2010 Chardonnay

"Balanced wines never go out of style!"

A lot of other Chardonnays seem to explore one of two extremes… either a strong oak influence or stainless steel fermentation that gives none at all. With this wine we give you a Chardonnay with balance. Fermentation in mostly neutral oak barrels preserves the fresh fruit aromas and develops a round, silky texture. A tiny percentage of new oak barrels add a touch of vanilla and spice while respecting the smooth finish. Open a bottle after work and enjoy with creamy soups, seafood, creamy pastas, and rich cheese and meat platters.

Our Chardonnay was sourced as follows: 75% from the Arena Valley Vineyard, 25% from the Sawtooth Vineyard. 5% new French oak, 5% new American oak, 80 percent neutral barrels.

380 cases produced.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon 75%, Merlot 25%

Light pine forest notes with cherry and vanilla carry the day and make you pause to enjoy the layers. In the mouth the experience is one that shows how well Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot marry into a rich and full experience. The full and nuanced tannins remain long afterwards with an aromatic finish of cedar and spice.

Our Cabernet was sourced from Williamson, Skyline and Symms Vineyards while the Merlot came from Skyline Vineyards. This wine was aged in 20% new French oak, 20% new American oak and 60% neutral oak for 19 months then bottle-aged for four months prior to release.

260 cases produced.

2009 Tempranillo

This venerable Spanish variety expresses itself with rich aromas of black olive, black pepper, tobacco. You'll also encounter hints of honey from aging in 2 & 3 year old French and American barrels. Flavors follow the aromas with the addition of subtle boysenberry and a smooth, medium length finish.

The ancestral home of Tempranillo is La Rioja in Northern Spain. The Rioja and our Snake River Valley have very similar latitudes and climates (both are high-elevation arid regions) so it makes sense that a grape that has thrived in such conditions in Spain would also show well here in our growing region. We think we've found another jewel in the crown for the Snake River Valley with Tempranillo… the "desert grape", Salud!

165 cases produced.

2009 Syrah
(Syrah 95%, Viognier 5%)

Our most popular red wine delivers yet again with rich, dark and meaty flavors that make this wine more similar to a Cote Rotie than an Australian Shiraz. The vineyard sources are Sawtooth, Skyline, and Williamson. 50 lbs of Viognier is added to each half-ton picking bin of Syrah for a co-fermentation that makes the wine even more complex and wild, this "cofermentation" is a winemaking technique originating in the Rhone region of France (they know a thing or two over there!). The wine is fermented in one-ton bins with manual punchdowns 4-5 times per day. Fermentation last 7-9 days with the wines pressed after dryness to maximize dark fruit characters. 18 month aging takes place in 40% new American oak barrels and 60% neutral (4-12 year old) barrels. Wine is racked once during aging to remove the lees from the barrels.

This wine displays an abundance of dark fruit character spiced with a rich meatiness and hints of smoke and espresso. The mid-palate texture is heavy and flavors combine marionberry and spice. The flavors linger in the mouth but the finish is silky smooth in texture.

250 cases produced.

2010 Dry Viognier

The Dry Viognier is on lean-end of the scale but still a typical example of a Viognier in its aromas and the flesh in the mid-palate. I used Williamson Viognier as the base for this wine, which consistently shows beautiful peach aromatics and a medium-weight texture. I picked the fruit at a medium-ripe level when the majority of berries tasted of peaches or pears but while I could still taste lively acid. After whole-cluster pressing, I settled the juice at very cold temperatures (40° F) for two days to make the juice clean and clear. Then we had fermentation take place in stainless steel tanks at very low temperatures to help capture all the delicate aromatic compounds. None of this wine underwent malolactic fermentation. Filtering and bottling quickly after fermentation put the finishing touches on this fresh flavored wine.

The finished wine is a balance of delicious peach and pear aromas, a medium weight in the mouth, and a refreshing finish that lasts a long, long time.

300 cases produced.

2010 Dry Rosé

This wine follows our tradition of making intensely fruity but completely dry, crisp Rosés. It is a 100% Rosé of Syrah, with all the grapes coming from Williamson and Skyline Vineyards. The grapes are destemmed and allowed to rest for 1-2 hours with the skins on, then pressed to tank. The juice is cold settled until very clear, then fermented in neutral oak barrels (4-12 years old). No malolactic fermentation. Bottled within 5 months of vinification for maximum freshness.

