Pursued By Bear
Actor Kyle Maclachlan (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, The Doors, and many other films) is a native of Washington State's Columbia Valley winegrowing region. Washington State wine has brought Kyle back home to the Pacific Northwest to craft small lots of limited production red wines and a rosé that speak to the promise of this special terroir. Not with nostalgia, but with a new story to tell… a story of uncompromising quality and unlimited possibility.
Kyle felt connected to nature from his earliest memories, growing up among his father’s expansive gardens and the gnarled old fruit trees of Yakima, Washington. His interest in wine began in the mid-1980's after moving to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Frequently returning to Yakima to visit his father and his home, he began to explore the burgeoning Washington wine scene. Later, inspired by friends in Napa Valley, the notion of making his own Washington wine took hold. Kyle set out to create Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah that expressed the local terroir - an alluring mix of Old World elegance and New World grandeur. It wasn't long before a chance meeting with Walla Walla winemaker Eric Dunham led to a simple handshake that launched Pursued by Bear in 2005. In 2008, Eric passed the winemaking baton to veteran winemaker Daniel Wampfler, who continues to craft Pursued by Bear wines with the same passion and care that Eric inspired.
| Website | www.pursuedbybearwine.com/ |
|---|---|
| Wine Maker | Daniel Wampfler |
| Country | America |
| Region | Washington |
| Appellation | Columbia Valley |
From this Winery
Since its first vintage, the Blushing Bear Rosé has been inspired by the Bandol region of the south of France. Our current release, the 2019 Blushing Bear, captures the aromas and flavors of grapefruit, guava, sweet hints of melon and honey with a dry, crisp minerality throughout. This is a mouthwatering wine with a bright, refreshing finish. Bring on summer!
Sourced exclusively from Walla Walla Valley vineyards, hand-picked grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed to capture perfumed aromatics and delicate flavors. Afterwards, the juice was fermented, then aged in stainless steel for five months to deliver a clean, fresh style.
The debut release of our Bear Cub Red Wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominate blend, youthful and vibrant with bright, fresh fruit aromas and flavors. Black cherry and cola, with hints of vanilla bean and shaved cocoa, fill the glass. Soft and lush on the mid-palate, inviting dark fruit flavors, notably wild blackberry, blueberry pie and cassis, linger across a silky finish.
Generous layers of complex flavors are achieved by sourcing grapes from eight distinct vineyards, including sites located in the Horse Heaven Hills, Wahluke Slope, Red Mountain and Walla Walla Valley. Handpicked Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were sorted, gently fermented and aged in tight grain French oak barrels with thick staves to allow the fruit and oak to integrate slowly. Syrah, aged in 600L Taransaud puncheons, adds richness and depth to the mid-palate.
Our 2016 Baby Bear Syrah is brimming with the wine’s signature wild blackberry, dusty plum and shaved dark chocolate aromas and flavors that complement classic olive tapenade, bacon fat and a subtle hint of ground black pepper. Purposefully aged 32 months in large format (600L) Taransaud barrels to soften and integrate the wine, Baby Bear Syrah delivers fine, velvety tannins and vibrant acidity for a complex, layered wine, equally suited to cellaring as it is to enjoying on release.
Hand picked grapes were de-stemmed, carefully sorted to ensure optimal berry selection, and fermented in stainless steel tanks. Regular punch-downs helped to achieve full extraction. After primary fermentation, the wine was moved to oversized Taransaud puncheons (two-thirds new, one-third neutral French oak) to mature slowly and fully integrate the fruit and oak for refined, complex flavors.
Aromas of black cherry and dusty eucalyptus and flavors of cassis, cranberry and dark fruits have been the hallmarks of Pursued by Bear Cabernet Sauvignon since its debut in 2005. The 2016 vintage offers these characteristics with subtle aromas of cigar box and a hint of mocha also present across a textured mouthfeel that gives way to a long, persuasive finish.
The wine spent 28 months in Taransaud new French oak barrels. The tight grain and thick staves allow for longer barrel aging and create tannins that are integrated and refined.