2008 SHOUP 1.5L
For the past six years, Allen Shoup and Gilles Nicault have been working together to create a wine that will exemplify Washington state's unique ability to grow and produce an intensly concentrated and richly perfumed classic Bordeaux blend.
The 2008 growing season was a bit cooler than usual, delaying veraison slightly, but thorough care throughout the growing season kept the vines in balance and set the stage for an excellent vintage. Weather conditions were beautiful in September and October, marked by the Columbia Valley’s warm fall days and cool nights. The grapes ripened perfectly, and the resulting wines offer lush, bold flavors and balanced acidity.
Deep in color, the 2008 SHOUP is an intensly concentrated wine that offers currant, ripe plum and oak spice aromas. With its opulant mouthfeel and layers of blackberry and minerality on the palate, this wine is equally notable for its rich dimension and a lengthy, textured finish.
94 POINTS - WINE ADVOCATE
| Download Wine Notes |
| Vintage | 2008 |
| Varietal | Red Blend |
| Varietal Composition | 50% Cabernet Sauvignon
25% Merlot
20% Petit Verdot
5% Cabernet Franc |
| Appellation | Columbia Valley |
| Acid | 0.55 grams / 100ml |
| PH | 3.88 |
| Alcohol | 14.70% |
| Wine Style | Red Blend |
| Volume | 1.5 liter |
2008 SHOUP - 94 POINTS
"Classic in style, with beautiful precision and focus, the 2008 SHOUP offers up notions of wild herbs, currants, tobacco and spice box along with a full-bodied, brilliantly pure texture and feel on the palate. This wine is straight and laser focused, without skimping on fruit or texture. Enjoy it over the coming decade or more."
|
Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonnet Vineyard at the Benches in the Horse Heave Hills forms the basis for this wine and gives the 2008 SHOUP its elegance and structure. Dionysus Vineyard Merlot enhances the wine’s color and rich flavors; Red Mountain Merlot brings bold, dark fruit. Dionysus Vineyard Petit Verdot adds a layer of refinement, contributing vibrant blueberry and offering good structure and acidity. Weinbau Vineyard Cabernet Franc builds in an extra layer of complexity.
Gilles Nicault has served as director of winemaking and viticulture since Long Shadows inception in 2003. As resident winemaker overseeing daily operations at Long Shadows' state-of-the-art winery in Walla Walla, Gilles works with a group of celebrated vintners from around the globe. It is his job to ensure that each winemaker's vision is realized in the vineyard and the cellar.
While many winemakers would find this proposition a daunting task, French-born Nicault describes the position as his "dream job." Those who know Gilles best say it is his insatiable curiosity and desire to learn something new every day as well as his winemaking skills that make him uniquely qualified for the position. In addition to executing daily operations at the winery, Gilles is the winemaker for Long Shadows' acclaimed Chester-Kidder, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah blend that carries his signature.
Gilles grew up in southern France and graduated from the University of Avignon with a degree in Viticulture and Enology. He honed his craft in the fabled hillside vineyards and wineries of Cotes Du Rhone, Provence and Champagne. On 1994, already a vintner of rising fame in his homeland, Gilles traveled to Washington State to expand his winemaking skills.
Impressed by Washtington State's vineyards and the opportunity to be part of a growing wine community, he stayed in the Columbia Valley, working for Staton Hills and Hogue Cellars before joining Woodward Canyon in 1996, where he stayed until moving to Long Shadows in June 2003. Sharing Woodward Canyon's passion for world-class wine, Gilles soon found Woodward Canyon's founder Rick Small was his ideal mentor and biggest champion. In 1999, Woodward Canyon named Gilles head of enology and production.
Gilles is married to winemaker Marie-Eve Gilla of Forgeron Cellars, also an acclaimed winemaker. The couple wilves in Walla Walla with their two children.
