2018 Harrison Hill

SNIPES MOUNTAIN AVA

25th Vintage

The 2018 vintage of Harrison Hill offers a slightly more hedonistic wine from these cherished older vines, with captivating fruit aromas, led by currant, incorporated into classically restrained and earthy bouquet of tobacco and violets.  Lively on the palate, decadent blackberry and mint flavors adorn a classic tannin structure, with an incredibly lengthy finish.  Youthful and slow to develop, oak is just beginning to fully integrate; yet balance throughout assures longevity in the bottle.

A Bordeaux-style blend from a small, historic vineyard on Snipes Mountain, this wine is labelled after the vineyard’s namesake – Harrison Hill. Over the past five decades, the state’s second oldest Cabernet vines have matured gracefully while producing progressively limited yields. This slow, elegant maturation is a compelling expression of what it means to be a terroir-driven wine.

William Bridgman planted vines on Harrison Hill in 1917, and the Cabernet block used for the backbone of this cuvee was planted at Harrison Hill in 1962, making these vines the 2nd oldest Cabernet in the state. David Lake and Associated Vintners (now Columbia Winery) eventually sold the vineyard to the Newhouse family, and via a connection made by Lake, DeLille Cellars has had the rights to the vineyard since their first vintage of Harrison Hill in 1994. The Newhouse family continues to farm the site for DeLille Cellars. In 2009, the Snipes Mountain AVA was approved, with this vineyard and wine cited in the petition.