COYOTE CANYON VINEYARDS ALBARINO 2008
When you see Albarino on the label you automatically think Spain. I was surprised when Mike Andrews brought this out in his tasting room. He told me it was one of the most popular wines he had and sold a ton of it out of his shop. When he served it to me, it was quite cold so I had trouble extracting anything except sugar cane. I took one home, warmed it up and felt the magic of Mike Andrews. This has an incredible nose of tropical fruits... mangos, papaya, mandarin orange. The palate is definitely fruit forward with a sweetness that will make it a nice match with Thanksgiving fare. The sweetness is quite natural however, like freshly squeezed mandarin oranges blended with ripe peaches and nectarines. Can you imagine how good this will be with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and fruit salad! I am getting the shivers just thinking about it. Needless to say, this wine is also quite excellent solo. Do not miss out on a chance to try this superb Washington Albarino... If not now at least on the fourth Thursday of November. 90 Points. (Remember, do not drink this one too cold... you will lose a lot of the magic!)
Courtesy of Brazenly Lucid Wines - HOT PICKS
#29
2006 Coyote Canyon Tres Cruces Horse Heaven Hills...$17.99
Mike Andrews has a tremendous talent as a wine maker and this is the first of three of his wines that make it in my top wines for 2009. Very reasonably priced, this blend shows a tremendous balance of fruit and acidity. Slightly herbaceous on the nose with hints of oak and brambleberry. Sweet tannins on the palate very silky with notes of dark plums, pomegranate and dark cherries. The finish leaves you thinking about what flavors you just experienced.
#12
2004 Coyote Canyon Sangiovese...$14.00
This is an absolute gem for a mere fourteen bucks. I am a big fan of this winery and you will be too once you get your hands on a few of their wines. This sangiovese is very intriguing and complex. A wonderful nose of blueberries and anise this wine fills your palate with flavors of raspberries and blueberries stirred with black licorice. The fruit is driven by a nice balance of acidity that makes the flavors expand and intensify into a long and pleasing finish. This wine has a lot of life left in it and can be enjoyed over the next 3 to 5 years. If you haven't tried a sangiovese from Washington State, this would be an excellent place to start. Coyote Canyon is situated in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA and many award winning wines have sourced their fruit from Mike Andrew's vineyards.
#1
2007 Coyote Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills...$17.99
If you are not in the Coyote Canyon Wine Club, I would encourage you to become a member a.s.a.p. so that you can get your hands on some of this cab before it is all gone. Mike Andrews has hit a home run with this baby using fruit from his stellar vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. A very classic cab that is silky and seductive. On the nose you get soft cedar, black raspberry and anise notes with maybe slight whiffs of blueberry. When it hits your palate you know right away that you are in for a treat! Round yet structured in the mouth with black fruit, dark cherries, raspberry, blueberries and hints of anise that expand in the mid-palate and melt seamlessly into a silky smooth long, long finish with hints of old world leather on the back end. This wine is like a favorite song that you love to hear over and over again and you play the lyrics in your mind as the day goes on. You will remember this one and you will get excited when you are getting ready to uncork yet another bottle. The price on this wine is ridiculous considering the quality of the juice, so snap up as much as you can in October before it is all gone.
Courtesy of Brazenly Lucid Wines - Stan's Top 40 under $20 in 2009
Coyote Canyon Winery, 2009 Seattle Wine Awards, Washington
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