In addition to making wines with Portteus, Vandenberg also will be introducing his own Paradiso label later this year with a semillon. Walla Walla Valley and Seven Hills 1997 Walla Walla Valley. It's available at the winery tasting room. New releases McCrea Cellars 1997 viognier - Intriguing wine with touches of lemon and herbs and essences of semillon and sauvignon blanc producing a tasty complexity. McCrea 1997 reserve chardonnay - The winemaker of this Olympia winery says it has rich complexities and a silky texture, and we agree.
Good vanilla oak essences in the aroma.
Smooth, delicate and bursting with fruit. A pleasing lighter chardonnay with touches of apples, citrus and oak. Bob Woehler has been writing about grapes and wines of the Pacific Northwest since 1978.