Long story short, I spoke with the owners of Seattle Wine Co. [a new wine shop in Bellevue notably mainly for its unbelievably low prices and bare-bones décor], and they pledged they'd do their best to get me a case of this stuff. After numerous battles with the Pacific NW distributor [whom I assume to be Cavatappi], they managed to score 2 cases [of the 5 total imported to the Northwest USA]. As a result, one of them is now sitting in my cellar. Go me!
According to Tim, it's going to need some time in the cellar to show its best... which is exactly what I have in mind. So, there it'll sit, probably for a good long time.
In the meantime, we have a 2001 Montana [== Brancott in the USA] sauvignon blanc and a 2002 Te Mata sauvignon blanc to try tonight. But first, I must cook dinner! Yikes! It's 85+ degrees outside and I must figure out how to cook some fish and peas... :(