WTN: My indoctrination with Owen Roe

I have heard a lot of good things about Owen Roe, in Wash. state so, on a wine buying binge in Col. Ohio I bought the
07 Sinister Hand Rhone blend ($27), 07Sharecropper Cab.Sauvginon. ($18)and 07 Ex Umbris Syrah ($27)and opened the[/b]Lenore 2007 Syrah tonight. It is the second label of Owen Roe and was very nice with dusty sweet cherry nose and palate. With abv of %14, even at this young age it was very smooth with tannins well integrated. For about $14 I'll be looking to buy more. I have yet to pull the trigger on the Du Brul Cab. or the Cab. Franc but am very tempted. Do these previously mentioned wines need a lot of decanting or time in the cellar? I would guess not as the Lenore was so open for business. My previous experience with Wash. reds were 07 Soos Creek Sundance, Powers wines, both the Res. Cab. And Meritage, The Bernard Griffin Cab. (cheap and good) and Walter Clore Cab. from Columbia Crest (very nice). Years ago I had some deeply discounted David Lake Columbia Cabs (Red Willow???), that were monsters drunk either decades too soon or just too tannic. This year is for me to explore more Wash. reds (probably not Quelcida Creek....too expensive) but Betz, Buty, Woodward Canyon and who else???

Thanks for these comments, Jim.

A question because I'm curious: do you drink only the Washington wines of Owen Roe, or was it just this instance when you wanted and had access to only the Washington wines of Owen Roe.

Reason I ask, the winery is located in Oregon and makes some pretty decent Oregonian wines as well as Washington.

Hi Hoke, I was unaware that Owen Roe was located in Oregon. The bottles I have indicate Sunnyside Wash. as their location, at least for those bottlings. The store I bought them from in Col. Ohio is the only place I have ever seen them. I have been exploring Oregon non-pinot reds also (Natalie's Estate) and find both states producing red wines of a more elegant (less bold/extracted) style that I find appealing. After I try the previosly mentioned bottlings I'll try the Lady Rosa
Syrah , the Rosa Mystica Cab. Franc. and the DuBrul Vineyard Cab. to round out my education.

Hi Hoke, I was unaware that Owen Roe was located in Oregon. The bottles I have indicate Sunnyside Wash. as their location, at least for those bottlings. The store I bought them from in Col. Ohio is the only place I have ever seen them. I have been exploring Oregon non-pinot reds also (Natalie's Estate) and find both states producing red wines of a more elegant (less bold/extracted) style that I find appealing. After I try the previosly mentioned bottlings I'll try the Lady Rosa
Syrah , the Rosa Mystica Cab. Franc. and the DuBrul Vineyard Cab. to round out my education.

Yes, he lives just a few miles up the road here. He makes most of the wines here in Oregon although he sources a lot of grapes from Washington. David is a nice man and I've never met a wine of his I didn't like.

Hi Jim, nice reports. I have never seen these wines here in Kentucky, but will keep my eyes open. I am wondering though about tannin in the cab sauv. you said they were well integrated. The fact that they were so young, it surprises me that the tannins would be so integrated, and in fact am wondering if in fact they had much tannin to begin with. If my guess is corrected, I would then think that the wines are for the near term drinking, perhaps 2-4 years after release. Thanks for the report.

Hi Bob, The only wine from Owen Roe that I have tasted is the 2007 Lenore Syrah ( there's a Edgar Allen Poe theme there) and since it is a second label of Owen Roe, it is probably intentionally made in a more accessible style. I also picked up a 2009 Chardonnay from this second label called Mirth. The second label is called Corvidae ( where the Raven family species resides) Wine Co. I'll report back as I taste thru these wines.