newest Wines
The Denier 2016
CABERNET sauvignon
COLUMBIA VALLEY, WA
wickersham VINEYARD
ALCOHOL: 15% PH: 3.6 color index: 69 au
CASES PRODUCED: 72
deluge 2015 reserve
CABERNET sauvignon
COLUMBIA VALLEY, WA
wickersham VINEYARD
ALCOHOL: 15% PH: 3.65 color index: 98au
CASES PRODUCED: 85
ROCK FLOUR 2018
sauvignon blanc columbia valley, wa open gates vineyard aged 6 months in NEW French oak hogsheads Alc: 13.6 % PH: 3.45 Cases Produced: 92
ROCK FLOUR 2017
sauvignon blanc columbia valley, wa open gates vineyard aged 4 months in NEW French oak hogsheads Alc: 13.5% PH: 3.35 Cases Produced: 55
deluge 2015
CABERNET sauvignon 100%
COLUMBIA VALLEY, WA
wickersham VINEYARD
ALCOHOL: 15% PH: 3.69 color index: 100au
CASES PRODUCED: 100
kolk blush 2015
cabernet sauvignon 100%
columbia valley, WA
wickersham Vineyard
Alcohol: 13.5% pH: 3.2
Cases Produced: 55 Residual Sugar: 4g/L
The denier 2013
merlot 80% CABERNET FRANC 20%
COLUMBIA VALLEY, WA
BURGESS VINEYARD
ALCOHOL: 13% PH: 3.75 color index: 45au
CASES PRODUCED: 55
la reine 2013
chardonnay 100%
umpqua valley, or
rebecca’s Vineyard
Alcohol: 13 % pH: 3.45
Cases Produced: 55
The Denier is our hommage to J Harlen Bretz - the revolutionary geologist who discovered the catastrophic Spokane Floods. It is made with Cabernet Sauvignon from Wickersham Vineyard in Summitview, WA. (near the Naches Heights AVA) The excellent growing season was almost identical to 2015, except for a cooler fall, and a bit less UV light. The wine was aged 28 months in new French oak hogsheads. It is moderately astringent, with bright red fruit, and quenching acidity. It will age well. $ 29 - SOLD OUT!
Double-Gold Winner - 2019 Seattle Wine Awards
Harvested in late September, at 25o brix, our Cabernet grapes from 2015 were superb. This vintage had the highest Color Index (a measure of total phenolics) of any wine that we’ve made: 98 AU (Absorbance Units). The previous best was 76 AU for our 2003 Deluge. Not coincidentally, 12 years is the length of the last solar cycle, and summer 2003 and 2015 both were at the peak of the last two cycles, when the sun displays maximum sunspots and emits much more UV light. The wine was aged 28 months in new French oak hogsheads. It is massive: overflowing with black fruit, cassis, cocoa, mouth-filling astringency, and zazzy acidity. It will develop in the bottle considerably. $ 35 - FEW REMAIN!
Double-Gold Winner - 2017 Seattle Wine Awards
This wine is made using traditional, old-world methods to maximize flavors. At crush, we gave the grapes 36 hours of skin contact, cold-settled the must and fermented in new French oak hogsheads. Batonnage was performed in the barrel, sur lie, for six months. The grapes are from the excellent Open Gates Vineyard, perched on a steep, north-facing hillside high above the Wenatchee river. (Rock flour is the very finely ground rock that makes glacial lakes turquoise.) $ 25
This wine is made using traditional, old-world methods to maximize flavors. At crush, we gave the grapes 24 hours of skin contact, cold-settled the must and fermented it in new French oak hogsheads. The young wine was given batonnage in the barrel, sur lie, for four months. In the spring, partial malolactic happened in the tank, just before bottling. The grapes are from the excellent Open Gates Vineyard, perched on a steep, north-facing hillside high above the Wenatchee river. $ 25 - SOLD OUT!
In 2015 we sourced Cabernet Sauvignon, from a vineyard new to us - Wickersham Vineyard, in the highlands just west of the city of Yakima. The grapes, harvested in late September, at 25 degrees brix, were superb - and we ended up making our best wine ever. I also believe that 2015 will be considered the best vintage of this decade. This vintage has the highest amount of total phenolics, of any wine that we’ve made: 100 AU. Our previous best was 76AU for our 2003 Deluge. The wine was aged 14 months in new French oak hogsheads. It is massive, overflowing with black fruit, cassis, mouth-filling astringency, and zazzy acidity. $ 29 - SOLD OUT!
