2006 Interlude

{Walla Walla Valley}

Vineyard Notes

The nine vineyards included in this wine are considered the “all stars” of the vintage. The 2006 growing season was outstanding and generally produced bigger wines than the more elegant and friendly 2005 vintage. The vineyards included in our 2006 Interlude include the veterans of Canoe Ridge, Cold Creek, Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills, along with standouts from emerging estates like Les Collines, River Rock and Waliser. We select vineyard lots from outside the Walla Walla Valley in order to obtain specific characteristics that we haven’t yet found in Walla Walla. For example, we use Canoe Ridge Merlot on the banks high above the Columbia River specifically for its bright red fruit aromatics. By contrast the fruit from Pepper Bridge, Waliser and Seven Hills provide darker fruits and a softer mid-palate. That mid-palate gets beefed up with the 30-year old Cabernet Sauvignon vines from Cold Creek Vineyard near Yakima. It’s also important to blend both cool and warm sites to incorporate the diverse structural components that such climate differences provide, and achieve natural balance and beauty in the final blend.

Winemaking Notes

This is always our most challenging (and fun) wine to make. Our objective is to produce the most naturally balanced, harmonious and elegant red wine we can possibly make from the traditional Bordeaux varietals. The blend will change from year to year, but the style and structure will not. The wine is made from blending multiple vineyard lots and varietals, selected through meticulous, “double blind” blending trials (we don’t know the varietal or vineyard when tasting). This is our most artisanal wine, which highlights the distinction and intentionality of our style. If you close your eyes when smelling and drinking this wine you may think it is French!

Our 2006 Interlude is made from 53% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc, and is a much more sophisticated wine than 2005. The brick-like color can be attributed to the Merlot from Seven Hills Vineyard. The aromatics and flavors in this wine are nearly identical (a byproduct of natural balance) – cherries, currants and pomegranate are combined with herbal notes of anise, black licorice and dusty earth. The fruit lingers for several minutes inside an especially long finish. While it’s made to be approachable upon release, there are so many layers in this wine that we can’t help but think it will evolve beautifully over many years.

• Wine Profile (pdf)