2009 Andrew Will Cabernet Franc Ciel du Cheval Vineyard

The Andrew Will 2009 Cabernet Franc Ciel du Cheval features dark berries and preserved walnuts in a bittersweet, richly-textured amalgam. An alluringly heady inner-mouth floral perfume amplifies the sense of bittersweetness in this big-bodied yet uncannily buoyant offering that finishes with deliciously diverse persistence. I would not be surprised to witness it remaining lovely for a decade. Camarda says he was never entirely confident about synergies among the three Bordeaux cepages in this site, and became increasingly enamored of what its Cabernet Franc could do solo, hence this successful experiment. 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