Ciel du Cheval 2015

Description

VINTAGE Very warm growing conditions, with strong heat unit accumulation producing small berries with opulent fruit framed by firm tannin structure

AGEING 20 Months in French oak barrels, 50% new

AROMA Blackberry, earth, chalk, mocha, lanolin

TASTE Ripe dark blackberry and cherry fruit, blue plum, black pepper, mineral

WINEMAKER’S NOTES This wine is our 14th vintage from the famed Ciel du Cheval Vineyard on Red Mountain, one of the oldest and most proven vineyards in the Northwest. Each varietal was picked and vinified separately and blended early during the winter succeeding harvest. The wine then goes back to barrel for an additional year and a half before bottling. We believe that this early assemblage allows for the wine to be less a composed wine of its varietal parts and more a singular representation of place.

The wine is a deep red color, transitioning to magenta around the edges. The nose is heavy and brooding, displaying fresh baked blackberry cobbler with hints of earth and spice. The palate is full and opulent, with substantial dusty, chewy tannins well integrated and sufficiently balanced with rich flavors of baked cherry, blue plums, earth and creamy oak. It is delicious now and it will improve substantially in the first few years of cellaring, and will age gracefully for at least ten years.

Casey McClellan, Winemaker

Certificates

Vineyard

Ciel du Cheval