Lusciously ripe grapes are ideal for a Cabernet, but less so for a rose. We did our standard saignier of the crushed and destemmed Cabernet, subtracting 500 liters (25%) of juice to make Kolk. The high brix & pronounced organoleptic ripeness of these exceptional grapes, limited the alcoholic potential of the wine, and fermentation stopped with 4 grams of sugar per liter remaining. This isn’t just sugar, but some the grape's transitory sweetness - the very soul of these awesome grapes, preserved to enjoy today and into the future. Unlike most pink wines, Kolk is age-worthy, and will evolve in the bottle. Keep cool. $ 17 - SOLD OUT!
Kolk : A water vortex, or water tornado.
J Harlen Bretz was a shining exemplar of the scientific method, a Denier of the orthodoxy of uniformitarianism. It took 40 years for the “scientific consensus” to admit that they were wrong and that Bretz’s Lake Missoula floods were real. He reminds us that science is never “settled” and that debate, skepticism & empiricism are the very essence of science. The Denier is made from Merlot & Cabernet Franc, from Burgess Vineyards in Pasco, WA. The wine was aged for 18 months in new French oak hogsheads. It is soft, plummy and refined, and will develop in the bottle considerably. $25 - SOLD OUT!
Chardonnay is the queen of grapes - and ours is made from a unique, cool-climate vineyard in the Coast Mountains of central Oregon. The harvest was very good, with just a small portion of bunches with botrytis - an essential component to making a great Chardonnay. We made the wine in a traditional, Burgundian fashion to maximize flavors. Upon crushing, we gave the grapes 24 hrs. of skin contact, then pressed and fermented the unfined must into stainless steel. In the spring,
the wine went through malolactic fermentation in new French oak barrels, sur lie, where it remained for 12 months until bottling. $ 25 - SOLD OUT!
2011 KOLK ROSÉ
GAMAY NOIR 100%
UMPQUA VALLEY, OR
REBECCA’S VINEYARD
ALCOHOL: 12% PH: 3.20
CASES PRODUCED: 60
This wine is a delicate, crisply acidic rosé. Gamay Noir is the red grape of Beaujolais, and as a rosé , the exuberant fruit that is present in the red wine, is taken down several notches, to make a subtle, rhubarb and strawberry laced wine that will age well, and develop complexity with time in the bottle. Kolk is a geological term for a tornadic vortex in powerfully flowing water that can bore holes in solid rock, as in the Lake Missoula Floods. Kolk rose will rip your tongue out and leave behind a crater of flavor. $ 12 SOLD OUT
2011 La Reine
Chardonnay 100%
Umpqua Valley, OR
Rebecca’s Vineyard
Alcohol: 12% pH: 3.30
Cases Produced: 30
Our first white wine is a cool-climate style white wine. Made from 100% Chardonnay - the Queen of grapes. We made the wine in a traditional, low - tech Burgundian fashion to maximize flavors. Upon crushing we gave the grapes 24 hrs. of skin contact, then pressed & fermented the unfined must into stainless steel. In the springtime, the wine went through innoculated malolactic in lightly toasted new french oak hogsheads, sur lie, where it remained for 8 months, until bottling. Lemon shortbread, honeydew melon, citrus with just enough french oak are dominant flavors in this wine that should gain complexity in the bottle. $ 25 SOLD OUT
2011 La Robe
Chardonnay 99.5%
Gamay Noir .5%
Umpqua Valley, OR
Rebecca’s Vineyard
Alcohol: 12% pH: 3.35
Color Index: 35 AU
Cases Produced: 45
Our second enrobed wine is a fusion of two classic Burgundian winegrapes. This is a refreshing, light red wine, made with the juice of Chardonnay grapes fermented with the skins of Gamay Noir from the same exceptional vineyard. Floral aromas from the Gamay meld with the citrus of the Chardonnay to give raspberry, jackfruit and blood orange flavors. Plentiful acidity should preserve the wine’s freshness, and guarantee its longevity. $ 25 SOLD OUT!
