2009 Andrew Will Red Two Blondes Vineyard

Named for his own vineyard, Chris Camarda’s 2009 Two Blonds represents a blend of 38% Cabernet Sauvignon with 31% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Mint, hedge flowers, blond tobacco, citrus oils, and dark berries inform a fetching nose and a strikingly silken palate with ample retention of primary juiciness, leading to an exuberant finish intriguingly inflected with iodine and peat. I feel confident that this will be worth following for at least half a dozen years. Over the nearly quarter-century during which manifestly talented and straight-talking Chris Camarda has been making wine under his Andrew Will label (on Vachon Island south of Seattle) his approach – which has always favored modest alcohol (if need be, via the tried-and-true method of must-watering) and elegance over flamboyance – has evolved significantly in method as well as in focusing increasingly on single-vineyard expression. Principle vineyards in question include his own Two Blonds (north of the Rattlesnake Hills); Champoux – in which he is one of the several winemaking shareholders; and no less famed Ciel du Cheval on Red Mountain. He used to extract via punch-downs in open-top tanks, with fermentation generally completed in barrel. Nowadays, Camarda utilizes closed tanks with a forced air system and his wines go to barrel at dryness. “I think the wines have more – and greater definition of – flavor” this way, he notes, “and they’re not as heavy.” Tel. (206) 463-9227