2005 Marie's View 1.5L magnum
THE STORY:
A syrah based blend featuring everything good about Wallula Vineyard. Aromatic cab franc, spicy sangio, wild syrah, mellow merlot, all spread on the long elegant bed of cabernet sauvignon. Slow fermentation, long maceration, and hand pressed before gravity feeding to barrel. Two years in French and American oak kept fairly cold for long slow development. Hand bottled, hand corked, lots of love.
PRODUCTION
134 cases
| Vintage | 2005 |
| Varietal | Red Blend |
| Varietal Composition | 36% Syrah
24% Cabernet Sauvignon
16% Merlot
12% Cab Franc
12% Sangiovese |
| Appellation | Horse Heaven Hills |
| Vineyard | Wallula |
| Aging | 50% new Millet French oak and 50% neutral French oak for 24 months, then blended to a neutral tank for 3 months of flavor profile assimilation. |
| Fermentation | Soaked on skins for 15 days with cool fermentation |
| Alcohol | 14.50% |
| Wine Style | Red Wine |
| Volume | 1.5 liter |
| Bottling Date | 04/01/2008 |
92 POINTS - Wine Enthusiast
"This blend is dusty, fragrant and loaded with exotic baking spices, cocoa and black fruits. A rich, supple and seductive wine with a silky mouthfeel."
100% Wallula Vineyard
Considered by some to be the best vineyard site in Washington state, Wallula Vineyard is a picturesque growing location nestled high above the mighty Columbia River south of Kennewick. The vineyard is planted on south-facing slopes which vary from 2% up to 30% grade and its perimeter totals 9 miles of varied terrain. Of this perimeter, the shore of the Columbia River provides nearly 3.5 miles of waterfront. From the river's edge at 320 feet above sea level, the property climbs a distance of nearly 3.5 miles to its peak elevation of 1367 feet. The lower elevations of the property provide ideal growing conditions for ultra-premium reds while conditions at the upper elevations allow for high quality whites to be grown. The river is of utmost importance as the water acts as a massive insulator where during the day heat accumulates quickly and at night it provides a cooling effect once the sun goes down.
Wallula's beauty as well as its suitability to winegrapes is due in part to the huge Missoula floods that raced down the Columbia River during the last ice age. The surging waters deposited Shano silt loam soils on the site, and carved the steep, basalt-rimmed canyon walls atop which the vineyards are planted.
Rob Newsom
Rob Newsom, the Louisiana-born founder of Washington State’s already legendary Boudreaux Cellars, was inspired and tutored by Leonetti Cellar icon Gary Figgins. This former professional alpinist, ice climbing pioneer, and developer of the Gore-Tex fly-fishing wader, is known widely for his bold, rich cabernet sauvignons. Never afraid to experiment, smooth exotic blends are one of Rob’s specialties.
His background in musical performance, cooking and grilling, scientific analysis, and marketing combine with his sly sense of humor and global experience to make Rob engaging and entertaining. Rob was chosen as Seattle Magazine’s Best New Winemaker of the Year in 2007. He is serving his second term on the board of directors of the Washington Wine Institute and also serves on the board of Acoustic Sound, Inc. producers of Wintergrass.
