Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon; 13% Merlot; 2% Petit Verdot
Vineyards: DuBrul, Goose Mountain, Southwind
AVA: Columbia Valley
Winemaker comments:
A classic Washington Cabernet, the 2023 is dark ruby in color and highlights a broad range of aromas. Fruit notes of blackberry, raspberry coulis, and fig pâte de fruit lead the way, backed by wood tones of cigar/humidor, camphor/eucalyptus, pencil shavings, espresso bean, and dark chocolate. Subtle hints of salty Finnish licorice, toasted oregano, and olive emerge as well. The palate is superbly balanced, with exceptional weight that never feels heavy, supported by great tension and length. Flavors of black currants, dark cherry, fig, toasted grains, and charred vanilla persist throughout, intertwined with supple tannins that lead to a pleasantly toasty and extremely long finish.
Winemaker Notes
The palate hits it straight out of the park, with seamless, lush fruit flavors that coat the palate up and down, from end-to-end, along with pleasingly varietal herbal accents." - Sean Sullivan, NWR Vintage: 2022 Blend: 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot Vineyards: Southwind Vineyard and Goose Mountain Vineyard AVA: Columbia Valley Winemaking: Sourced from block 3 located at 1450 feet altitude, this is one special site for Cabernet! All fruit was hand-picked and carefully sorted before being gently foot stomped and encouraged to ferment spontaneously. Primary fermentation lasted 3 weeks with two daily punch downs throughout. Once dry the wine was separated from the skins and moved directly to French barrels (33% new) and aged for 18 months on gross lees. Just before bottling I introduced 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot to the blend. Bottled unfined and unfiltered in June 2023. Winemaker comments: A deep and saturated, M+ red/purple color, this wine bursts from the glass with a complex combination of black tea-soaked red currants, dark plum, and blackberry. These are met with salted licorice, humidor, forest floor and vanilla bean. A flicker of peppermill, capsicum and dried oregano are also evident. Unapologetic in its hedonism, this is our richest Cabernet to date. Full bodied with glossy/seamless tannins and a fruit weight that sits ripe and nectarous on the mid palate. The finish is long persisting with a pleasant toasty nuance. 80 cases produced. Drink 2028-2034 Critical Acclaim: 96 Points, Clive Pursehouse, Decanter Magazine 96 Points, Highly Recommended Jeremy Young, International Wine Report 94 Points and Cellar Stocker, Sean Sullivan, Northwest Wine Report
