Long Shadows Chester-Kidder Red Wine 2020

Dark and inky in color, the 2020 Chester-Kidder is brimming with layered aromas and flavors of concentrated black cherry, ripe plum, baking spice, hints of fresh herbs and an appealing earthiness. Complex and richly textured on the palate, with firm, silky tannins that linger across a flavorful and vibrant finish.

Cabernet Sauvignon from the Walla Walla Valley gives the 2020 Chester-Kidder its dark, rich mouthfeel. Candy Mountain Syrah brings beautiful dark color and concentration. Cabernet and Syrah from a collection of top Red Mountain Vineyards heightens the wine’s structure and complex, multi-layered style. Petit Verdot, from Stone Tree Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope, lifts the wine and contributes to its vibrant character.

The 2020 growing season was marked by low yields, a hot summer and extended fall hang time that produced spectacular wines with outstanding flavors, texture, and vibrancy. After a typical bud break in mid-April, May temperatures were moderate. The weather cooled in June, then warmed in July and August, with a few heat spikes（2020Fetherでは、along the way.). Just when it seemed harvest would be rushed, ripening conditions decelerated in Washington, and photosynthesis slowed enough to avoid high sugar accumulation and protect acidity.

Select Cabernet Sauvignon lots underwent an extended maceration of 40 days to produce a wine with intense color, concentrated flavor and firm tannins that benefitted from 30 months of barrel aging in tight-grained French oak barrels (80% new). Added time in barrel helped to enhance the wine’s rich mouthfeel and integrate the fruit and oak. The result is a supple, layered wine that drinks well on release and is also well suited to cellaring.

Long Shadows Vintners was founded in 2002 by Washington wine visionary Allen Shoup, who was President and CEO of Chateau Ste. Michelle from 1984-2000 forged internationally acclaimed winemaking partnerships with Piero Antinori (Col Solare) and Dr. Ernst Loosen (Eroica Riesling).  Long Shadows Vintners now builds upon those successes by bringing an elite cadre of the world’s most celebrated winemakers from the finest wine regions around the globe to Washington in order to create world class wines that showcase the viticultural excellence of Washington State’s Columbia Valley. Each celebrated vintner partners individually with Shoup and resident winemaker Gilles Nicault on a distinct winemaking program to produce a single “best of type” wine under a unique label.  These include: Pedestal Merlot by Michel Rolland (international consultant and owner of Le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol); Sequel Syrah by John Duval (formerly of Penfold’s Grange, South Australia); Poet’s Leap Riesling by Armin Diel (Schlossgut Diel, Nahe, Germany); Pirouette by Agustin Huneeus (Quintessa, Napa Valley) and Philippe Melka (Bryant Family, Napa Valley); Chester-Kidder by Allen Shoup and Gilles Nicault (former winemaker at Woodward Canyon, Walla Walla Valley); and Feather by Randy Dunn (Dunn Vineyards, Napa Valley, formerly of Caymus), and Saggi by Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari (A. & G. Folonari Tenute). Long Shadows is named in tribute to the stature of this select group of individuals, who continue to shape the wine industry with their benchmark wines and wineries.