Winemakers Notes
2004 Whistle Punk Red
The Vintage
By all accounts the 2004 Washington State vintage was nothing less than superb. An early – warm spring was followed with an exceptionally hot – dry summer. The temperatures did drop significantly in late – September through the third week of October. These cooler days and nights aided in the retention of acids and addition of color to the red grape skins.
The Vineyards
The 2004 Whistle Punk Red blend is a masterful blend from three vineyards. The Syrah, Malbec and Merlot fruit was harvested from one of our State's finest growers Keith Klingele. The Cabernet Sauvignon fruit was evenly divided between the Kestrel View and Stone Tree vineyards. Typically, the Klingele vineyard Merlot offers stunning elegance and structure together with delicious ripe black cherry and plum notes. Klingele Malbec is blockbuster dark purple color with a huge – juicy raspberry note while Keith's Syrah fruit supplies bold – brooding purple plum, smoke, earth and ripe blackberry aromas and flavors. The flavors and aromas found in the Cabernet Sauvignon wines made from Kestrel View and Stone Tree are that of ripe blackberry and black currants. The tannins are somewhat finer grained with the Stone Tree Cabernet than what one finds typically with a Kestrel Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Winemaking
All fruit was hand picked and sorted again by hand once delivered to our winery crush pad. The fruit was destemmed and gently crushed with 15 - 20% whole berries. The yeast strains Pasteur Red and Pris de Mousse were used to conduct the primary fermentations. Skin contact ranged from 9 to 14 days prior to the tanks being drained and the pomace gently pressed. The young wines were permitted to settle two to three days before being racked into French, American and Hungarian oak barrels. The malo – lactic fermentation was permitted to finish fully during the 26 months of barrel aging. This wine was filtered at bottling to eliminate "crust" formation (sediment).
The Wine
Absolutely gorgeous purple – red color is present with this wine. Profound notes of ripe blackberries, cherries and raspberries mingle beautifully with cedar, earth and vanilla flavors and aromas. The structure tends towards a medium – plus to full bodied wine. The tannins are firm and fine grained providing a little extra cellar potential. Match this fine red wine with grilled red meats as well as grilled poultry where spicy - tomato based sauces are used to baste the bird. You may cellar this wine six to ten years and be rewarded with a truly fine experience for doing so!