Vintage 2006:

Here at La Bete winery, 2006 was another “short” year. Our production level was
lower than in the past, but the wines are wonderful! We produced roughly 1,500
cases of wine in total, of which roughly 500 cases were white wines, the remainder
reds of course.

As a vintage, 2006 was another warm if not hot year in most vineyards. Not marked
as much by drought, but certainly plenty of ripe fruit, with good length of
hang-time for flavor development and solid body. We did not adjust the fruit in any
manner, and allowed the vintage to express itself. Alcohols are certainly present,
but balanced with the other components of the wines.

Following is a listing of the wines which are currently have available:

2006 Aligote, Newhouse: Yakima Valley fruit from Washington State, with very nice
ripe flavors. Fermented all in stainless drums to preserve freshness of fruit and
clean acidity. Offering great fruit and minerality on the palate, it will round-out
and become more full as it ages in the bottle. La Bete is the only Oregon producer
of Aligote, and one of only three in the country!

2006 Pinot Gris: This is the final vintage for fruit sourced from Sanchez vineyard
in the Willamette Valley. Unfortunately Mr. Sanchez lost the access to his vineyard
due to circumstances out of his control. The wine was fermented in a combination of
very old barrels and stainless drums. It is crisp, clean and has a distinctive
minerality. If you have tasted our pinot gris you know that we lean towards a more
evolved, richer style rather than the lean fruity type.

For those seeking the even more unusual: We have a few cases of past vintages of
Melon, Deux Vert 2004, along with some fabulous Pinot Blanc, MeredithMitchell
vineyard 2004 & 2005. We also have a few cases of 2004 Chardonnay, Schindler
vineyard.

As I write this, Spring is beginning to show itself here in Oregon, just the perfect
time to drink our NV Rose, La Fete, Cuvee Silky. This reflects our second label, La
Fete, and is a blend of predominantly Gamay Noir along with Pinot Noir, a beautiful,
dry rose. Silky was our darling cat, unfortunately deceased. The label is an
artist’s drawing of her. If you love cats and dry roses, this is the wine for you!

2005 Pinot Noir, MeredithMitchell vineyard: from the highly acclaimed
MeredithMitchell vineyard in the hills southwest of McMinnville, our block sits on
the spine of the ridge, adjacent to that of Ken Wright. Yields in this vineyard are
typically very low (average under 2 tons per acre) and the skins are thick and well
colored. Resulting wines are generally the most structured of our pinots. The 2005
vintage is just beginning to open up, and show its true potential and promises more
years of aging potential.

2006 Pinot Noir, Selection du Cave: for this vintage, our “base line pinot noir”.
Fruit is becoming more difficult to obtain, so we were unable to produce a
Willamette Valley appellation this vintage. So much the better, as our 2006
Selection is packed with fruit and structure, yet very drinkable even at release.
It has a deep color, plenty of ripe fruit notes, and is fat, yet smooth in the
mouth.

2006 Pinot Noir, Croft vineyard: continuing our relationship with this vineyard, we
have been fortunate to work with what they are calling their “special selection”
block. Our Croft vineyard pinot noir is elegant in aromas, with lots of cherry,
open and approachable in the mouth, and has a bright finish. It is generally our
earliest opening wine, and is just fun to drink!

2006 Pinot Noir, MeredithMitchell vineyard: an outstanding Oregon pinot noir! Those
of you who have met me, will know that I have an aversion to making pronouncements
about my wines. This however is perhaps one of the finest wines I have ever
produced! It is young, but already drinks beautifully. I can only imagine what it
will be like in a couple of years, but the tragedy is that it will all be gone by
then. It exhibits some of the forward fruit of the 2003 vintage, but yet with a
much sturdier structure and finesse. It is my current wine of choice.

2004, 2005 & 2006 Pinot Noir, St. Vincent Cuvee: those who have known our winery for
sometime are likely aware of our Fete de St. Vincent in January. An homage to the
same event that takes place each year in Burgundy, France. Each year we choose a
single barrel which we feel represents the best wine of the vintage, and bottle it
separately as our St. Vincent Cuvee. You may also know that the wine is an homage
as well to our departed Golden Retriever named St. Vincent. We hold these wines in
barrel a bit longer, give them a bit more oak influence, and only produce about 24
cases of each per year. We currently have the three vintages above available.
The 2004 is very ready to drink at this point. The 2005 is still too young and a
bit awkward at this stage, but promises wonderful aging potential. The 2006 is
approachable, but should be laid down again for optimum enjoyment.