Silver Totem Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
“Surely this is Horse Heaven!
Its wide prairies and rolling expanses led an early pioneer to proclaim that the region looked like horse heaven, and as a result, the area was appropriately named. Horse Heaven Hills is in south central Washington state, geographically bound on its northern border by the Yakima River and in the south, by the larger Columbia River.
Its proximity to the Columbia River contributes to a variety of climactic factors that dramatically affect its grapes. In particular, an increase in wind from changes in pressure along the river, which flows from the cool and wet Pacific Ocean, inland to Washingtons hot and arid plains, creates 30% more wind than there would be otherwise. These winds moderate temperatures, protect against mold and rot, reduce the risk of early and late season frosts, diminish canopy size and toughen grape skins.
The vineyards bordering the river are on steep, south-facing, well-exposed slopes, with well-drained, sandy-loam soils. But the soils of the appellation are diverse throughout, ranging from wind-blown sand and loess, Missoula Flood sediment, and rocky basalt. Horse Heaven Hills has an arid continental climate with elevations ranging from 200 to 1,800 feet.
Silver Totem 2017 Wallula Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
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Aromas of green pepper, baking spice, struck match and plum lead to broad-feeling but still elegant green pepper and cherry flavors. A light squeeze of tannin finishes it off. It’s a straight-down-the-fairway interpretation of Cabernet, showing the variety’s more elegant side. Sean P. Sullivan
All tastings reported in the Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, products are tasted in peer-group flights of from 5-8 samples. Reviewers may know general information about a flight to provide contextvintage, variety or appellationbut never the producer or retail price of any given selection. When possible, products considered flawed or uncustomary are retasted.
Ratings reflect what our editors felt about a particular product. Beyond the rating, we encourage you to read the accompanying tasting note to learn about a products special characteristics.
Silver Totem Cabernet Sauvignon
Silver Totem is our version of a quintessential Washington Cabernet Sauvignon it is not so ripe and jammy as to be Californian and not so lean and gravelly as to be mistaken for a left bank Bordeaux. This is a full-bodied red wine with notes of blackberry and oak that has been aged for 16 months to soften tannins and give it an extra flair.
SOIL
Wind-blown loess on basalt bedrock.
PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE
The grapes for Silver Totem come from the premiere Horse Heaven Hills AVA. The grapes are machine harvested using the latest Pellenc harvester technology guaranteeing that only perfect berries are picked. Fermented in stainless steel tanks at high temperatures for a short period of time and then cooled down to 82°F to avoid extracting too many tannins. The total time on the skin is 7 to 10 days. Half of the wine is aged in oak barrels and the other half is aged in a tank for 20-24 months prior to bottling.
BOUQUET
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