Duckhorn Wine Company, a producer noted for their focus on premium Napa Valley Merlot today announced the release of its first Canvasback Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from grapes grown on the slopes of Washington State’s Red Mountain AVA. The inaugural 2012 vintage is a blend of four Red Mountain vineyards: Klipsun, La Coye, Shaw and Quintessence.
Canvasback’s inaugural Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon release was produced and bottled at Artifex Wine Company, a custom crush facility in Walla Walla.
The launch of this limited-release follows several years of groundwork by Duckhorn Wine Company in Washington State that has included the hiring of Washington winegrower Dick Boushey as vineyard manager, the acquisition and planting of Canvasback’s 20-acre Longwinds Estate Vineyard on Red Mountain, and the appointment of local winemaker Brian Rudin (former winemaker at Cadaretta and Buried Cane wineries).
After an extensive search facilitated by Dick Boushey, Duckhorn Wine Company chose Red Mountain as the site for Canvasback. With ideal soils, a perfect sloping southwestern exposure, and a dry desert climate with 40-plus degree temperature swings between day and night, Red Mountain is widely recognized as an outstanding region in Washington for growing Cabernet Sauvignon.
The young vines in the lower right portion of this photo are part of Duckhorn’s Longwinds Vineyard, located on the upper elevation of Washington’s Red Mountain AVA. (Staff photo)
“While our roots are in Napa Valley, we have always had a pioneering spirit,” says Duckhorn Wine Company President and CEO Alex Ryan. “This led us to champion New World Merlot at Duckhorn Vineyards, it took us to the Anderson Valley to make Pinot Noir at Goldeneye, and now it’s brought us to Red Mountain. There is an excitement and energy there that we are thrilled to be a part of. It’s the new frontier for luxury Cabernet.”
In 2013, Canvasback acquired a 20-acre unplanted vineyard site on Red Mountain, situated just above Col Solare (the vineyard partnership between Tuscany’s Marchesi Antinori and Washington’s Ste. Michelle Wine Estates). The site is located near the top of the mountain, above the frost zone at an elevation of approximately 1,100 to 1,300 feet. In June 2014, under the guidance of Brian Rudin and Dick Boushey, Canvasback planted the site to 75 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, with the remainder being Merlot.
“With our Longwinds Vineyard, we’ve quite literally put down roots here on Red Mountain,” says Rudin. “This is an important part of our long-term vision for Canvasback, and our goal of making a great terroir-driven wine from one of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon winegrowing regions. I’ve been given all the tools to meet this goal: one of the finest vineyard sites on the mountain, the ability to establish an estate vineyard from scratch, and access to the finest winegrowing partners in the region.”