2023 Piolet Viognier

Winemaker Notes

Our impression of this wine – The vineyards always seem to know something the rest of us do not comprehend. This wine carries that feeling. Peach and ginger. Jasmine. Stone. Sweet blossoms. It opens slowly and keeps opening. Every glass showing a different face. The best wines often show wisdom and ignorance. Long songs and patient wines tend to reward the same people.

Necessary Listening – Neil Young – Cortez the Killer

Vintage Notes

The 2023 season in Washington felt patient. Winter delivered deep reserves of moisture, soaking soils that often exist on the edge of deficiency. Spring arrived cautiously, delaying budbreak and stretching the calendar just enough to make everyone glance nervously at their watches. Vineyard managers paced rows like expectant parents, wondering when the vines would decide it was time.

Vines have never been particularly concerned with human schedules.
When warmth finally settled in, the growing season unfolded in steady rhythm. No dramatic heat spikes, no frantic harvest scrambles. Just long days of sunlight and the familiar comfort of cool desert nights that allow Cabernet Sauvignon to stretch its legs slowly and deliberately.

Ripening took its time.

Clusters darkened gradually. Flavors deepened. Tannins softened and polished themselves as if the fruit knew precisely what it wanted to become. By the time harvest arrived, the vintage felt confident.

Years like that leave their fingerprint on the wines. Not loud or frantic. Just balanced, assured, and quietly powerful.