We're Celebrating Taste Washington Wine Month all this week!

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2010 Waterbrook Icon Red Blend, Walla Walla
Elegant fruit and mineral aromas belie the deep fruit flavors of bing cherry and ripe black plums that follow.  Caramel-like whiskey lactones from mostly American Oak-aging linger on the finish.

Food Pairings: Roasted rosemary lamb, pepper crusted steak and grilled vegetables

Vintage Note: The 2010 growing season was on schedule with bud break in early April, but a cool, wet spring led to delayed flowering and reduced fruit set across many varieties.  An unusually cool summer produced dramatic differences in ripening between warmer and cooler sites, with veraison extending well into September in some cooler areas.  However, naturally low yields, combined with over a month of consistently warm weather from late September through late October, produced phenolic ripeness and flavor development with extraordinary natural acidity.  Cool, wet weather returned in late October, an appropriate bookend to a challenging harvest.  Overall, this vintage will show balanced and elegant wines with lower alcohol and higher acidity.

2010 Waterbrook Icon Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley
Bold and rich with developed aromatics of blackberry, cherry, cedar, leather, and cocoa powder. The palate continues with deep blackberry jam, huckleberry and black currant. The oak structure guides the way to lingering cocoa powder on the finish.

2012 Waterbrook Icon Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley
Spicy, earthy and leathery aromatics are followed by flavors of dark chocolate, espresso and white pepper notes wrapped by ripe sweet cherries.  Medium tannins support a long, sweet fruit finish with silky texture and balanced acids.  A very easy-drinking Cabernet Sauvignon.

Food Pairing: Roasted rosemary lamb, pepper crusted steak and grilled vegetables

Vineyard Sources: Waterbrook Cabernet Sauvignon comes from carefully selected vineyards in the Columbia Valley. Believing that great wines begin in the vineyard, John chose these vineyards for their overall complexity, richness and balance: Doval, CRV, Willard.

Vintage Note: The 2012 vintage, while starting off with a stunning resemblance to 2011, finished off the season well: average heat accumulation and cumulative precipitation.  Most bud break occurred in early April.  Although overall precipitation for 2012 was slightly above normal, it was not evenly distributed over the growing season.  August saw low humidity, low precipitation, and high temperatures which kicked off berry ripening.  2012 brought medium sized berries, concentrated colors and intense flavors.