CIMENTO RELEASE
Readers looking for the next big thing in Washington wine will need to put Cimento on their radar.
These are world-class wines.
– Jeb Dunnuck
“This is a new winery focusing on estate wines from the Rocks District. Todd Alexander (Force Majeure, Holocene, and others) serves as winemaker. Cimento is a winery clearly reaching for the brass ring and, in its inaugural releases, already grasping it firmly in hand”
– Sean Sullivan – Northwest Wine Report
“This is one of the most important projects to keep an eye on in Washington”
– Eric Guido – Vinous Media
Welcome to the inaugural release of Cimento wines. We sincerely appreciate your interest in our endeavor to connect with a curated group of people who appreciate world-class wines from our estate vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley.
Going forward, our releases will feature Bordeaux and Rhone varietals from our three Rocks District AVA vineyards. Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet, and Rhone whites will be the core of our offerings. The 2022 vintage release will feature the debut of our Orselli Estate wines, and are not to be missed.
The two wines in this debut release are from the 2021 vintage. The 2021 growing season got off to a bit of a stressful start, with the infamous “heat dome” hanging around in June. Three weeks of very high temperatures created concern that we were in for an inferno vintage. The timing of this heat event, early in the season, meant that we did not have any compromised fruit. Had this occurred in August, we would have been more likely to experience sunburn, shrivel, raisining, etc. After the heat dome ended, we had a warm but beautiful growing season and September did what it typically does in the Pacific Northwest – gave us even, beautiful ripening weather. The fruit itself held great acidity and freshness despite the heat of the season, and we found the wines exhibit a lot of depth and gorgeous, supple texture.
The 2021 Syrah comes from Le Mani (“The Hands”) Vineyard, one of our estate vineyards, which was planted in 2001 and was formerly known as River Rock Vineyard. This vineyard is named in honor of the farm workers who tend to the grapes by hand. The wine underwent 33-day maceration and was aged for 18 months in 30% new French oak. It elicits compelling floral aromatics along with wet rock minerality, dark raspberry, and baking spice, with flavors of dried orange rind, black olive tapenade, and bacon fat.
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon comes from our estate San Tommaso Vineyard, named for Tom Waliser, who planted the vineyard in 1998. With nearly 30 years of age on these vines, they are producing wines of beautiful balance and age-worthy structure. This Cabernet was aged for 22 months in 70% new French oak and shows notes of gamey meats, cassis, black currant, baking spice, fresh herbs, tobacco leaf, and dried flowers.
Cimento is more than just a wine brand; it’s an opportunity for all of us to come together and experience life through wine. We will host events across the country, not only to enjoy Cimento wines but also to explore a variety of wines in diverse settings. As a member of our community, Cimento will serve as your invitation to join a new kind of experience. Stay tuned as we will soon announce more on this front. We invite you to be a part of this journey with us.
You will find your allocation of the 2021 vintage Syrah and Cabernet at the link below. (Customers taking their full allocation will have a one-of-a-kind, special surprise in store).