Hello friends. Another week brings us another “Red Wine” that is more than meets the eye. While the bottle simply says “2008 Red Wine – Horse Heaven Hills,” in reality this is a single-vineyard wine. For $9. Trey Busch (from Sleight of Hand Cellars) began his Renegade Wine project as a response to our recessionary climate. Renegade is a negociant model, so Trey is buying juice (not grapes), and then doing the blending and bottling himself.
In this case, we’re looking at 100% Canoe Ridge Vineyard fruit. This is a site in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA (see location here) that was planted in 1989 and has previously been used by some of Washington’s top wineries (Woodward Canyon, for one). The blend is a little unusual (39% Cab, 39% Cab Franc, 13% Grenache, 9% Syrah), but the result is thoroughly compelling for the price point.
Unlike many $9 wines, this avoids delving into fruit bomb territory and is actually quite representative of the Horse Heaven Hills. The profile is dark (blackberries, black cherries), and earthy. Chalky and mineral-driven in the middle, this finishes with drying, black-tea flavored tannins.
To date, the Renegade project has been wildly successful, with each bottling selling out within a month or two of release. This was released on June 1, so rather than go on at any greater length, I’m going to hit the send button and hope that we’re still early enough to secure a large parcel (I would not expect this to be available for long-term reorder).
Please note that this is the 2008 Horse Heaven Hills Red Wine and NOT the more ubiquitous 2008 Columbia Valley Red Wine. First come first served up to 36 bottles. We should have the wine in the warehouse in less than a week, at which point it will be available for pickup or shipping during the autumn shipping window.
