Forbes magazine announces its ten best wines tasted in 2015, including “Spiral 36” from southern Oregon’s Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden
December 2, 2015 — An Oregon Rhône blend was named “White Wine Value of the Year” today by Forbes, the prestigious business magazine. The 2014 “Spiral 36” from Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden is also one of the ten best wines of 2015 worldwide, according to wine writer Katie Kelly Bell.
“Spiral 36” is a blend of Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. This combination, Bell writes, “yields a ripe and succulent wine with notes of hazelnuts and lemon cream… Will age beautifully too.”
The Forbes list includes wines from illustrious European regions and brand names as well as lesser known places and producers. The entire list is available here.
Half the wines hail from Europe, including such acclaimed areas as Brunello, Bolgheri and Soave in Italy; Oporto in Portugal; and Rioja in Spain. Well-known wineries include Concha Y Toro, Marques de Riscal and Taylor Fladgate.
In contrast, the U.S. wines come from small producers in less-traveled wine regions.
Cowhorn is located in the Applegate Valley of southern Oregon. Though it’s an official ”American Viticultural Area” (AVA), Applegate Valley is home to fewer than 20 wineries. Cowhorn, founded in 2002, is highly praised by influential critics and its wines are sought out by collectors, but it remains unknown by most wine-drinkers.
California and Washington each produced one top wine, both from the eastern sides of the state: a 2010 Syrah from Fäsi Estate in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, and a 2012 Syrah-dominated red blend from Buty Winery in Walla Walla, Washington.
The other two wines in the list came from Australia (2010 Yangarra “High Sands” Grenache) and Chile (2011 Concha Y Toro “Don Melchor” Cabernet Sauvignon).
The Forbes list shows that Bell appreciates the vivid flavors of organically grown wines. Like all the wines from Cowhorn, the Buty, Fäsi and Yangarra wines were grown without synthetic chemicals. Cowhorn keeps such additives out of the winemaking process as well.
For more information about Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden and its wines, contact Barbara Steele at (541) 899-6786.
