Amavi Cellars is located in downtown Walla Walla in a reconstructed, late eighteen hundreds building. Pronounced AH-mah-vee, the name name comes from a combination of the Latin root words for love (“am”) and life (“vi”). The winery is owned by the Goff, McKibben, and Pellet families with Jean François Pellet serving as winemaker. Pellet is also winemaker for nearby Pepper Bridge Winery.

Amavi uses fruit from three of Walla Walla Valley’s finest vineyards, Pepper Bridge, Les Collines, and Seven Hills. With these exceptional fruit sources and the guidance of Jean François Pellet, Amavi has been receiving growing recognition as a producer of excellent Cabernet and Syrah since their first vintage in 2001. Better still, they also produce wines that are great values. Amavi’s 2005 Cabernet was listed in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2008, quite an accomplishment for a $25 wine.

This trend of excellence and value continues with the 2007 vintage releases. Amavi’s 2007 Syrah is a prototypic example of the exceptional Syrah coming out of Walla Walla at a not-to-be-missed price. If you want to get a sense of what all the fuss is about regarding Washington syrah, this is an excellent place to start. The 2007 Amavi Cabernet is spot on on the palate with rich, focused fruit that is uncommon in wines at this price. The nose, however, is still fairly closed, not too surprising given its young age. Based on the winery’s pedigree, the excellent vineyard sources, and the overall strength of the 2007 vintage, the Cabernet has a large upside but still needs a bit more time to come in to its own.