|
The Vintage: The 2009 growing season we experienced in the Lake Chelan basin made was quite good overall. Warm – dry conditions existed throughout Washington State from May until harvest was completed in late – October. This resulted in perfectly ripened wine grapes.
The Vineyard: The majority of the grapes used to make this wine were harvested from the Lake Chelan AVA region (the Home, Bear Mountain, Nestor and DuLia Vineyards). This wine displays excellent Pinot Noir character. The Home and DuLia Vineyard Pinot Noir clones; Wadenswil (developed in Switzerland), Martini (developed in California) and Pommard (developed in France) were utilized to make this wine. These two vineyards are located northeast of Manson on the north shore of Lake Chelan. The soils are a deep gravelly type which was deposited by the most recent glacier to pass through the area some 10,000 years ago. The Bear Mountain Vineyard and Nestor Vineyard are located on the south shore of Lake Chelan. A combination of sandy loam with a slight amount of clay represents the soil profile these vineyards thrive in. The Rivers Bend is a Yakima Valley AVA site which rests on very shallow clay – loam soils that were formed when the Missoula Ice dam burst about 8,000 years ago.
The Winemaking: One – hundred percent of the grapes used to craft this wine were hand picked and sorted yet again by hand prior to being destemmed and gently crushed. Twenty percent of the berries were left whole at crushing. The yeast strain RB2 was used with the Pinot Noir while Pasteur Red yeast conducted the Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Syrah fermentations. Each variety ranged between 12 and 14 days fermenting on the skins prior to being pressed. All wines were aged French oak while the Cabernet Sauvignon also was aged in a small amount of Hungarian and American oak as well. A blend of 79% Pinot Noir, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% each Malbec and Syrah was considered perfect. This wine was tightly filtered at bottling.
The Wine: A beautiful ruby red – slight purple color pours into one’s glass. Aromas of ripe raspberry, violets, cherries and strawberries mixed with coconut, sweet vanilla bean and toasty oak are present in the wine. The body is medium to full. The finish is moderate to long and richly textured. The tannins are very civil. Match with grilled game, lamb, duck other barbequed red meats or salmon. You may expect to age this fine red wine eight to ten years.
Cases Produced: 498
% Alcohol: 14.0%
Acidity: 5.5g/liter
pH: 3.64
Residual Sugar: 2g/liter
Blend: 79% Pinot Noir, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec & 4% Syrah
|