Tamarack Chardonnay 2013

Tamarack Chardonnay is made from 100% Chardonnay.

Bright aromas of ruby red grapefruit, mango and stone fruit are found in the bouquet while on the palate, the bright acidity of this wine showcases flavors of guava, crisp Granny Smith apples and Asian pears. Combing the best of both cooperage techniques, the combination of aging in stainless steel highlights the fruit while the aging in neutral French oak provides an added complexity to the wine.

Aged 60% in neutral premier French oak and 3% in new premier French Oak 37% stainless steel.Dropped by gravity straight to the press, the juice is pumped directly to barrel or tank and chilled, inoculated with Chardonnay 3079 yeast, primary fermentation started and finished, secondary fermentation started but completed to preferred taste, typically around 50% completion. All fermentation is done in a 58 degree Fahrenheit barrel room.

Walla Walla Valley Appellation: Alderbanks Vineyard
Columbia Valley Appellation: Bacchus and Gamache Brothers Vineyards
Yakima Valley Appellation: Olsen Brothers and French Creek Vineyards

Tamarack Ciel de Cheval Vineyard Reserve holds dark and chocolate nauces, spiced with pretty notes of allspice and clove, this wine is round and rich, bursting with ripe berries, combined with an earthy complexity and a velvety finish.

Cabernet Sauvignon makes up half of this blend, with the balance Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot

The wine spent 22 months on 75% new French oak with the remaining 25% second vintage French oak. Select barrels from the best forests of Taransaud, Boutes, Quintessance, and Vicard cooperages.

Abeja Chardonnay Washington State 2013 is 100 percent Chardonnay

This Chardonnay has the essence of a freshly baked lemon meringue pie, green apple, and Bartlett pear. It is both dense and bright, with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon coming from its time in barrel. Aromas are so much related to experiences. It is a wine that is in the traditional Abeja style, with superb polish, complexity, and balance, yet with a light touch at 13.5 percent alcohol.

Review:

"Supple, ripe and complex, with layers of pear, floral, tangerine and a note reminiscent of freshly ironed clothing. Fine acidity carries this through to a refreshing finish. Drink now through 2020. 919 cases made. –HS"
- Wine Spectator (November 15th, 2015), 91 pts

"Abeja’s 2013 Chardonnay offers clean, crisp notes of apple blossom, white flowers, citrus and brioche. Fermented and aged in barrel (40% new), it has a solid mix of richness and freshness, is beautifully balanced, and will drink nicely for 2-3 years. - Jeb Dunnuck"

- The Wine Advocate (erobertparker.com, June 2015), 91 pts

"A blend of top sites Celilo and Conner Lee, this appealing wine displays aromas of candy corn, corn silk and chamomile. The stone-fruit flavors are elegantly styled, showing a sense of restraint and balance that carries through the lingering finish."

- Wine Enthusiast (September 1st 2015), 91 pts

With its maritime influence, California's Monterey region has an extended growing season that yields wines with full flavor development and great acid balance.
Mandolin Chardonnay has a lush tropical fruit core, balanced by crisp acidity and nicely integrated oak.

The grapes for this Chardonnay were sourced from vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA of Monterey County, where high winds, dry days, and bay fogs create a cool, but very long, growing season. These growing conditions are ideal for cool-climate grapes such as Chardonnay, and lead to full, forward fruit flavors and ideal acidity. Grapes were harvested at an ideal balance of sugar and acid, and the wine was fermented in 1-2 year-old French oak barrels. This wine did not undergo malo-lactic fermentation, thus preserving its bright acidity. Total Acidity: 0.70 pH: 3.45 Residual Sugar: 0.51 g/liter

Tamarack Cabernet Franc is made from 100 percent Cabernet Franc.

Glorius vintage with wonderful weather conditions for normal production of low tonnages equaling delicious, balanced and succulent fruit.
Elegant with spiced cherry, blackberry and boysenberry mingling pleasingly and lingering seductively with a hint of oak, smooth chocolate and mocha on the structured tannins and fine-grained finish.

Review:

"Sleekly layered, with precise cherry, lead pencil and dusty dill flavors that persist toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2028. 1,176 cases made. — TF"

- Wine Spectator (Web only 2019), 90 pts

Tamarack Cabernet Sauvignon is made from  91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot 

Crushed gently and dropped by gravity into 1.5 ton bins, cold soaked for 24 to 72 hours, then inoculated with a variety of yeasts, hand-punched and pressed directly to barrel where the wine finishes both primary and secondary fermentations. The individual lots of wine that compose the Cabernet Sauvignon are kept separate for at least one year before they are blended.

A warm summer led to an early start to harvest, followed by a stretch of lower than average temperatures in late September that slowed ripening so grapes hung longer without sugars skyrocketing, providing balance, more flavor development and concentration. A long but successful harvest!

Full bodied with black currant jam, honey glazed dates and black peppered seasoned T-bone steak aromas intertwined with piercing boysenberry, rosemary rack of lamb, balsamic, blue cheese, bacon wrapped figs and intriguing tannins extended out over an intricate and balanced finish.