Our Wines
Our 2006 Rock Meadow wines were entered in the Tri-cities Wine Festival, a competition with over 92 wineries and 328 wines. We couldn’t be more pleased at how our wines performed: Gold medals for the 2006 Rockin’Red and Cabernet Franc, Silver for the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, and Bronze for our 2006 Syrah. Only two wineries scored more medals than Rock Meadow. Rock on!
Tri-Cities Wine Festival October, 2008
Gold- Rockin’ Red Gold-Cabernet Franc Silver-Cabernet Sauvignon Bronze- Syrah
They say that the sophomore year of any endeavor delivers more let-down than lettuce. Well, at Rock Meadow Cellars we believe that with the current line-up of Columbia Valley Reds…it just ain’t so! Building on the foundation laid by our successful first vintage, this year’s release of four varietals plus our Rockin’ Red Blend raises the bar for both quality and thankfully, quantity. We increased production for this Vintage to 260 total cases, so we thought there would be plenty to go around, but now we are about sold out. This year’s allotment flew out of the barn at the Release Bash! You will be pleased to see that we have maintained our value-driven pricing and our case purchase discount – a “thank you” to our many customers who helped us launch Rock Meadow last fall.
As in the past, we sourced our fruit from Sagemoor Farms, Pasco Washington, and once again, these stellar vineyards, some of Washington’s oldest, delivered the goods. Harvesting each varietal very late in their maturity cycle generated Rock Meadow wines that exhibit rich, diverse fruit flavors, balanced by acidity and tannins that will require a little cellar time to diffuse. The wines in this release will drink nicely in six months or in six years.
As a bonus, we have added a Cabernet Franc bottling this year. Normally relegated to a “back-seat” position as a blending wine in Bordeaux and California, our new Cab Franc displays all of the subtle but lush characteristics that have made this varietal renowned as the latest in world-class offerings from Washington State. It may be a new style to many, but we encourage you to give ours a try – you will be impressed!
As we prepare for our release in September – and the 2008 crush – we again thank you for your support and hope you enjoy the following offerings over the many years to come. We encourage you to contact us at our website and let us know how you feel about them.
All of our wines are released at a relatively ‘young’ age, and though drinkable now, they will benefit from more months in the bottle. As mentioned in some of the notes, you’ll be well rewarded for opening any of these beauties an hour or two ahead of time to best enjoy the wines we’ve produced.
Tasting Notes
2006 Merlot - Columbia Valley
Our latest offering turns up the volume on fruit flavors several notches, displaying powerful cherry and raspberry, followed by toasty vanilla. This is a full-throttle merlot that will hold up to any meal. Go ahead… try to lay this one down until early 2009.
51 cases produced
93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon
$20 750ml Bottle
2006 Syrah - Columbia Valley
A restrained, but elegant Syrah with spicy plum-fruit overtones balanced by a nutty oak finish. This smoothly textured wine will complement any meal, not dominate it. Drinkable now, best enjoyed in early 2009.
78 cases produced
95% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
$18 750ml Bottle
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon - Columbia Valley
A blockbuster cabernet that exhibits lengthy fruit flavors of cherry and currant that melt like candy into a long vanilla finish. This one epitomizes the big, bold Washington Cabernet style, and needs some cellar time to soften the pronounced tannins and integrate the balancing acidity…So rack this one away until the carnivores congregate in mid to late 2009, or open it up a couple of hours before you’re planning on enjoying.
48 cases produced
97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot
$24 750ml Bottle
2006 Cabernet Franc - Columbia Valley
This “new kid on the block” offers smooth, sophisticated flavors of raspberry and currant, in style with the best recent releases from Washington. Well-balanced now, add a few more months of cellaring and you’ll understand what the cab franc craze is all about.
62 cases produced
95% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
$19 750ml Bottle
2006 Rockin’ Red - Columbia Valley
Nearly equal parts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah come together in a balanced, fruit –forward fusion that has the acidic up-front muscle and the smooth vanilla notes at the close. Clearly our best offering for this blend and ready to “rock on” with any flavorful meal.
83 cases produced
36% Cabernet Sauvignon - 36% Merlot – 28% Syrah
$21 750ml Bottle
