What would you do if you’d built
Washington state’s best-known wineries for 20 years, then retire after making a
small fortune? Well, if you’re Allen
Shoup (former CEO of Ch St Michelle), what you do is build Long Shadows - a
winery for the exclusive use by eight of the world’s top winemakers, handpicked by Allen.
This wine was crafted by none other than Philippe
Melka (Quintessa, Dalla Valle, Bryant Family, Cliff Lede, and others) and
Agustin Huneeus, Sr. (Quintessa, Flowers, The Prisoner…) who combined old world
winemaking with new world technology and grapes from Washington’s finest
vineyards for this enticing Bordeaux blend.
Tasting Notes: A
deep, dark wine with aromas of fresh blueberry and dark chocolate. Rich and
complex from first whiff to the last sip. Look for notes of bramble berry jam, sweet
pie spices and fig on the finish.
Winemaking: As in
previous vintages of Pirouette, hand-sorted grapes underwent a variety of
fermentation techniques to build layers of complexity and richness in the final
blend. Cabernet Sauvignon was fermented with wild yeast in 400L oak barrels
that were gently rolled throughout fermentation to enhance the wine’s structure
without imparting bitterness.
All other varieties were
fermented in traditional stainless steel tanks, with select lots enjoying longer
skin contact to enhance the wine’s dark color and mid-palate. Aged 22 months in
French oak barrels, 75% new and bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Petite
Verdot/Cabernet Franc/Malbec (68%/15%/8%/6%/3%)
Alcohol: 14.9% pH: 3.85
