| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | Washington Washington (Columbia Valley) |
| Winery: | Flying Trout Wines |
| Grape Type: | Malbec |
| Vintage: | 2011 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Founded in 1902, Argentina’s Bodega Catena Zapata pioneered the revival of Malbec and the discovery of extreme high-altitude terroir in the Andean foothills of Mendoza. Its crown jewel is the Adrianna Vineyard — planted at nearly 5,000 feet in the Uco Valley and often called the Grand Cru of South America.
The River parcel sits in the path of a dried-out riverbed, its stony soil coaxing out an especially aromatic, rich and luxurious Malbec — floral and exuberant, with smooth tannins and a long, lingering finish. Lovely young, but built to age for decades.
Review:
Probably the most austere among the three Adrianna Vineyard malbecs. Arresting nose already, with a touch of white pepper to the deep black and blue fruit. Huge depth and profoundness, but at the same time it is so fresh. The difference is more obvious on the palate if you compare this with the Mundus Bacillus Terrae and Fortuna Terrae bottlings. This shows the claws of the mineral tannins, which are a little less fleshy than Mundus, but with more tension. Seamless, taut and long. Drink from 2026.
-James Suckling 99 Points
Finca La Pared Cuvee Especial is made from Graciano & Syrah.
The Cuvee Especial is a Graciano and Syrah blend aged in oak barrels that produces a full-bodied, fresh wine of great complexity and long lasting finish.
Review:
"A deep, brooding nose with lots of fine oak spices and hazelnuts that adorn the blackberries and violets. Succulent and bright on the palate, with caressing, silky tannins dialing into the black and blue fruit. Quite long and subtle. Delicious now, but can hold, too."
- James Suckling (June 2022), 94 pts
Finca La Pared Graciano is made from 100 percent Graciano.
Finca La Pared Graciano is a powerful graciano that is perfectly integrated with the oak. It shows remarkable notes of fresh spices and dark fruit. Reserved, serene, deep black. Restrained feel.
Review:
"The creamy, cedary oak has seeped into the minty blackberry and blue fruit, with deep notes of cocoa powder and tar. Restrainedly plush and flavorful, with a concentrated and full-bodied palate. Dense and silky with a little warmth in the finish. Drink or hold."
- James Suckling (June 2022), 93 pts
Finca La Pared Syrah is made from 100 percent Syrah.
Finca La Pared Syrah shows an expressive nose of dark fruit aromas and a mineral character.
Intense, direct, playful. Balance of forces.
Review:
The first vintage here was 2018. The 2019 Syrah is a saturated purple hue with a smoking good bouquet of smoky black fruits, cured meats, and leather, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a plush, layered mouthfeel, and ripe tannins. It's balanced, has a deep, rich, concentrated style, and a great finish.
-Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points
Finca La Pared Syrah is made from 100 percent Syrah.
Finca La Pared Syrah shows an expressive nose of dark fruit aromas and a mineral character.
Intense, direct, playful. Balance of forces.
Machine harvested at night. Grapes with great concentration. Prefermentation cold maceration (cold soak) for three days. Fermentation and maceration are carried out in small stainless steel tanks, combining pumpovers and délestages The process is prolonged for approximately 20 days with gentle extractions. We gently press the grapes and the wine carries out its malolactic fermentation in even smaller stainless steel tanks. When the wine has naturally lost the thickest suspended solids, we transfer it to oak barrels. We chose American oak barrels that enhance the freshness of the wine and its refinement. The wine is aged for 12 months in the same barrels without racking. It isbottled after light filtration without fining.
Review:
"Blackberries, ground pepper, violets, and some gamey, bouquet garni-like notes all emerge from the 2021 Syrah, a medium to full-bodied, deep, rich, wonderfully layered Syrah that seems to be a hypothetical blend of a California Syrah with an Hermitage. Drink bottles through 2031."
- Jeb Dunnuck (Importer Highlight: Fran Kysela ; July 2024), 95 pts
Ancien Pinot Noir Russian River Jouissance is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Jouissance is sourced from the single vineyard established and farmed by Mark Lingenfelder at his home estate. Mark’s decades of experience as a vineyard manager and consulting viticulturalist have provided him the depth of experience to reach the pinnacle at his own property. Having worked with storied wineries over the years, we are grateful our paths have crossed enabling us to work with him for our Russian River designate. He tends the vines himself while relying on neighbor Lee Martinelli to provide additional help at the peak times. We work with a mix of Pommard and Dijon 667 vines from his oldest and youngest blocks – aged wisdom combines with youthful vigor!
