2014 Killer Cluster Edel
| Vintage: | 2014 |
| Varietal Composition: | |
| 54% | Pinot Gris |
| 21% | Riesling |
| 19% | Muscat Canelli |
| 5% | Gewurztraminer |
| 1% | Albarino |
A pretty powerful wine these varieties but also true to themselves in aromatic intensity. The wine shoots from the glass with quince, Meyer lemon, cantaloupe, floral and peach aromas. The palate is both abundant and fresh with a full body and great streams of acidity. It is a great summer sipper or with many dishes not but will also age well short to mid-term (about 6 years).
The fruit for the Edel all came from the Yakima Valley from Crawford Vineyard which is pretty close to the base of Snipes Mountain. A very dry vineyard with intense summer heat and sun cooling dramatically at night leads to rich and powerful wines that can still maintain a sense of elegance through its acidity. The Loess soils are also incredibly well drained combining with being in dessert like conditions the wines tend to have great density.
The 2014 vintage in Washington State showed some very intense heat during the days while still cooling off at night. The fruit set was about average so there was sufficient fruit around the State which was good to allow a little prolonged ripening since it was so hot and dry. The wine are rich and powerful with generous fruit all held together with balanced acidity.
The Edel essentially came about because of the style of Riesling that arrived on our crush pad. With an absolute love of vibrant and crisp Riesling, imagine our surprise to find rich Riesling at 26.7 brix on the crush pad. Well it was time to rethink ourselves. Also a fan of an Alsatian wine style called Edelzwicker we thought that may work. Essentially it is an Alsatian variety blend (and we threw in 1% Albarino for good measure….and to top the tank ). So, all the components were cool fermented in stainless steel after a light pressing except about ¼ of the Riesling. That portion of the Riesling was fermented in oak puncheons adding weight and depth (and because we thought we were talented enough to make a dessert wine…maybe not). After fermentation it was clear a blend was best for all of the components to make something rich and delicious. The blended wine stayed together for 4 months before being filtered and bottled.
This is a pretty versatile wine given its weight and acidity. Works remarkably well during grill outs because of its versatility. Especially try it with Jambalaya or a more aromatic shellfish Paella.