2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

Case Production

1000 cases, bottled June 29, 2007

Blend and Vineyard Sources

• 80% Cabernet Sauvignon:
  • 36% DuBrul Vineyard (Rattlesnake Hills)
  • 24% Sagemoor Vineyard (Columbia Valley)
  • 14% Tapteil Vineyard (Red Mountain)
  • 6% Seven Hills Vineyard (Walla Walla Valley)
• 7% Merlot:  Tapteil Vineyard (Columbia Valley)
• 7% Cabernet Franc:  Weinbau Vineyard (Wahluke Slope)
• 5% Syrah: Ciel du Cheval (Red Mountain)
• 1% Malbec: Gamache Brothers (Columbia Valley)

Analysis

• pH-3.63
• Total Acidity-0.62
• Alcohol-14.42

Cooperage

65% new oak, all French oak with the remaining a mix of one year and older French oak.  The barrels are from select coopers, the oak from a variety of forests and the wine remained for 22 months in the barrels.

Winemaking

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.

Vintage

A wonderful recovery year following the freeze of 2004. Dry and Warm conditions leading up to and during the harvest allowed complete control of grape growing to the winemaker and viticulturalist leading to ideal hang time and ripeness for the highest quality wines.

Tasting Notes

Powerful and full bodied with ripe and rich aromas and flavors of cola, dark cherry and cinnamon raisin bread intertwined with blackberry, chocolate mints and spicy notes of French oak. Of all the Tamarack reds, this shows the most length, complexity and balance.