Latta Malbec Northridge 2013

FROM PRODUCER:

93 pts Wine Enthusiast 

This opaque purple/black wine has a soaring perfume of mineral, lavender, exotic spices, incense, blueberry, licorice, and dusty cocoa. Layered and structured, this effort will see benefit from 4-5 years of additional cellaring and should drink well for the next 15-20. Our Malbec produced here amid the struggle of a warm site with gravelly soils rich in iron and calcium, starts as supremely concentrated fruit.  Yields were 2.9 tons/acre, fermented native with maceration at 39 days.  The wine then went to barrel for 22 months in 40% new french oak.

Northridge Vineyard was planted in 2003 in the Wahluke Slope AVA of Washington State.  This exceptional site is a warm plateau composed of ancient soil and gravel is located in the foothills of the Saddle Mountain range at the upper reaches of the AVA boundary.  The vineyard resides on a gentle south facing slope with a north/south vine row orientation.  The topsoil here is less than a foot deep giving way to a gravelly mix of basalt and caliche. The elevation, ~1200 ft., and slope of the site allows this warm high desert plateau to cool off dramatically in the evening, producing swings of 40- 50 degrees in the summer, allowing the Malbec to ripen perfectly without losing its balanced acidity.