power and concentration, especially for a Champagne of its age. Palate staining minerals, chalk, white pepper, mint, citrus and orchard fruit soar out of the glass. Tasted next to the Rosé the Blanc has a slightly more toasty character along with more body and a stronger presence of the mousse, which in this wine wraps around the fruit. At the time, Cristal was made from 37 parcels. The Pinots were a blend from Aÿ (where the wines are naturally riper) and Verzenay, Verzy and Beaumont-sur-Vesle, (where Pinots are nervy and taut), while the Chardonnay was sourced from Avize, Mesnil and Cramant. Dosage is 7-8 grams per liter.” [Reviewed 2020]
Roederer’s Cristal is one most sought-after bottlings in Champagne—a tête du cuvée that always lives up to the (enthusiastic) hype. Cristal Vinothèque—a late released bottling—represents the pinnacle of Champagne, a true insider’s must-have.
In Stock Now:
Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut, Champagne 2006 750ml $459 special, 1 bottle in stock now
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 97 points “The 2006 Cristal is a rich, explosive wine that captures all of the natural radiance of this warm year. Ample and full-bodied, the 2006 is one of the more extroverted recent Cristals. As such, it will drink well now, even though it has more than enough body to drink well for another 20 years or more. This shows real density and tons of character. It’s a big wine. “In retrospect, we might have preferred a lower dosage, but the wine was quite difficult to balance in blending, so we had to go for a higher dosage,” Lécaillon adds. Dosage is 9 grams per liter. Disgorged: 2014.”
Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut, Champagne 2015 750ml $379 special, 7 bottles in stock now
The Wine Independent 98 points “The 2015 Cristal is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. No malo-lactic was employed and 25% wine was aged in oak. The dosage is 7 grams per liter. An exquisitely delicate yet complex perfume of clover honey freshly shaved ginger marzipan and jasmine slowly emerges from the nose giving way to a core of pear tart persimmons and apple butter. The palate is an exercise in finesse featuring very fine bubbles and fantastic intensity with a myriad of spice and floral nuances finishing with impressive persistence and jaw-dropping poise. This is a style for those that embrace purity soft-spoken expression and impeccable crafting. It won’t disappoint those who love Champagne in its initial youthful perfume flushes yet will undoubtedly reward the patient with a richer toastier more obvious and opulent style with 5-10 years+ of cellaring.”
Louis Roederer Cristal Vinothèque Edition Brut Millésime, Champagne 1999 750ml $1,245 special, 2 bottles in stock now
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 97 points “Roederer’s 1999 Cristal Vinothèque is endowed with tremendous power and concentration, especially for a Champagne of its age. Palate staining minerals, chalk, white pepper, mint, citrus and orchard fruit soar out of the glass. Tasted next to the Rosé the Blanc has a slightly more toasty character along with more body and a stronger presence of the mousse, which in this wine wraps around the fruit. At the time, Cristal was made from 37 parcels. The Pinots were a blend from Aÿ (where the wines are naturally riper) and Verzenay, Verzy and Beaumont-sur-Vesle, (where Pinots are nervy and taut), while the Chardonnay was sourced from Avize, Mesnil and Cramant. Dosage is 7-8 grams per liter.” [Reviewed 2020]
Don’t miss our additional sales going on now:
Oregon Rosé
5% off any 3-6 in-stock bottles of Oregon Rosé
10% off any 7+ or more in-stock bottles of Oregon Rosé
Cayuse & Friends
Cayuse / Christophe Baron Champagne / Horsepower / No Girls
5% off any 3-6 in-stock bottles
10% off any 7+ or more in-stock bottles
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your charge.
Oregon Rosé sale ends Friday, April 11th at 9 am Pacific. Cayuse & Friends sale ends Saturday, April 12th at 9 am Pacific.