The 2009 Poet’s Leap Ice Wine finished at 8.5% alcohol and 31% residual sugar. Captivating aromas of peach and apricot with some tropical fruits in the background are followed by a viscous, sweet, intense, elixir held together by plenty of acidity. It is likely to provide enjoyment for at least a decade, but without any track record it is hard to be more precise. Long Shadows and its seven labels, each with its own star winemaker, is just the beginning of Alan Shoup’s visionary project. He has purchased controlling interest in the Wallulla Vineyard from the Den Hoed brothers who developed it and who will continue to manage this huge project on the cliffs overlooking the Columbia River. Shoup has renamed it The Benches. It must be seen to be believed, encompassing 20 miles of road carved through the development. Shoup’s plan is to have each Long Shadow label have its own cave built into the landscape. Some fruit from the Benches is already being incorporated into some of the Long Shadows wines.www.longshadows.com

A Long Shadows 2009 Riesling Poet’s Leap Ice Wine – raised in older barriques – is surprisingly understated for its genre, but utterly delightful. Candied lime and orange peel along with a hint of caramel infuse a plush, creamy palate, but enough primary citric juiciness is retained to provide real refreshment and balance the wine’s confectionary bent. The sort of clarity and purity one hopes for from frozen fruit is certainly attained here, and while I don’t find the results especially complex, this is a compellingly seductive libation that should merit attention for at least 4-5 years. Allen Shoup’s vision and ambition for Long Shadows – not to mention his financial commitment (banks, he reports, only ever kicked-in 20% of the total investment) – was and remains audacious, and he has clearly lived up to the promise he made to each of the world-renowned vintners whom he invited to craft a wine from Washington State that no expenses would be spared in giving them whatever it was they wanted from Long Shadow’s facilities, as well in extended elevage and leisurely release dates. “They took me up on my word a lot more than I thought they would,” says Shoup with a laugh. Along the way, manifestly talented Gilles Nicault – hired-away from Woodward Canyon in 2003 with the idea that he would be the point man doing the bidding of his much more famous winemaking colleagues – became more of a consultant and confident to them as well as being assigned a label and project of his own under the Long Shadows umbrella; and in 2006 a huge and hugely impressive facility was completed west of Walla Walla to house this unique operation. The number of visits made by each winemaking luminary to taste and tend his project varies, but there is every indication that they all take their aesthetic capital in Long Shadows (in which each also has an ownership share) very seriously. All of the above granted, as inspiring as this project and the participation of such internationally famous talents is – and must be as well for the growers of Washington collectively – those veterans who have set this State’s qualitative benchmarks were not in need of a Long Shadows to learn how or be inspired to render distinctive world class Washington wine. Sources for these projects include the estate vineyard The Benches – formerly Wallula Vineyards, but still managed for the Long Shadows partners by its founders, the Den Hoeds – as well as selected blocks of Boushey, Candy Mountain, Conner Lee, Sagemoor, Stone Tree and Tapteil. I’ve included a few details about the approach behind each of the Long Shadows wines in my notes on their most recent releases below. “If somebody went through these wines and said it was quite clear that they exhibited a common Long Shadows thread,” explains Shoup, “I wouldn’t like that compliment, because what I want is that each of these wines has its own signature.” Generally speaking though, I find a common denominator of extremely sweet, ripe, confitured fruit and surface polish. It also strikes me that the money Shoup and company aren’t sparing on new wood makes for one of their most efficacious but also least well-considered expenses, since many Long Shadow reds are awfully obviously marked by their toasted oak. Incidentally, Shoup and Nicault indicated that with the exception of John Duval (and then only for occasional lots), none of the Long Shadows collaborators believes in adding tartaric acid to their musts. Tel. (509) 526-0905

The 2008 Poet’s Leap Ice Wine has 32.8% residual sugar and 8.5% alcohol. Medium gold-colored with legs that cling to the glass, it sends up aromas of pure peach nectar leading to a sweet, intense, beautifully balanced wine that will deliver pleasure for many years to come. Long Shadows and its seven labels, each with its own star winemaker, is just the beginning of Alan Shoup’s visionary project. He has purchased controlling interest in the Wallulla Vineyard from the Den Hoed brothers who developed it and who will continue to manage this huge project on the cliffs overlooking the Columbia River. Shoup has renamed it The Benches. It must be seen to be believed, encompassing 20 miles of road carved through the development. Shoup’s plan is to have each Long Shadow label have its own cave built into the landscape. Some fruit from the Benches is already being incorporated into some of the Long Shadows wines. Armin Diel is the winemaker/partner in the Poet’s Leap label. The Saggi label is produced by Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari. Tel. (509) 526-0905; www.longshadows.com