2006 Pepper Bridge Vineyard
Tasting Notes
2006 Pepper Bridge Vineyard blend has scents of black cherries, black currants, blueberries, spices, cloves, and nuances of chocolate form a quite complex aroma. This generous, richly textured yet smooth wine is crafted around copious dark fruit flavors. A long and persistent finish completes this powerful and expansive wine with a touch of finesse. Our goal with the vineyard program is to showcase the character of each estate vineyard. The Pepper Bridge Vineyard sits in the middle of the Walla Walla Valley and has an annual rainfall of 12 inches.
The Year
Mother Nature provided us with a classic wine-growing season. The spring was a little wetter than normal, but this extra moisture did not cause any problems because it was so early in the year. Bud break started around the third week in April, and very warm, sunny days filled the summer. We had plenty of heat units to fully ripen the grapes. The wines from the 2006 vintage have terrific fruit intensity, show great natural acidity and are beautifully balanced.
Viticulture
Entirely estate; Certified Sustainable and Salmon Safe. Founding member of VINEA.
Wine Specifics
Varietals: 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot
Vineyard: 100% Pepper Bridge Vineyard
Awards & Accolades
“This is a blend of Merlot (60 percent) with Cabernet Sauvignon (30), Petit Verdot and Malbec. It leads with an ethereal scent of violets, of pine fronds dusted with mocha. And like most wines from this vineyard, planted on silt loam soils, it’s well-structured and powerfully built, the dark-fruited flavors somewhere between plum and fig. The tannins rich, firm and mouthcoating. All of this suggests it’s a wine to cellar, and then serve with a ribeye.”
-Wine & Spirits, 94 points
