2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, Heart of the Hill

Notes from Winemaker, John Abbott:

The Williams family was the first to plant wine grape varieties on Red Mountain, and we have known them since we first came to Washington State in 1994. In thinking about the unique growing regions of our state, Red Mountain is a standout and one that we wanted to work with to round out our collection of cabs. The Williams family was our first choice of growers to work with in the area and, we continue to cherish the friendship

Early in my Washington winemaking career, I was told that all you needed was a thimbleful of Red Mountain fruit in a blend. The reason was that the flavor profile was especially big and tannic. But this is also what makes Red Mountain so distinctive, and with decades of farming in the books now, these growers have completely fine tuned quality and balance.

This fruit arrived at the winery in the peak of harvest. As with all of our red varieties, we sort very carefully on the way in to the destemmer and on the output side, as well. For the style of wine that we make, it is crucial that no green stem material remains in the fruit, since, during fermentation, those green and edgy characters can become part of the flavor profile of the wine.

This wine is dense and sultry. Sweet fruit and spice were common descriptors that came up in every tasting that we did. Sweet fruit is not the result of residual sugar, it just the way the fruit flavors taste and envelop your mouth. Strawberry, dark plum, and jammy boysenberry are accented with leather, tobacco, and hoisin. It is a beautifully integrated wine that is both highly expressive and subtly nuanced. We recommend decanting in its youth and tucking some away for the future.