One of the great young talents in Washington wine, Andrew Januik is the son of Mike Januik, owner and head winemaker at Novelty Hill-Januik winery and former head winemaker at Chateau St. Michelle. Since his teenaged years, Andrew has worked at Novelty Hill-Januik Winery and has taken on a large winemaking role with his father at Januik and Novelty Hill. In 2011 he launched his new label and made his first wine, Stone Cairn, which was very well received by critics. Andrew is not only a super talented winemaker but a really great guy to chat wine with. Having worked harvests across the globe, he deftly applies what he has learned from other winemaking regions into his wines.
Andrew’s winemaking style pushes intensity while reaching a nice mineral-driven backbone. I find this somewhat akin to warm vintage Bordeaux wines, showing both muscle and tension. The new releases were some seriously good wines. Look for his gorgeous 2015 Andrew Januik ‘Lady Hawk’ Cabernet Sauvignon (WWB, 93) which is wonderfully dense and layered. Andrew is now producing a Syrah based wine the ‘Los Molinos’ (WWB, 92) which showed marvelous terroir, mouthfeel and range. Learn more about these fantastic wines at http://andrewjanuikwines.com/ Here are the great new wines by Andrew Januik.
2015 Andrew Januik ‘Stone Cairn’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2015 ‘Stone Cairn’ is sourced from the Quintessence, Obelisco, and Ciel du Cheval Vineyards, all located in the Red Mountain AVA. The nose to this Cabernet is lovely was the wine reveals black cherry syrup, black olive and smoked pork shoulder aromatics. The mid-palate weight and texture is gorgeous as the wine reveals blackberry pie, milk chocolate and sagebrush flavors that connect with a nice tension. This shows wonderful weight and poise from this Uber-warm vintage. Drink 2017-2025- 92
2015 Andrew Januik ‘Lady Hawk’ Cabernet Sauvignon- This great Cabernet by Andrew Januik has a wonderful bouquet, currently displaying loganberry preserves, milk chocolate shavings and sagebrush accents with creme de cassis. The palate is plush and deep, as the wine reveals boysenberry syrup, mocha, crushed mint and creme de cassis flavors. The weight here is really gorgeous. Drink 2017-2027- 93
2015 Andrew Januik ‘Los Molinos’ Syrah- The Syrah opens with aromatics of blood orange, bull blood, black olive tapenade and wild blackberry. The texture here is really nice, as the wine unveils blackberry cobbler, orange rind, black tea and coffee ground flavors that sit alongside some really nice minerality. Drink 2017-2025- 92