“I thought I ought to make some white, and in 2000 I made one barrel just for us to drink ourselves at the winery,” says Pellet by way of elucidating the ancestry of Amavi Cellars’ (old) barrel-raised 2011 Semillon, now sourced from Seven Hills, Les Collines, and nearby Goff vineyards. It is blended in this instance with 11% Sauvignon and runs to around 700 cases. With classic aromas and juicy, subtly waxy amalgam of honeydew melon, fig, and lime, this Semillon displays nicely restrained bitterness that nonetheless helps to prolong its delightful finish. I suspect it will be worth following for at least 3-4 years, and it offers a very good value introduction to this nowadays – outside Bordeaux and selected cellars in Washington – under-appreciated cepage. Sister winery to Pepper Bridge and also under the direction of Jean-Francois Pellet, Amavi sources not only from Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills vineyards but also from Les Collines, which Pepper Bridge pioneer Norm McKibben began planting in 2001. At around 8,000 cases, annual production here is now significantly larger than that of Pepper Bridge (though the latter has, by design, been scaled back slightly – or perhaps more accurately put, shifted to Amavi in recent years). “I’m not a very lucky guy,” quips Pellet when asked about his approach to fermentation, by way of explaining why he only goes to barrel when the wine is completely dry and ferments with indigenous yeasts, but finds himself routinely adding cultures to insure complete dryness in Cabernet and Merlot. Tel. (509) 525-3541