The story behind this ongoing, multi-vintage tier begins with several barrels of red wine that were held back from the 2015 vintage, setting the table for Coco Umiker’s inaugural Waha. Next, she sent wine from those selected barrels through fresh lees from some 2016 reds and returned that wine to barrel. She’s continued that process, blending in other select barrels from each vintage “to continually balance the acid, tannins and character of this long-term project.” The resulting formula of Waha II is an eight-variety blend that leads with Malbec (51%), Petite Sirah (21%), Merlot (11%) and Carménère. At the Platinum, it wowed judges with its remarkable texture that brings hints of baby powder, daffodils and the dark blue fruit that mimics blueberry sauce and black currant jam, joined by moist earth, caramel and nicely structured tannins. Qualifying award: San Francisco Chronicle (gold)
Rating: Platinum • 93 points
Production: 387 cases
Alcohol: 14.8%
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