It's looks like  Washington State may be the new home for value wines in America. Columbia Crest has been offering tremendous value throughout its line for years. And only recently we discovered and reviewed a number of spectacular values from Covey Run, the small winery near Yakima.

    In my latest evaluation of wines from Washington's Hogue Cellars, every wine in the line rated 90 points or better for value except one, and it was an expensive Reserve wine that scored very high for quality.

    Hogue's winemaker, David Forsyth, has had enough practice to get it right, I suppose, since when he started with Hogue he only had to make 6000 cases. In 1999 Forsyth will crush enough grapes to make nearly 400,000 cases.

    Hogue 1998 "Columbia Valley" Johannisberg Riesling ($7) What a refresher! Flavors of apples, nectarines and a little floral lichee. A hint of sweetness on loads of fruit and a crisply acid finish. Rating: 88/90

    Hogue 1998 Fume Blanc ($8) Blended to 11 percent Semillon, this wine is attractively herbaceous with notes of lemon grass, grapefruit and gooseberry. Stylistically, it will make you think of similar wines from New Zealand. Rating: 88/90

    Hogue 1997 Chardonnay ($9) Very forward melon and light tropical aromas and flavors. No detectable oak. Fruit statement lasts from entry through aftertaste. Match it with chicken or fishes in white or lemony sauces. Rating: 88/90

    Hogue 1997 "Barrel Select" Chardonnay ($14) It's 100 percent barrel-fermented in mostly French oak. Smoky, toasty butterscotch aromas and flavors on ripe apple fruit. Barrel toast after flavors; very complex. Rating: 92/92

    Hogue 1996 "Barrel Select" Merlot ($15) Blended to 22 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 14 months in barrel. A very intense, deeply flavored "big boy" Merlot. Very dark cherry flavors; nicely wooded bouquet and aftertaste; some earthy-smoky notes. Cellar worthy, but the temptation will be to drink it now. Yield! Rating: 95/94

    Hogue 1997 "Barrel Select" Syrah ($15) Delicious, mostly plum fruit, with hints of spice and something perfumey (violets?). Full bodied; mouthfilling. Match it with venison, blackened salmon or grilled rare beefsteaks. Rating: 95/94

    Hogue 1996 "Barrel Select" Cabernet Sauvignon ($15) Really big! Intense! Black cherry and cassis. Definitely will improve with age. Needs boldly flavored foods if you want to even think about drinking it now. Rating: 90/90

    Hogue 1996 "Reserve" Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) Equally big, but voluptuous. Riper, more cassis-like flavors. Also more wood notes. A collectable. Rating: 94/84

BEST BUY
WHITE WINE OF THE WEEK

    Hogue 1998 Chenin Blanc ($7) Even though there's a bit of residual sweetness here, crisp acidity leaves an overall dry perception. Ripe melon; lip-smacking fruit. A friend thinks Asian cuisines (and she's probably right), though the two things that popped into my mind were sole Veronique or a fresh fruit and cheese plate. Rating: 92/95

BEST BUY
RED WINE OF THE WEEK

    Hogue 1997 Cabernet-Merlot ($9) Forward, mostly black cherry fruit but with some berry undertones. It's a wine that Merlot lovers will love. No astringency. Very drinkable now. Rating: 88/94

    Hogue wines have good national distribution. For further information: (509) 786-4557 or www.hogue-cellars.com

   

POOCH POWER

  When a wine is being sold by a gimmick, say a bottle shaped like a fish, or one covered with plastic that looks like its straw, there's usually valid reason to be cynical about the potential quality of the liquid within.

    You can imagine my first reaction upon receiving a press release about a new winery named for dogs and with cutesy doggie-wine names and labels. Directly to the circular file!

    But a month or so later, a friend in whom I have faith insisted I just had to taste the latest offering of "pooch wine." I resisted, but yielded, and a good thing too, or I'd have missed a exceptional wine.

    The Mutt Lynch Winery is a partnership between a couple of folks with serious wine credentials. Brenda Lynch, the winemaker, has worked in some highly regarded cellars from Sonoma to Argentina and soon to be in Australia.

    Husband and marketing director Chris Lynch is currently managing director of Domaine Chandon Australia and held similar power positions with Gallo Sonoma and Kendall-Jackson.

    There is no one named Mutt. You see, the Lynches wanted to name the winery for their children, but they didn't have any. But they did have dogs...pooches...canines...and so the name Mutt.

    The winery is so small, the production and distribution so limited, that I would not ordinarily consider them as candidates for review. I'm making an exception because the "Mutt" thing is cute, the one wine I tried is wonderful and the world is full of folks who fancy both dogs a fine wine.

    Total production at Mutt Lynch is about a thousand cases and distribution is non-existent outside the Bay Area. You can contact Mutt Lynch at: 465 Stony Point Rd, Box 222, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 (707) 542-MUTT or muttlynch@aol.com     Some previous releases include: Domaine Du Bone Zinfandel; Nectar of the Dogs Sangiovese and Portrait of a Mutt, a Zinfandel/Carignane blend.

             

COLLECTABLE WINE OF THE WEEK

    Mutt Lynch 1997 "Merlot Over and Play Dead" Livermore Valley ($24) Big, deep and very intense. Plum and black cherry fruit. The wine is 100 percent French oak aged, in 25 percent brand new barrels...and it shows. Not your typical lightweight Merlot. This is serious red wine that will set on the table alongside big Cabs and not be overshadowed. Wines like this will definitely have us looking at gimmicky labels in a whole new light. Rating: 95/90

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Wines are scored using a unique 100 point system. First number rates quality; second number rates value.