Long Shadows estate spotlight
The official Long Shadows Vintners channel walks the Walla Walla cellar where Gilles Nicault crafts Pirouette, the Bordeaux blend first built with Philippe Melka.
2021 Long Shadows Pirouette Red Columbia Valley, USA
Philippe Melka's Washington Bordeaux blend, 96-plus from Jeb Dunnuck, fifty-five dollars a bottle.
Pirouette is 55 percent Cabernet, 36 percent Merlot, 22 months in new French oak, now $55 against a $75 winery price.
27% off the winery bottle
Melka's Washington blend at fifty-five dollars
Philippe Melka designed Pirouette as a Columbia Valley red with Margaux-like polish. Gilles Nicault makes it now. Owen Bargreen called the 2021 the finest edition since 2003 and scored it 98.
The project
Allen Shoup hired Philippe Melka, of Napa, to build a Washington Bordeaux blend with restraint. Pirouette is still that wine.
The wine
55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec. 22 months in French oak, mostly new. 15.3% ABV.
The proof
Owen Bargreen 98, Jeb Dunnuck 96+, James Suckling 93. Drink now through 2040.
The buy
$55 a bottle, $330 for six, $660 for twelve with free shipping. Winery price $75.
What is $55 Pirouette actually buying?
$55 versus the $75 winery price is 27 percent off. Wine Country Connection lists $68. Lowest confirmed in-stock listing sat near $65.99. This is the slash.
At $55 per bottle, the 6-bottle allocation totals $330.
Review Wine-Searcher (opens in a new tab) and Long Shadows (opens in a new tab) for the 2021 page. The $75 winery price is the comparison anchor.
Slash price per bottle, 27 percent under the $75 winery price.
Black fruit, violet, tobacco, and a seamless line
Dunnuck writes ripe black and blue fruits, leafy herbs, violets, tobacco, and chocolaty oak, with velvety tannins. Bargreen adds tar, mocha, anise, and dark chocolate shavings, then calls the palate ultra-refined.
A structured Washington blend year. Cabernet for the frame, Merlot for the mid-palate, Petit Verdot and Malbec for color and spice. Twenty-two months in French oak, mostly new.
Black plum, black cherry, blue fruit, violet, tobacco, leafy herbs, mocha, anise.
Medium to full, layered, velvety tannin. 15.3% ABV. 22 months French oak, ~80% new.
Long, chocolate and spice. Serve near 64 F. Decant 45 minutes if young.
Cabernet frame, Merlot silk, new French oak
Melka wanted Margaux polish on Columbia Valley fruit. Gilles keeps that brief.
Fruit: Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec from Long Shadows' grower sites.
Cellar: 55% Cabernet, 36% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec. 22 months in French oak, about 80% new. Alcohol 15.3%.
Intent: Power with polish. Gilles Nicault now leads the wine Philippe Melka designed.
From Napa polish to Walla Walla
Melka's cult Napa wines are famous for restraint. Pirouette was that idea, moved north.
Allen Shoup built Long Shadows so Washington fruit could hire the world's best. Philippe Melka took the red-blend brief.
Gilles Nicault, the house winemaker, now finishes Pirouette. Bargreen called 2021 the finest edition since the wine began in 2003.
Ninety-eight points from Owen Bargreen, fifty-five dollars today.
Strip steak on the iron, duck confit in the pot
A Cabernet-led blend wants a hard sear and a slow confit, not a timid plate.
Two plates. One New York strip. One duck confit. Both can take tobacco, violet, and new oak.
Decant 45 minutes if drinking now. Serve near 64 F in a Bordeaux glass.
Pan-seared strip steak
Kenji's hard sear, coarse salt, compound butter. Cabernet tannin meets char.
Why it works: Beef fat and a dark crust match black fruit while the blend's frame stays polished.
View Recipe for The Food Lab's Complete Guide to Pan-Seared Steaks (opens in a new tab)
Duck confit
Crisp skin, earthy lentils. Melka's polish has a place to land.
Why it works: Duck fat and lentil earth echo tobacco and herb while the wine stays seamless.
View Recipe for Duck Confit (opens in a new tab)Put Melka's Washington blend on the table tonight
This is the bottle that argues for Columbia Valley Bordeaux blends without a Napa rent.
Black fruit, violet, tobacco. 64 F, steak or duck.
Six bottles at $330.
Twelve at $660, ships free.
Take the 2021 Pirouette home while a 96-plus Melka blend still costs fifty-five dollars.
