2019 Wild Thyme Red Blend
Wild Thyme is a Merlot based Bordeaux style red blend. To the Merlot we blended Cabernet Sauvignon to lengthen and increase the power of the tannins, Petit Verdot to increase the color and intensity of aromas, and Caberent Franc to heighten the aromas and tie the wine together. Do you like to have a Wild Thyme?
"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and the eglantine." - William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Wild Thyme has a red-black hue with very attractive aromatic notes of black and red plums, roasted coffee, vanilla, red cherries, red currants, and French oak. The mouthfeel is copiously rich and complex. Has a vanilla, red cherries, red currants, and French oak. The mouthfeel is copiously rich and complex. The wine has flavors of brioche, vanilla, red cherries, red currants, and lightly toasted French oak. Overall, the taste is a pure Washington version of a right bank French Bordeaux red blend. The best Wild Thyme ever? Pretty close.
2019 was an interesting vintage. The summer was perfect with moderate heat, no temperature spikes and fortunately was cooler than normal. Cooler vintages seem to produce fresher wines. There were a few rain periods that slowed ripening in September and a mid-October freeze event stopped ripening in most of Washington.
The goal of a Bordeaux Blend is to create a wine better than the sum of its parts. A personal goal is to make a blend exclusively from a single vineyard. The 2019 Wild Thyme accomplishes both goals. The Merlot is clone 15. The Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of clone 33 and clone 412. The Cabernet Franc is clone 214 and the Petit Verdot is clone 2. All the grapes were hand-picked, destemmed, and fermented with yeasts specifically selected for each variety. The wines were aged separately for 8 months, blended and returned to barrel for an additional 14 months. The Wild Thyme was aged in 100% French Oak 300 liter barrels (17% new) and bottled unfined and unfiltered.
INGREDIENTS & ADDITIONS: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc grapes, yeast, organic and inorganic yeast nutrients, tartaric acid, 35 ppm of Free SO2 at bottling.
57% Wallula Vineyard Merlot
34% Wallula Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
4% Wallula Vineyard Cabernet Franc
5% Dionysus Vineyard Petit Verdot
