Chad Johnson’s dentist dad told his winemaking son, “Life is too short to stain your teeth on cheap wine,” and these Wisconsin imports embrace that approach year after year. This vintage, they branched out from straight Syrah to include Mourvédre (10%) and Petite Sirah from StoneTree on the Wahluke Slope and Red Heaven off Red Mountain. And the results are heavily hedonistic (3.87 pH). It’s a snootful of jammy black fruit with chocolate, toast and orange peel, and there’s a match on the palate, picking up flavors of blackberry milk shake. Blueberry acidity and fine-grained plum skin tannins tie it together. Their move to add those other Rhone blends gives this more complexity than the 2011.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 888 cases
Alcohol: 14.7%
Leave a Reply