2011 Gamay Noir
Gamay Noir 100%
Umpqua Valley, OR
Rebecca’s Vineyard
Alcohol: 12% pH 3.40 Color Index: 45 AU Cases Produced: 55
LA REINE
SPARKLING
CHARDONNAY 60%
GAMAY NOIR 40%
UMPQUA VALLEY, OR
REBECCA’S VINEYARD
ALC: 12.5% PH: 3.20
CASES PRODUCED: 40
la robe sparkling
chardonnay 99.5%
gamay noir .5%
umpqua valley, or
rebecca’s Vineyard
Alc: 12.5% pH: 3.20
color index: 35 au
Cases Produced: 20
This is a quenching, mouth filling red wine made from the true, classic grape of Beaujolais: Gamay Noir de Jus Blanc. To compensate for the cool vintage, we bled off 25% of the juice (for rosé), started a vigorous and extended primary fermentation, (without carbonic maceration) pressed and included all press-wine in the mix. The wine went through malolactic fermentation and aged for 8 months in lightly toasted new french oak hogsheads. Bright cherry primary fruit and gentle tannins, with a hint of vanilla round out this wine. Like Beaujolais, this wine is enhanced by being served at a cool temperature. $ 25 SOLD OUT!
La Reine (the queen) is a cremant, dry, sparkling wine made from 2011 Chardonnay and Gamay Noir from the same
vineyard. It underwent malolactic in new French oak, was
refermented in the bottle, and riddled and disgorged by
Masquerade Wine Co. 18 months later. Citrus, carmelized
apple, and biscuit flavors, and a gentle mousse make
this a deliciously quaffable wine. This is the only wine
that we’ve used a bark cork for as a closure - so store on its
side and it will age beautifully. $ 30 SOLD OUT!
2011 La Robe Sparkling is a cremant, enrobed red wine
made by fermenting Chardonnay juice & Gamay Noir skins
together, undergoing malolactic in new French oak,
refermenting in the bottle, and riddling and disgorging
by Masquerade Wine Co. 18 months later. Cranberry, citrus
flavors, a gentle mousse and touch of sweetness make
this an elegant, festive wine. These are the only wines that
we’ve used a bark cork for as a closure - so store on its side
and it will age beautifully. $ 30 SOLD OUT!
DELUGE RESERVE 2008
CAB. SAUVIGNON 70%
MALBEC 20%
CABERNET FRANC 10%
YAKIMA VALLEY, WA
KESTREL VINEYARD
ALC: 14.5% PH: 3.54
COLOR INDEX: 59 AU
CASES PRODUCED: 250
Our 2008 vintage is massively structured, with mouth-filling tannins, a nose of white chocolate, cola and vanilla, with black cherry from Cabernet, and spicy herb and zazzy grape flavors from Rattlesnake Hills Malbec. It was aged for 36 months in heavily toasted new and once-used French Oak hogsheads. Thanks to generous acidity, this wine will continue to age well, but can be consumed now. $ 25 SOLD OUT!
Silver Award of Excellence - 2011 Seattle Wine Awards
AMBERLEIgh reserve 2007
Cab. Sauvignon 70%
Cabernet Franc 15%
Malbec 15%
Yakima Valley, WA
Kestrel Vineyard
Alcohol: 15% pH: 3.67
Color Index: 52.6 AU
Cases Produced: 185
2007 was a wonderful vintage, our grapes received extended hang-time, and on October 20th we processed 10 tons of grapes in our largest crush yet. We pursued our usual strategy for maximizing phenolic extraction: a cold soak, after a saignier of 15%, then a thorough treading on the skins, pitching with D254 yeast, and a long fermentation, with much punching down of the chapeau in our concrete lagar fermenter. All press wine is included in the mix. The wine was aged for 48 months in New French oak hogsheads with heavy toast and toasted heads. The resulting wine has smoky aromatics, pomegranate and cassis fruit flavors, refined and silky tannins, and racy acidity. $ 15 SOLD OUT!
Previous Vintages (Sold Out)
2016 The Denier
2015 Deluge Reserve
2007 Deluge
2005 Deluge
2015 Deluge
2013 The Denier Merlot /Cabernet Franc
2008 Harbor Light Red
2003 Deluge