Long Shadows Poet's Leap Riesling 2024

The 2024 Poet’s Leap Riesling offers striking aromatics, pure flavors and delicious acidity. The wine is exceptionally vibrant and varietally expressive, with delicate aromas of white blossoms, bright citrus, and minerality. Lively and precise, with a generous finish and beautifully balanced acidity, it is perhaps the finest expression of Poet’s Leap to date.

The 2024 Poet’s Leap Riesling was sourced equally from the White Bluffs and Yakima Valley AVAs. Fruit from White Bluffs contributes a rounded texture, bright acidity, and notes of white peach. Riesling from Yakima Valley brings citrus, minerality, and additional lift, creating a wine that is both vibrant and beautifully layered.

Though not without challenges, the 2024 growing season yielded a remarkable vintage. A cool spring delayed bud break and concern over frost damage earlier in the year led growers to anticipate a reduced crop. As the season unfolded, however, it became clear that yields were unexpectedly generous at a time when summer was marked by unusually inconsistent weather. The arrival of extraordinary October weather marked by warm days and cool nights that extended hang time and allowed the fruit to reach full physiological maturity culminating in an exceptional vintage showcasing the best of the Columbia Valley. needed to finish ripening and develop full physiological maturity.

Small lots of handpicked grapes underwent a gentle sorting process and were pressed as whole clusters to avoid bitterness. Fermentation occurred in stainless steel tanks at a cool 60°F to maintain fresh fruit aromas and flavors. Post-fermentation, winemaker Gilles Nicault assessed each lot thoughtfully, crafting a final blend to showcase the Riesling’s lively character, balanced acidity, sweetness, and aromatics.

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.