It is always a pleasure chatting with Long Shadows winemaker Gilles Nicault. He has been crafting some of the finest wines in Washington State now for many years. He’s witnessed many winemaking challenges, with the cold weather of 2011 and also some difficulties with 2019. That vintage was not easy with the freeze events in early October. Nicault remarked “We were so fortunate that we were a bit late going in terms of growing season and no heat spikes, a perfect growing season and September in 2019 was really beautiful” said Gilles. “In early October we had harvested and the freeze came when we were done. A few blocks we were not harvested yet but that was it.” Gilles noted “We did not have ripeness issues in 2019. Only with the Mourvèdre in 2019 for the Cote Nicault because I had to do a very firm selection of that. I took the best of the best.” Tasting through several of the 2019 wines that he made, there was plenty of dense dark fruit flavors. These are standout wines from this vintage.
We chatted about vintages to come, which excites Nicault particularly about the potential of red and white wines made in 2022.“ We only had one pick in October and I was worried about the vintage and then it started warming which helped so much, I had never seen such a beautiful fall. Instead of being rainy or cold at night it was just perfect weather for us and the fruit continued to hang and we had beautiful fruit” he said.
Long Shadows was formerly built on partnerships with other wineries but now Nicault is making all of the wines. “We have a great relationship with our growers and I think that shows in the wines” he said. The quality in the glass shows, as he has crafted another sensational range of wines for the Long Shadows program. We would also be remiss without sending out a tribute to the late Washington wine pioneer Allen Shoup. Shoup is a founding father of the Washington wine industry. He spent 20 years building Château Ste. Michelle and its affiliate wineries, serving as the company's CEO for 17 of those years before establishing Long Shadows in 2002. He had an incredible vision for Long Shadows and built a world-class wine brand from the ground up.
I adored the new 2022 Long Shadows ‘Poet’s Leap’ Riesling (OB, 94) which is arguably the finest Riesling made in Washington. This shows gobs of finesse with a silky texture and just the slightest semblance of sweetness. Don’t miss out on the 2019 Long Shadows ‘Pirouette’ Red Wine (OB, 96) which utilizes five Bordeaux varietals and displays both elegance and richness with fantastic underlying tension. Learn more about these famed wines at longshadows.com and here are my reviews of the beautiful new Long Shadows wines.
2022 Long Shadows ‘Cymbal’ Sauvignon Blanc- Stored in stainless steel, concrete tanks, and French oak barrels, the 2022 ‘Cymbal’ comes from 1972 Sauvignon Blanc plantings from Bacchus Vineyard, as well as some from Boushey and Gamache Vineyard. This shows incredible texture and sense of weight with bright acidity with gooseberry and melon tones, as well as baking spices and Pink Lady apple flavors. Drink 2023-2030- 93
2022 Long Shadows ‘Poet’s Leap’ Riesling- The 2022 ‘Poet’s Leap’ mainly comes from the Gamache Vineyard with vines that were planted in the 1980s. This wine was originally made in conjunction with German producer Armand Diehl. Only 1 G/L sugar, this Trocken style has fantastic tension with petrol, lemon/lime zest, juicy white peach, wet stone and shades of Gravenstein apple. Nicely textured, this is gorgeous stuff that is amongst the finest made in Washington State. Drink 2023-2030- 94
2021 Long Shadows ‘Dance’ Chardonnay- The outstanding 2021 ‘Dance’ Chardonnay is mostly sourced from the Gamache, Boushey and French Creek Vineyards. Stored in cement eggs as well as neutral and new French oak barrels, this is a stunning new wine that did not undergo full malolactic fermentation. Right away toasty oak and melon tones fill the nose alongside lemon zest and shades of creme brûlée. The palate is silky smooth and refined with incredible elegance and richness. Finishing extremely long, with good freshness, this is delicious Chardonnay to savor now and over the next ten years to come. Drink 2023-2033- 94
2019 Long Shadows ‘Sequel’ Syrah- This 100% varietal ‘Sequel’ underweight 33% whole cluster fermentation and was stored in 65% new French oak for 18 months before bottling. The nose shows a dusting of white pepper with smoked meats, Kalamata olives, bacon fat and shades of boysenberry cordial. This shows great freshness and stuffing with very dense and hedonistic black fruit flavors alongside savory and salty notes. Finishing long, this is gorgeous Syrah that will live on for another fifteen plus years. Drink 2023-2038- 95
2019 Long Shadows ‘Pedestal’ Merlot- The 2019 ‘Pedestal’ Merlot was stored in 80% new French oak for 22 months before bottling. Black Forest Cake and espresso grounds fill the nose alongside sandalwood tones. Silky on the mouth and showing refined tannins, this packs a punch despite the coolness of the vintage. The oak caresses the palate as the wine revels in its dense cassis, tar and black cherry cordial flavors alongside dark chocolate shavings. This has some terrific aging potential and give this an hour in the decanter if enjoying now. Drink 2023-2040- 95
2019 Long Shadows ‘Pirouette’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The brilliant 2019 Long Shadows ‘Pirouette’ Red Wine combines 56% Cabernet Sauvignon 33% Merlot and the reminder Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The wine was stored in 75% new French oak before bottling. Very pure dark fruits combine dark chocolate shavings, green herbs, anise and creme de cassis. The palate is dense and chewy with refined tannins that frame a massive core of black and blue fruit flavors. Everything is wonderfully in balance here. Kudos to Gilles Nicault who has crafted another masterpiece in a difficult vintage for Bordeaux varietals. Drink 2023-2040- 96