This Washington cabernet blurs the boundaries of tradition and experimentation
Winemakers experiment with processes like extended maceration to coax new, interesting flavors from old stand-by grapes, like cabernet.
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It can seem as if the only remaining adventures to be had in budget-conscious wine exploration involve tracking down rare wines from obscure grapes. Newer and curious wine drinkers have enthusiastically embraced this concept, but while there are enjoyable experiences to be had in spelunking through the cellars of rural Portugal or Romania, there can be moments of disappointment.
That’s why it’s worth exploring a different approach to wine adventure like this one from Washington, a wine that may feature a familiar grape but steps off the beaten track to do something new with it.
This cabernet sauvignon experiments with the boundaries of extended maceration, the process of letting wine stay in contact with grape skins and solids after the fermentation process is complete. Letting red wines steep this way for two to six extra weeks extracts more color, more flavor, and more antioxidant tannins, so it has become the norm for the luxury tier of bold red wines. In this case, the wine is a 50/50 blend of wine made using standard extended maceration as described above and wine made using an “extreme” variation on extended maceration where skin contact was maintained for a whopping nine months.
One might expect that doing this would simply dial up the wine’s color, flavor, and tannin even further, but the results are complex and non-linear. Tannins are instead tamed, leaving wine that feels as soft as butter on the palate. The flavor effects of the maceration distort and blur the distinctive flavors of the grape in interesting ways, coaxing out scents of lilac blossoms and flavors of blackberry cordial that both are and are not recognizable as cabernet sauvignon, as if reflected in a fun-house mirror. Like the street art label, this wine is unique and cannot be understood without the context of its environment: a decidedly modern wine region charting its own path.
Intrinsic Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington
$19.99, 14.5% alcohol
PLCB Item #2288
Sale price through 10/31 – regularly $23.99
Also available at:
Canal’s Bottlestop in Marlton — $19.09; canalswine.com
Wine Warehouse in Voorhees — $19.98; voorhees.winewarehousenj.com
Total Wine & More in Claymont, Del. — $19.99; totalwine.com