Subject: Re: Soos Creek Newsletter Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 22:44:31 -0700 October 4, 2004 Dear Friends, I hope this letter finds you doing well. This has been an eventful year for us. After 28 years of working in the Boeing Finance Department, I took early retirement on April 1st. I'm really enjoying the slower pace and having more time for other interests. We also have started construction on a new facility for our winery. It will still be located on our property and remain small but will provide a better separation between the winery and the home life. I would rank 2002 as one of my favorite vintages since starting our winery in 1989. All the wines are very dark in color, have good structure, plenty of fruit and nice balance. The first wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Ciel du Cheval vineyard. This vineyard is located in the tiny but highly acclaimed Red Mountain appellation. The wine's delicious flavors are unique to this vineyard and it is made in a reserve style with substantial tannins for long-term aging. Cab lovers should not miss this wine. The second wine is a Champoux Vineyard Bordeaux Blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Cabernet Franc. The Cab is from old vines planted in 1972 and 1982. This wine is very dark and decadent, softer than the Cab but has plenty of power and length. We produced the Stampede Pass wine again because the Cab from the Pepper Bridge vineyard and the Merlot and Cab Franc from the Ciel du Cheval vineyard complemented each other so well. This blend has a nice combination of power and finesse. I like it even more than the first vintage that we produced in the year 2000. Because all the barrels were so exceptional in 2002, we had many blending possibilities and were able to produce another Artist Series wine. Artists Series #2 is similar in style to the Artist Series #1 wine (92 points in The Wine Spectator) but with a bit less tannin and possibly more concentration. It is a blend of Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petite Verdot. The label was also designed by Sarah Rogers, who did the artwork for the Artist Series #1 label. Finally, we have our Sundance wine. It is a Bordeaux blend with a beautiful dark color that characterizes this vintage and made in the same fruity, soft and supple style as our previous Sundance wines. It may be the best vintage of this wine since we began producing it in 1997. It is ready to drink now but has demonstrated the ability to age well also. Our winery recently received another "atta boy" when a new book: Wine Report 2005 selected our 2000 Champoux Vineyard Cab as the #6 wine on their list of 10 "Greatest Quality Wines" in the Pacific Northwest. This book is a very comprehensive guide to the wines of the world and is available in bookstores or on-line. Thank you for your business and we hope to see you at our open house on Saturday, October 30th from 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. We will be adding one or two more staff to speed up the processing of your orders. Cheers, Dave & Cecile Larsen