With its flamboyant label that’s reminiscent of street art, INTRINSIC has quickly built a reputation for showy red wines, which its 2017 vintage will only augment. One of the recent labels created by the wizards within Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, INTRINSIC is now crafted in Paterson, Wash., by Katie Nelson, who followed the template created by Juan Muñoz Oca and continues to expand its scale, making this easy to find. Its black cherry, blackberry, blueberry and pomegranate aromas draws you in to take a sip, which reveals flavors of blackberry, blueberry and chocolate, with a bit of bramble in its finish. A product of Beverly Vineyard near the Wahluke Slope, the Mercer family’s Eagle and Plow in the Horse Heaven Hills, and Shaw Vineyard on Red Mountain, perhaps the hallmark of these INTRINSIC wines is the structure. Muñoz Oca broke the mold on red winemaking by leaving 50% of the grapes on the skins after fermentation for nine months. Traditionally, red wines are pressed and off the skins after just a few weeks. One would expect an enormously astringent wine, but the tannin structure is fascinating rather than distracting. Last fall, the 2017 received a gold medal at the Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition in Hood River, Ore., a judging staged at the Columbia Gorge Hotel on behalf of some of the region’s top wine buyers, so look for the new 2017 bottling to soon make its way to store shelves.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 130,000 cases
Alcohol: 14.5%
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