For years I have loved the wines of Long Shadows, one of the premier wine lineups that you will find anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. Allen Shoup had a celebrated 20-year career leading Chateau Ste. Michelle, its affiliate wineries and Washington wines to international prominence. Shoup retired to establish Long Shadows in 2002, the most ambitious and personal project of his storied career. He hired Gilles Nicault to be winemaker, serving as the director of winemaking and viticulture, while collaborating with a team of all-star vintners to refine Allen’s vision. Gilles is making some of the most consistently great wines in the Pacific Northwest, including arguably Washington’s finest Riesling to silky and concentrated Cabernets. He also makes the finest Super-Tuscan inspired wine in Washington, the ‘Saggi.’
Long Shadows has recently released a new line of wines that are their ultra-premium and limited production bottlings, their ‘Meritant’ series. I tasted with Nicault and was so impressed with the wines. I went back the next day and re-tasted the wines. You are going to be blown away with these bottlings. Learn more at https://longshadows.com/ and here are my reviews of the incredible new ‘Meritant’ wines by Long Shadows.
2024 Long Shadows ‘Meritant’ Chardonnay- One of the finest Chardonnays that I have tasted in the past year, the 2024 Long Shadows ‘Mertiant’ Chardonnay was sourced entirely from the famed Celilo Vineyard. The wine was stored in all 600L barrels (light toast, tight grain) prior to bottling. Brioche, bananas foster and shades of rich cardamom dusted melon all mark the nose. The palate is big and bold, with amazing tension and salty minerality. The sense of place and salinity from this special vineyard is clear. The finish is exceedingly long as this is dazzling in its heady youth. Drink 2026-2037- 97
2022 Long Shadows ‘Meritant’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2022 ‘Meritant’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a barrel selection wine hailing from Red Mountain. It was stored in all new French oak, as the oak integration is spectacular. There is loads of tension and bright acidity from this slightly cooler vintage — yet this beauty builds in weight and flavor density with more and more air. Creme de violette and tar flavors combine with sagebrush, black currant cordial and blackberry pie with milk chocolate dusted Arabica bean on the palate. Decadent and dense with serious minerality, make sure you give this another year in the bottle to fully evolve. Flirting with perfection, enjoy this total heavyhitter now and over the next fifteen to twenty years to come. Tasted twice over two days with consistent notes. Drink 2027-2050- 99