Horse Heaven

'Making great wine is like painting a great picture: you have to have some idea of what you want to paint before you put paint to canvas. We’ve got a great site—we’ve got great paint! If you want to make a great bottle of wine, you’ve got to think about what you’re doing in the field. You’ve got to know why you did this, and why you did that, and why one worked and the other didn’t. You’ve got to keep working because the desire is to put great art on the canvas.'

[Jim Holmes, owner, Ciel du Cheval vineyard]

FROM THE sand, silt and basalt of arguably Wasington State's finest vineyard, Ciel du Cheval (supposedly named in honour of Château Cheval Blanc because of the large plantings of Cabernet Franc) comes an extremely powerful, ravishing and symmetrical wine.

On the nose, this smart, Seattle-settled being - Andrew Will's '03 - suggests clotted cream, blackcurrant pudding with dark cherry and milk chocolate. On the palate, balance, satin soft tannins, with a sustained, lightly pepper seasoned aftertaste. Incidentally, the front label reads 14.5P/C ABV; the back, 16P/C(?)

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A lyrically beautiful video from Taransaud, coopers to the stars, including A.W., may be downloaded HERE.