2019 À Bloc Malbec
À Bloc is a cycling term that means "to go all out, even beyond the point of recovery" (do not forget the diacritical mark above the À, it sounds like "ahhh"). It is also a metaphor for the winemaking at Isenhower Cellars.
The À Bloc has a purple-red hue with excellent clarity. The aromas are beautiful with notes of blackberry, blueberry, white pepper, forest floor herbaceous hints, light roast coffee, purple flowers, and medium toast oak. The mouthfeel is plush, rich, with copious extract, and has an intense mid-palate. The Malbec is tightly wound, tannic and finishes very long. This is our finest À Bloc Malbec ever.
The 2019 À Bloc Malbec is 100% Malbec from Champoux Vineyard, recognized and one of Washington’s best vineyards and a source of 100 point wines. The Champoux Vineyard Malbec was hand-harvested on October 8th. All the grapes were destemmed and 15% of the stems were added back to fermentation. 10% of the juice was removed to concentrate the eventual wine. The malbec was fermented with yeasts specific for Malbec for 18 days before pressing. The Malbec was aged in 100% French oak 300 Liter barrels (28% new) for 20 months prior to bottling unfined and unfiltered.
INGREDIENTS & ADDITIONS: Malbec grapes, yeast, tartaric acid, French Oak, organic and inorganic yeast nutrients, and 35 ppm of Free SO2 at bottling to prevent oxidation.
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Varietal | Malbec |
| Varietal Composition | 100% Malbec |
| Appellation | Horse Heaven Hills |
| Acid | 5.8 g/L |
| PH | 3.7 |
| Residual Sugar | < 0/1 g/liter |
| Alcohol | 14.70% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 06/29/2021 |
| Cases Produced | 237 |
100% Champoux Vineyard Malbec Clone 4
