Airfield Estates
Yakima Valley Merlot
Yakima Valley, Columbia Valley, Oregon/Washington, USA
Really beautiful garnet color. Nose is subdued, most purple fruit and woodsy cedar notes. Plum, dark cherry, raspberry, and blackberry, as well as an ashy tobacco, leather, and cedar wood box on the palate. A hint of green pepper. I want to like this one more but it just doesn’t quite have the balance or concentration. The earthy notes are too one dimensional and a bit too strong , which keeps the fruit from really shining.
Really beautiful garnet color. Nose is subdued, most purple fruit and woodsy cedar notes. Plum, dark cherry, raspberry, and blackberry, as well as an ashy tobacco, leather, and cedar wood box on the palate. A hint of green pepper. I want to like this one more but it just doesn’t quite have the balance or concentration. The earthy notes are too one dimensional and a bit too strong , which keeps the fruit from really shining.
Feb 21st, 2021
Yawn: nothing special here, varietally correct, not as sturdy or concentrated as I hoped w/mediocre finish.
Yawn: nothing special here, varietally correct, not as sturdy or concentrated as I hoped w/mediocre finish.
Jan 31st, 2021
We visited the Airfield tasting room in Woodinville on our first tasting trip as Seattle transplants - mainly due to the fact that they still, astonishingly, had a five dollar fee for six (heavy) pours. Airfield uses 100% estate grown grapes (27 varietals) out of their 860 acres in Yakima Valley going on now for 40 years. The climate and geography are such that, according to the producer, they do not rely on grafted rootstock. The winery takes it's name due to its proximity to a WWII airbase at the foot of the Rattlesnake Mountains. Of the three styles of Merlot, this one falls into the fruit/tannic bucket. Paired with a brown butter gnocchi. ~$25 | #airfield #merlot #yakimavalley
On the eyes: Deep, opaque, purplish-ruby, med+ stain, med+ tears. No gas/floc.
On the nose: A bit vinuous, blackberry, ripe black plum, violet, a bit of wet slate, med alcohol.
On the tongue: Med acid, med alcohol, med+ tannin, round in the mouth, med body. Blackberry, floral, jammy plum, ending in thick clove. Decent finish.
We visited the Airfield tasting room in Woodinville on our first tasting trip as Seattle transplants - mainly due to the fact that they still, astonishingly, had a five dollar fee for six (heavy) pours. Airfield uses 100% estate grown grapes (27 varietals) out of their 860 acres in Yakima Valley going on now for 40 years. The climate and geography are such that, according to the producer, they do not rely on grafted rootstock. The winery takes it's name due to its proximity to a WWII airbase at the foot of the Rattlesnake Mountains. Of the three styles of Merlot, this one falls into the fruit/tannic bucket. Paired with a brown butter gnocchi. ~$25 | #airfield #merlot #yakimavalley
On the eyes: Deep, opaque, purplish-ruby, med+ stain, med+ tears. No gas/floc.
On the nose: A bit vinuous, blackberry, ripe black plum, violet, a bit of wet slate, med alcohol.
On the tongue: Med acid, med alcohol, med+ tannin, round in the mouth, med body. Blackberry, floral, jammy plum, ending in thick clove. Decent finish.
