From: Columbia Valley, Washington, USA
Varietal: Merlot
Tasting Notes: Woodinville producer Rob Entrekin works with clone 348 Merlot from Stillwater Creek Vineyard in Washington’s Frenchman Hills, and he presents this in a bolder yet mature style from his Finn Hill Winery. Aromas of red currant, dried cherry, and toasty oak, the latter an indicator of the 21 months in 100% new French barrels from Leroi and Sylvain. On the palate is where it comes alive with more cherry and currant flavors with dusty tannins and age-worthy pomegranate acidity.
It all started with a question.....
"How is it that two wines made from exactly the same grapes can taste completely different?"
Chasing the answer to that question transformed biomedical engineer Rob Entrekin from a wine drinker into a winemaker.
Rob enrolled in the Washington State University enology certificate program in 2007. Inspired by his fellow classmates, many of whom were already professional winemakers, Finn Hill Winery was licensed and bonded in Rob's two-car garage on Finn Hill in September 2008. Annual production started at 150 cases, but after a few years, space constraints dictated a move to the warehouse district where annual production today is less than 1,000 cases -- still at the "micro-winery" level.
This small scale allows Rob to pay tremendous attention to every detail of the wine-making process, and to use the best grapes and the finest French oak barrels available. This results in wines with elegance and power, which reflect the vineyard's distinct terroir or "sense of place".
Rob's goal is to handcraft small lots of premium Washington wine that he thinks tastes fantastic. He hopes you will think they taste fantastic, too.
