Rich in flavor and body, this wine shows a honey and lemon meringue flavor with hints of violets, fig, and melon. The barrel fermentation contributes a rich mouthfeel with a touch of vanilla and crisp Sauvignon acidity on the long finish. This wine is a blend of several Columbia Valley vineyards, including 37% Yakima Bend Ranch, 36% Klipsun, 18% Dionysus, and 9% Vanessa's Vineyard from here in the Walla Walla Valley.
Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:
Variety: 86% Semillon, 14% Sauvignon Blanc
Vineyards: This wine is a blend of several premium vineyards including: 28% Klipsun Vineyard; 26%
Rosebud Vineyard; 14% Double River Ranch; 10% Seven Hills Vineyard; 10% Phil Church
Vineyard; 8% Stillwater Creek Vineyard; and 4% Les Collines Vineyard.
Winemaker
Comments: "Few Semillons show their richness and complexity as those produced in Washington State.
Our cool harvest nights help to ensure crisp natural acidity, making this a wonderful food
pairing wine. Try it with a goat cheese appetizer, spicy seafood or your traditional
Thanksgiving turkey and dressing."
Harvest: The cool 2005 Spring provided perfect conditions for balanced tissue regeneration and
canopy growth on the heels of the hard 2004 Winter. Additional thinning efforts were
required to balance cluster development and fruit uniformity after a cooler fruit set in June.
Normal summer sunshine and heat units led to an awesome late season ripening period, with
intense sunshine and little or no rain. The overall season crop load was lower than normal,
at 2 ? to 3 tons per acre. Our traditional cool long harvest resulted in fabulous fruit quality,
with bright clean aromatics and acidity in the whites and vibrant extraction and rich color in
the red wines.
Technical: Harvest began in mid-September at Klipsun, a warmer Red Mountain vineyard, and
Rosebud, one of our principal Semillon vineyards on the Wahluke Slope. Both Seven Hills
Vineyard and Double River Ranch in Walla Walla were harvested the first week of October,
followed shortly by some of our other cooler sites such as Phil Church and Stillwater Creek.
Average ripeness was 24.6 Brix, 0.52g/100ml acidity, and 3.53 pH.
