Palate
This is one of Washington's fabulous wines that though very pretty in its youth, will also
be very long lived. It offers clarity and freshness, with enticing aromatics and our
signature silky texture. At the same time, this wine is concentrated and round, with fruitfilled notes of Northwest marionberry, ripe plum, cranberry and rose petal, all
underscored by a sweet and savory note akin to an oak hardwood fire.
Growing Conditions
Like the yields of Bordeaux First Growth harvests, in a normal year at Conner Lee we
grow 30 HL per hectare, equal to two tons per acre or 3.5 pounds per plant. But 2010
was the coolest vintage in thirty years, so we further cut yields in the summer to 20 HL
per hectare to ensure fully ripe character for our wine.
Harvest
We harvested our merlot by hand
on October 7. Cabernet franc we harvested on October 22.
Bottling
December 2011.
Winemaking
We hand-sorted and destemmed with gravity transfer to tank, which allowed us
to preserve the fruit's abundant aromatics. We aerated during fermentation in wood
tanks for two weeks and selected only free-run wine to blend.
Aging
Aged 14 months in
Taransaud and Bel Air French Château barrels, half of which were new, the wines
rested unracked until bottling.
