Airfield Estates Dauntless
WHY WE LOVE IT
- 100% Estate grown.
- Each varietal was carefully selected for this blend, from blocks that are the best suitable for each grape varietal.
- This high caliber blend was created with a bounty of the best fruits and a nice touch of balanced oak and soft tannins to create a well-balanced wine.
Varietal: 50% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc
Elaboration: The grapes were sent to various size fermenters, the grapes were then cold soak for 48 before being inoculated with several different strains of yeast. Our extraction approach is to be aggressive at the beginning of fermentation, this allows us to extract the color and flavors. Once alcohol levels start to increase throughout fermentation, we then take a much gentler approach to our extraction as to not overly extract tannins with our end goal being a soft and lush finish wine, yet still maintaining balance and structure. After fermentation, each lot was then sent to a variety of new and neutral French oak barrels and inoculated for malolactic fermentation. After that process, each barrel had its lees stirred twice a month for up to five months to help build structure and roundness while enhancing the mouthfeel and acting as a fining agent to naturally soften the wines. The final blend was aged in 100% French oak for 16 months, with 27% being new French oak, 28% 1 to 3-year-old French oak, and 45% neutral oak.
Tasting Notes: A Right Bank style blend, displays generous dark and red fruit aromas along with velvet like structure on the palate. Aromas of blackberry jam and dark cassis intertwine with subtle layers of licorice and savory roasted herbs. The palate shows its restrained tannin structure that bursts with flavors of sweet plums, smoked caramel, dark espresso, and hints of sweet pipe tobacco. The wine finishes with remarkably smooth tannins and accentuated notes of French oak that linger on the palate. Enjoy now through 2033 with optimal maturity peaking around 2029.
PRESS
2020 – 91 Wine Enthusiast
2021 – 91 Wine Enthusiast
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Airfield Estates is a fourth-generation family vineyard based in the Yakima Valley, Washington. Today the winery is overseen by brother-sister duo Marcus Miller and Lori Stevens. The siblings prepared themselves for this endeavor. Marcus pursued an MBA in Finance and a degree in Viticulture and Enology, interning at Canoe Ridge in Walla Walla, he also worked as winemaker at Tsilan Cellars in Chelan and harvester at Montana Brancott Winery in Marlborough, New Zealand. Laurie obtained a Master’s in Wine Business from the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, South Australia, with a background in retail distribution management..
Prior to its farming days, Airfield Estates operated as a training base for hundreds of Army Air Corps pilots during World War II. The airbase closed in 1944, and the airplane hangars and other buildings were auctioned off to the Miller family for $1. The ranch produced alfalfa, asparagus, potatoes, onions, and oats, as well as cattle and hogs. Founder H. Lloyd Miller’s entrepreneurial spirit brought him in contact with President Roosevelt to find the funding for the Rosa Canal Project in the Yakima Valley, enabling irrigation water access from the high mountains to the soon-to-be established 830-acre winery. In 1967, Don Miller, the current owner’s grandfather, planted three “test” varietals, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, which would lead to more than 20 different varietals being greenhouse-propagated and commercially planted by 1971 as the oldest established AVA in Washington State.