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.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2021 Long Shadows Pirouette Red Columbia Valley across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $50.18 and the average is $64.71. Our slash is $49.00.
2021 Long Shadows Pirouette Red Columbia Valley, USA
Philippe Melka's Washington Bordeaux blend, Owen Bargreen 98, a 2021 you can open at fifty-five dollars.
Pirouette is 55 percent Cabernet and 36 percent Merlot, 22 months in new French oak, now $49 against a $75 winery price.
Margaux polish, Columbia Valley fruit
Allen Shoup hired Philippe Melka to build a Washington red with restraint. Gilles Nicault finishes that brief now. Owen Bargreen called the 2021 the finest edition since 2003. This is the proof that a Columbia Valley blend does not need a Napa rent to drink like it was designed in Napa.
The house
Allen Shoup founded Long Shadows in 2003 so Washington fruit could hire the world's best. Philippe Melka took the red-blend brief.
The wine
55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec. 22 months in French oak, mostly new. 15.3% ABV.
The scores
Owen Bargreen 98. Jeb Dunnuck 96+. James Suckling 93. Drink now through 2040.
The drinker
Black fruit, violet, tobacco. Serve near 64 F. Decant 45 minutes. Strip steak or duck confit.
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
On the Long Shadows 2021 Pirouette page, the wine is 55 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 36 percent Merlot, 7 percent Petit Verdot, and 2 percent Malbec, aged 22 months in French oak, about 80 percent new. Alcohol 15.3%. Melka wanted Margaux polish on Columbia Valley fruit. Gilles Nicault keeps that brief: power with polish, not a speech.
Fruit comes from Long Shadows grower sites across Columbia Valley. Cabernet sets the frame. Merlot fills the mid-palate. Petit Verdot and Malbec add color and spice. Serve near 64 F. Decant 45 minutes if you are opening now.
From Napa polish to Walla Walla
Melka's cult Napa wines are famous for restraint. Pirouette was that idea, moved north.
Allen Shoup left Chateau Ste. Michelle and founded Long Shadows in 2003 as a set of wines, each with an international winemaker. 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.
The 2021 stays in that line: Cabernet for the frame, Merlot for the silk, new French oak for the polish. Same house. Same brief. A bottle meant for the table.
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)Open Melka's Washington blend this week
Philippe Melka designed it. Gilles Nicault bottles it. Owen Bargreen went 98. The 2021 is in the glass at fifty-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Columbia Valley Bordeaux blend that closes the proof without a Napa rent.
