2020 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
Double Gold, 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition
Double Gold, 2024 Hilton Head Food & Wine Festival
Gold, 2024 Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition
95 Points, Pacific Northwest Wine Competition
This wine was made from grapes from the famed Quintessence Vineyard, from the same vines that produce some of Washington’s most celebrated cabs. Names including DeLille, Januik, and Mark Ryan. Argonne Cellars has dedicated Cabernet Sauvignon rows in Block 24.
As one of the smallest AVAs on the West Coast, Red Mountain is recognized as one of the best places to grow deep, rich, reds…they call it “growing grapes in a blast furnace.”
This was an odd vintage, with smoke racing up from California fires. But no damage was done and the 2020 vintage is recognized to be a real winner. Yields were the lowest in almost 10 years which contributed to concentrated fruit; but beyond the weather, aggressive thinning was practiced by growers concerned about the impacts of lessened Covid demand.
We produced this wine with gentle processing, whole berry fermentation, virtually no sulfites added during fermentation, and we allowed it to fully finish in situ prior to pressing. Barreling was done in new Pennsylvania oak, coopered in France with toasted Argonne Oak staves inserted into the barrel.
This Cabernet Sauvignon has dark fruit flavors (think cassis), deep black cherries, and a few blackberries thrown into the mix. There’s some spice, and vanilla from our barreling technique, as well. And like most Red Mountain wines, it is super well-structured.
The ultimate blend was decided via a blind tasting of various candidate blends by a Friends of ArgonneTMpanel and ended up with a bit of Malbec and Petit Verdot to keep everyone honest.
Red Mountain AVA
Quintessence Vineyard
90% Cabernet Sauvignon
7% Malbec
3% Petit Verdot
