Jean-Claude Beck creates this tier under the Woodhouse Wine Estates banner, and he produced it in a Meritage-style using the five primary red Bordeaux varieties — Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Cabernet Franc (18%), Merlot (12%), Malbec (7%) and Petit Verdot — from StoneRidge and the late Fred Artz’s vineyard on Red Mountain. It’s quite showy with French oak (new barrels made up 75% of the program), offering a dense and alluring aromatic profile of plum and black cap raspberries with molasses, Melba toast and allspice. There’s a rich entry of Bing cherry, cassis and pomegranate, backed by licorice and toasted walnut. The structure is supremely balanced between plum-skin tannins and raspberry acidity. It earned best of class at the 2015 Seattle Wine and Food Experience Competition, and it’s available at the Woodhouse Wine Estates tasting room in Woodinville to club members, as well as select restaurants in Seattle and Bellevue.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 150 cases
Alcohol: 14.2%
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