Description

Students Winemakers and instructors; Marcus, Tim, M Rousseau, A Davis, J Fernald, R Pike, U Johnson This wine is one of the small percentages of Carmènére wines produced in Walla Walla Valley. Carmènére is very well known in the country of Chile due to it was mistaken for an extended period with the Merlot Grape variety. Our Carmènére comes from our Stan Clarke estate vineyard, established in 2005. in honor of our viticulturist, the vineyard contains all Bordeaux red varieties blended in this wine in small amounts; 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, and 90% Carmènére.

Wine Profile

Food Pairing Notes:

The hints of jalapeño and herbal notes help to pair this wine with unconventional dishes such as Tacos al pastor or traditional Walla Walla tacos with sweet onions. On the other hand, great steak with Chimichurri, Chilean empanadas, or meatballs will elevate the character of this spicy wine!

Production Notes:

The maceration of this wine was very consistent, with two or three punch downs per day to ensure the surface was moist and to have a beautiful extraction of the intense color of these grapes. The wine was fermented on three different types of Oak (Puncheon 500L & BBL 225L. Including; Hungarian, Russian, and French Oak.

Tasting Notes:

This wine has a lively aroma; the palate emanates green bell peppers, blackberry fruits, and fresh red cherries. A good character of the cabernet sauvignon family, but this wine has a lighter structure than the rest. Since this wine was blended with Merlot & Cabernet sauvignon, it has excellent floral and subtle tannins on the finish.

Vintage Notes:

Despite the cold weather conditions, and challenges, growers and winemakers were very excited about the quality of fruit they picked in 2019! Carmènére is a late-ripening grape variety. Therefore, in this vintage, the grapes were developing slowly to accumulate all of the herbaceous flavors represented in this wine bottle.