17 Mar Woodward Canyon

grapes:
76% cabernet sauvignon, 11% merlot, 5% cabernet franc, 4% peitit verdot, 4% syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon
region:
Washington State

In 1981 husband and wife team Rick Small and Darcey Fugman-Small started Woodward Canyon in the Walla Walla valley, where they’ve establised a long standing tradition of making wines of great quality wines under sustainable practices – long before it was hip to do so. They are founding members of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance and of Walla Walla Valley Vinea, a Winegrower’s Sustainable Trust that is well regarded for it’s strict environmental standards and high quality farming practices.

Woodward Canyon makes several wines, but the Artist Series come from their “finest and most highly regarded vineyards in Washington State.” The vineyards are: Champoux, Discovery, Sagemoor and the Woodward Canyon Estate.

After the grapes were hand harvested, sorted, de-stemmed, and fermented, they chose to age the wine in used French oak barrels “as these vineyards have gotten older; thus allowing the wine to express varietal typicity and a very distinct sense of place.”

This rich and multi-faceted wine has received many highly-rated accolades. Read below for a fantastic series of tasting notes!

winery notes:
This enticing and deeply colored red wine shows a complex nose of baking spice, black olive and graham integrated beautifully with aromas of ripe black cherry. In the mouth the wine is rich and elegant, showing classic notes of pepper, herb and berries. Integrated tannins enhance the texture and give proportion; the finish is complex, generous, and long. While this wine can be enjoyed now it will benefit greatly from additional cellaring and, with proper storage, should develop for ten years.

Wine Enthusiast, 94 points
“This wine has deeply concentrated yet focused and spicy purple-fruit tones. It’s generously endowed with notes of tobacco, licorice, mineral and pepper. The highlights keep piling on through a finish that seems to run for several minutes. This bold wine is enjoyable now but should also cellar well through 2020. Editors’ Choice”

Stephen Tanzer, 92 points
“Bright medium red-ruby. Initially brooding aromas of cassis, licorice, minerals, cocoa powder, menthol and mocha opened quickly with air. Densely packed, sweet and glossy, with a pliant texture and showy flavors of black cherry, cassis, menthol, flowers and sexy oak. This deep, tactile cabernet shows excellent depth and a long, lightly saline finish featuring ripe, chewy, building tannins. This should age well but it’s also delicious now with some time in a decanter.”