The 2021 growing season was a welcome success after a more varied and challenging 2020. The vines came on with aplomb, demonstrating the rich fruit concentration we expect – even if the crop was meager. The ongoing drought in California served to further accentuate the character and concentration of the fruit. While warmer conditions have prevailed in other areas, the coastal areas of California continue to benefit from the maritime influence and moderating influence that it brings.
We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks after filling by gravity. A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, 40% new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 151 cases produced.
Bright fruit notes dominate the aromas with bright cherry, plum, and boysenberry underlaid by allspice and clove. On the palate the wine is liquid velvet, it’s silkiness segueing into a burst of fruit and spice that rides high on the palate while gradually opening to deeper berry, tea, and baking spices. It is a refreshing and lively Pinot Noir in its youth that will continue to fill out in depth and complexity over the next 2-5 years.
Flying Trout Deep River Red 2011 is 54% Malbec, 46% Cabernet Franc
Bordeaux's gnarled undercurrent surfaces in this new world creation. Angsty and seductive- winter leaves, Malbec's black jam and tree bark meet Cabernet Franc's cherry cola with a hint of paprika and a kick full of spice on the mid-palate. Dried figs and perfume linger. A wine for the curious.
Flying Trout Wines
Flying Trout Wines began years ago with original winemaker Ashley Trout's annual winemaking ventures in Mendoza, Argentina from February until May and in the Walla Walla Valley during the remainder of the year.
The brand was sold to TERO Estates in 2010, moving Ashley and her winemaking to the TERO Estates winery and production facility to Milton Freewater, Oregon. On February 11th, 2011, we opened our downtown Walla Walla tasting room. On Spetembter 27, 2014, we opened our newest tasting room on the southern end of Walla Walla.
From peppery malbecs out of Walla Walla to the more feminine and fruit forward styles of malbecs often reminiscent of Mendoza, Flying Trout Wines aims to bring you a little bit of the best of the world and nothing else.
Pago de Carraovejas Ribera Del Duero is made from 90% Tempranillo, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot
The most honest interpretation of the Carraovejas Valley.
Body, structure and balance with a vibrant background. Delicacy, harmony and passion for detail are perceived in a wine that reflects the unique character of the valley in an outstanding way.
The 2022 vintage was characterized by cool winter months and extremely low rainfall, reaching limits that had not been observed for years. Due to the good rainfall of the previous year, the vines had good accumulated water reserves, which allowed the vineyard to have a good phenological cycle and normal development. Budding and flowering were perfectly developed in each of the varieties worked, and a homogeneous and balanced development of the plants was achieved. The summer was excessively hot, with several episodes of heat waves, which were mitigated by drip irrigation. Veraison, which was slower than in previous years, and ripening began in early August and the berries developed very uniformly. Harvest began on September 12 and ended on September 28.
Pago de Carraovejas 2022 is the most honest reflection of the valley to which it owes its name. An environment in which the vines climb the slopes to form a unique landscape. On the surface, its tertiary soil of limestone marl, clay and sandstone outcrops force the vines to self-regulate and give their best. Plots that converge in an orography marked by its unique mesoclimate. The vineyards are distributed from the middle zones to the moors that exceed 900 meters in altitude; from the gentle undulation that descends towards the stream, to the plots that exceed 30% slope. South- and north facing slopes, each with its own personality, create the profile of the Carraovejas Valley.
The grapes for Pago de Carraovejas 2022 were harvested by hand after an initial selection of bunches in the vineyard. Subsequently, in the winery, a double selection was made: first by cluster then by berry. Gravity must production allows maximum respect for the raw material. During the fermentation process, indigenous yeasts and lactic bacteria from our own estate were used. The wine was aged in French and American oak barrels for 12 months. The entire process was marked by precision and care in every detail. For greater protection, the wine contains sulfites. Finally it was clarified with natural egg white and bottle in spring of 2024.
Review:
A concentrated, dense Ribera del Duero, but there is a lot to like if you enjoy plushness, with its lush blackberry fruit and dark chocolate. Fine-grained and full-bodied on the palate, but fresh and still pretty tense, with chalky tannins. Drink from 2025.
-James Suckling 93 Points
Chavy-Chouet Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseigneres is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Les Enseigneres is a coveted village lieu-dit in Puligny-Montrachet, sited right against the great slope near Batard-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet, a village-level parcel that consistently reaches toward Premier Cru quality. Domaine Chavy-Chouet of Meursault works old vines here, some sixty-five years of age, on clay and limestone.
Fermented with native yeasts and aged a year in French oak with a fifth new, it is a Puligny to seek out: white peach and citrus over a core of wet-stone minerality, with the tension, depth and long finish that mark the finest whites of the village.