Bottled last November, the 2013 Grenache Besoleil has slightly more Syrah, with the final blend being 49% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 16% Cinsault, 9% Mourvedre and the rest Counoise. Aged 11 months in a combination of different sized barrels, 25% being new, it's a elegant, medium to full-bodied, Provencal-styled effort that has lots of sweet red and black fruits, garrigue and hints of cured meats. It's a total charmer that will have 10-12 years of overall longevity.

A Rhone-styled blend, the 2012 Besoleil is made from 50% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, 15% Syrah and 15% Mourvedre that’s aged all in neutral oak. Gorgeous on all accounts, it has fantastic density and depth, with medium to full-bodied richness, beautiful freshness and classic Grenache-driven aromas and flavors of raspberry, black raspberry, pepper, herbs de Provence and flowers. Already hard to resist, it should evolve gracefully for over a decade. As always, my visit with Bob Betz and Tyson Schiffner at Betz Family Winery (which has been owned by the Griessel family since 2011) is always one of the highlights of my trip through Washington. For the tasting at the domaine, we focused on the 2012s (I tasted the 2011s from bottle at my office in Colorado), and they are easily some of the greatest wines I’ve tasted from this estate to date. While these wines always have considerable structure and focused profiles, these 2012 have an extra dimension of depth and texture, and should not be missed! www.betzfamilywinery.com

I was able to taste the 2011s from bottle at my office in Colorado. The 2011 Grenache Besoleil is made from 54% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 12% Counoise, 12% Mourvedre and the balance Syrah, with most coming from Yakima Valley, and 27% from Red Mountain and 12% from Snipes Mountain. Beautifully perfumed, with sweet red and black berry fruit, herbs de Provence, licorice, hints of pepper and gaminess, it flows onto the palate with a medium-bodied, juicy, lively profile that has mouthwatering acidity, sweet fruit and a solid finish. Up-front, delicious and drinking beautifully already, it will evolve gracefully through 2019. As always, my visit with Bob Betz and Tyson Schiffner at Betz Family Winery (which has been owned by the Griessel family since 2011) is always one of the highlights of my trip through Washington. For the tasting at the domaine, we focused on the 2012s (I tasted the 2011s from bottle at my office in Colorado), and they are easily some of the greatest wines I’ve tasted from this estate to date. While these wines always have considerable structure and focused profiles, these 2012 have an extra dimension of depth and texture, and should not be missed! www.betzfamilywinery.com

Representing the sole Betz bottling to incorporate Grenache (here 67%) and inaugurated in 2003, the 2010 Besoleil incorporates also 18% Mourvedre, 11% Cinsault, and 6% Syrah, its sources ranging from the western Yakima across Snipes Mountain to Red Mountain; and was matured for a year in once-used barriques. A tart-edged expression of strawberry and rhubarb preserves is laced with white pepper as well as lemon and orange rind, which contribute delightfully to the sense of invigoration conveyed by this infectiously juicy, polished blend. I suspect that this will show well for at least another half dozen years. Like so many of Washington’s most influential and successful wine personalities, Bob Betz is a veteran of Ste Michelle, for whom he directed promotion and educational outreach, in the process earning an M.W. Betz and his wife, Cathy, commenced their own operation in 1997, committed to blending across a range of the state’s best vineyards, and they built an attendant facility in 2005. “Since 2005,” he noted as we toured historic Red Willow Vineyard with its owner-manager Mike Sauer, “things are pretty constant – same rows, same blocks” not only from Red Willow but from the other growers with whom Betz works. Betz exudes self-consciousness and meticulousness, and in traveling around viticultural Washington, one quickly realizes that his advice is eagerly sought by and generously accorded colleagues of all ages and levels of experience. In April of last year, the Washington wine world was shocked by the news that the Betzes had sold their winery to South Africans Steve and Bridgit Griessel, whose backgrounds are in marketing. The plan is apparently for things to otherwise go on as before, with Betz calling the shots in winemaking indefinitely. He works very closely with all of his suppliers; fruit is subjected to sophisticated and stringent sorting; and fermentation is by inoculation with a wide range of specialized yeasts – like other aspects of winery protocol guided, Betz is eager to make clear, by an experimental spirit and scientific rigor. “We’re fans of efficient fermentations,” he elucidates, “so 7-10 days on the skins, and we’ll often press before dryness. We like efficient malolactic, too, so lots of stirring and we keep the temperature at 68-70 F. until it’s done.” The wines from Rhone varietals are raised in close to half new barriques for 12 months – except for Chapitre 3, which, like the four months longer-matured wines from Bordelais varieties, sees two-thirds new wood; the balance of barrels are exclusively second year; and wines aren’t racked from barrel until bottling unless deemed to show signs that they are demanding it. The Betz Syrahs are typically released around their second birthdays, while the wines from Bordelais bottlings aren’t released until six months later. Tel. (425) 861-9823

Faintly smoky black tea, resinous green herbs, sweaty salinity and animal allusions as well as an intriguing fish oil note mingle with strawberry jam in the nose of Betz’s 2009 Besoleil. This blend of Grenache with 14% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, and 9% Cinsault is sappy and plush though less vibrant than the corresponding 2010. A berry seed-like bitterness serves for invigoration and the herbal and animal dimensions ad umbrated in the nose collaborate for a fascinating degree of complexity in a lasting finish. Based on my very limited experience (I found the inaugural 2003 Besoleil, when tasted alongside, sweaty, cooked fruit-dominated and attenuated), I suspect that this will be best enjoyed over the next half dozen years. Like so many of Washington’s most influential and successful wine personalities, Bob Betz is a veteran of Ste Michelle, for whom he directed promotion and educational outreach, in the process earning an M.W. Betz and his wife, Cathy, commenced their own operation in 1997, committed to blending across a range of the state’s best vineyards, and they built an attendant facility in 2005. “Since 2005,” he noted as we toured historic Red Willow Vineyard with its owner-manager Mike Sauer, “things are pretty constant – same rows, same blocks” not only from Red Willow but from the other growers with whom Betz works. Betz exudes self-consciousness and meticulousness, and in traveling around viticultural Washington, one quickly realizes that his advice is eagerly sought by and generously accorded colleagues of all ages and levels of experience. In April of last year, the Washington wine world was shocked by the news that the Betzes had sold their winery to South Africans Steve and Bridgit Griessel, whose backgrounds are in marketing. The plan is apparently for things to otherwise go on as before, with Betz calling the shots in winemaking indefinitely. He works very closely with all of his suppliers; fruit is subjected to sophisticated and stringent sorting; and fermentation is by inoculation with a wide range of specialized yeasts – like other aspects of winery protocol guided, Betz is eager to make clear, by an experimental spirit and scientific rigor. “We’re fans of efficient fermentations,” he elucidates, “so 7-10 days on the skins, and we’ll often press before dryness. We like efficient malolactic, too, so lots of stirring and we keep the temperature at 68-70 F. until it’s done.” The wines from Rhone varietals are raised in close to half new barriques for 12 months – except for Chapitre 3, which, like the four months longer-matured wines from Bordelais varieties, sees two-thirds new wood; the balance of barrels are exclusively second year; and wines aren’t racked from barrel until bottling unless deemed to show signs that they are demanding it. The Betz Syrahs are typically released around their second birthdays, while the wines from Bordelais bottlings aren’t released until six months later. Tel. (425) 861-9823