It’s a chilly Friday night here in Great Falls, VA. The sparking noises from the fire, the smell of wood and the fresh fall breeze inspired our first blog post. The guest of the night include India, Greg, Greg’s dad and sister. It has been a week since we have departed Napa and we have since began researching for some fine and boutique wines. Our first tasting for the night is a new wine neither of the guests have tried. Maloney Wine!

Before we intrigue you with our wine notes. Learning about the creation of the wine and where it is from entices our palettes and flavoring brain cells.

Here is the background about Maloney Wine and our tasting experience with it! This is our first time trying Joshua's wines (Joshua Maloney is the Winemaker and Owner). This wine is the inaugural vintage. For you new wine lovers this means it is the first vintage of this bottling.

Maloney Wine specializes in making 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the top vineyards in Washington State. Each year Joshua will be making a new 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a Single Vineyard that he believes he can highlight its best attributes. This is very different from any other winery that we have personally heard of.

We looked into the vineyard that the Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from for this vintage: Elephant Mountain Vineyard. Elephant Mountain Vineyard is located in Rattlesnake Hills on the edge of Yakima Valley. This vineyard sits above the frost line and is considered a "cool" vineyard. The vineyard has been managed by Joe Hattrup since it was first planted in 1995. Since Joe has been managing this vineyard since the beginning he has tailored everything, such as irrigation and the nutrients, in order to maximize the maturity and concentration of the vines. We found it fascinating to go through all the winemaking notes which are on the website that is linked before. Check it out if it interests you.

Found out more about this wine: Maloney Wine

Now here is a personal note from us!

2012 Maloney Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Single Vineyard Elephant Mountain Vineyard

Background Information:

This is the inaugural vintage of Maloney Wines, with their first Cabernet Sauvignon coming from Elephant Mountain Vineyard in the Rattlesnake Hills AVA in Yakima Valley. The vines at Elephant Mountain Vineyard were first planted in 1995 by Joe Hattrup, whose family has managed the vineyard since it was first planted. This vineyard has some elevation starting at 1300 feet all the way up to 1500 feet. Although this vineyard is considered a 'cool climate' vineyard it has two specific advantages. The first is due to the elevation which places these vines above the frost layer. The second is due to the soil type, basalt, which radiates heat back onto the grapes during growing season. Visit their website to learn more about Joshua's winemaking techniques for this bottling.