Aromas of strawberries laced with cinnamon lead off this wine. Strawberry repeats itself in the flavors, which finish long and refreshing. This is our "summer wine", meant to cool, refresh and delight on the hot summer days we get here in Boise…our particular suggestion is to take it with you to an evening play at our gorgeous Idaho Shakespeare Theatre, or wherever else there is poetry under the stars. Cheers!

300 cases produced.

2010 Off-Dry Viognier

The Off-Dry Viognier is the closest to our previous 2009 vintage and the one most people will recognize as the most "normal" American style Viognier. Residual sugar level is less than 1%, which will seem smooth to most tasters and just slightly sweet to very practiced tasters. The majority vineyard in this wine is Sawtooth Vineyard, which consistently has very opulent texture, almost oily in its thickness, and ripe tropical flavors. I picked these grapes towards the end of the season when they tasted of pineapple and melon. The late picking date leads to more heavily textured wines. After pressing whole-cluster the juice was settled at very cold temperatures (40° F) so that the juice was very clean and clear. This facilitates a clean fermentation with fruit aromas being the most prominent. Fermentation took place in 100% neutral barrels (between 4 and 12 years old). The use of neutral barrels adds to the texture of the wine, filling out the mid-palate and smoothing the finish. I arrested the fermentation on a few of the barrels in order to leave a touch of sugar in the final blend. Finally, about 10% of this wine underwent malolactic fermentation to richen the texture and lessen the acid.

The effect of all this is to create a wine with intense tropical aromas of pineapple and melon, a texture that is opulent in the mouth and a finish that this smooth and satisfying.

300 cases produced.

2009 Small Lot Series
Mourvedre 50%, Tempranillo 50%

We produced 40 cases (two barrels) of this fascinating blend in 2009. The source of the Mourvedre (aka: Monestrel in Spain, Mataro in Italy) is Williamson Vineyard. The Tempranillo is from Rocky Fence Vineyard. Both lots of grapes were fermented in small bins with 4-5 punchdowns per day. The Mourvedre was pressed one week after the start of fermentation, just before dryness to optimize bright black and white pepper aromas. The Tempranillo was left on skins for three weeks after dryness in an extended maceration to encourage the development of earthy flavors. Both wines were aged in two-year old barrels, one French, one American. 16 months of barrel aging allowed the wines to mellow and integrate.

This wine has white and black pepper flavors with delicate tobacco leaf and raspberry in the background. The color is clear ruby and the body is medium weight. The tannins are long and fine, with lively acids on the finish. Do NOT wait too long to purchase some of this wine, it will sell out quickly.

40 cases produced.

2010 Small Lot Series Viognier

With our second "Small Lot Series" we explore Rhone-style winemaking and continue our love affair with Viognier. We chose Rocky Fence Vineyard and their organic, manicured vines, perched above the Emmett Valley, to craft this austere beauty.

Getting the picking date right was as crucial as ever with this wine, in order to bring bright acidity and floral aromas to the wine. Next we needed a lush, textured experience in the mouth, so we extended barrel ageing to 10 months while adding a generous amount of lees stirring. The Small Lot Series continues to be about creating unique wines for the adventurous wine lover. We hope you agree that teaming up with Rocky Fence and giving a nod to the great winemakers of the Rhone has inspired a gorgeous creation!

70 cases produced.

Two bottle limit (Wine Club Members Only)

2010 Laissez Faire

We wanted to create a beautiful "little sister-label" that would be an appropriate wine for our educated customers, filling their need for a crisp, food-friendly table wine that was beautifully crafted. Our direction came from all the great wines we would pull from our own cellar for hamburgers or "pizza-night" from places like France, Italy and Spain…(but never from the good old USA!?). We wondered why there didn't seem to be any American producers making wines like this. We knew we could make a wine that had fresh fruit, balanced body, not a touch of new oak and bright acidity…so a plan was hatched.

Laissez Faire means "hands off" or "let it be" in French and that's what we've done with this wine. There's not much interference from the hand of man (or woman in this case). There's no crushing of the grapes prior to fermentation, only full-berry fermentation. The juice is left in contact with the skins for only a short time, so that we only extract very fresh fruit characteristics. All native yeasts were used for fermentation while barrel ageing was only nine months in what we like to call "the Ancient barrels" (10-15 years old).

The end result is a gorgeous European-inspired red table wine, made in our beautiful Snake River Valley, Idaho, USA. Open a bottle with nearly ANY meal and you'll be happy with the results. Laissez Faire…Enjoy the simple pleasures of life!

250 cases produced.