Driving onto the road leading to what I hoped would be Long Shadows Vintners, I kept wondering if I was in the right place: Only the corner of a dark red building was visible with newly planted trees in various patterns along the road and surrounding fields. No signage or vineyards were anywhere to be seen.
Pulling around the corner it became obvious that this was a winery. The crush pad was in full swing at the other end of the building. At the berry triage belt one of the workers assured me I was at the right place. An open door at the other end of the building had the look of a reception area or office, so I headed there. Upon entering, it was clear that this area wasn’t finished, but it was also clear that when it is finished it will be spectacular.
The walls blazed with dramatic colors, many of which had a glossy, smooth Venetian plaster finish. Large pieces of Chiluly art glass were strewn casually on the floor along one wall, but not a soul was to be found here. So, back to the crush pad where I was to the lab to find Gilles Nicault, resident winemaker for Long Shadows.
Nicault is ebullient, energetic and excited, obviously delighted to be at Long Shadows where his job is to keep seven super-star 
winemakers happy. The reception area may not be finished, but the winery is missing nothing. The usual rows of stainless steel tanks are aligned in soldierly fashion. Several climate-controlled barrel rooms line one of the long sides of the building, each one with a different temperature so aging can take place in one room at a cool temperature while malo-lactic fermentation takes place in another space at a higher temperature. A special automated basket press sits in one corner. It’s for John Duval’s Syrah. Four large oak fermentation tanks await Michel Rolland’s Merlot. If a winemaker wants a piece of equipment, he gets it. After all, it’s his winery. The seven winemakers are each owners of their own winery housed within the Long Shadows facility.
This was my lucky day. Not only was I able to spend a bit of time with Nicault during harvest, Australian vintner, John Duval, was in the area to check out the Syrah grapes for his 2007 wine, ‘Sequel.’ His son, Ben, who was planning to stay on to work the harvest, was with him. Duval comes during harvest to look at the grapes and discuss with Gilles how to handle them. He comes back to the winery in January or February to put the blend together.
In all, Duval has 34 years of ‘Shiraz-handling experience’ under his 
belt. He started working at Penfolds in 1974 and was appointed chief winemaker in 1986. He was responsible for maintaining the quality and style of Grange, Penfold’s iconic Syrah-based wine. However, it was the development of the Penfold’s Red Wine Trial (RWT), Barosssa Valley Shiraz that allowed him to express his style, one he describes as more elegant.
His goal is to bring out the character from different vineyard sites in his wines. Of the vineyard sites for Sequel, he notes that Yakima has a cooler spring while he feels that Red Mountain is closest to Barossa with a warmer climate and red soils. In Barossa, he has worked with 100-year-old vines ‘a fantastic asset,’ he said. Although the vines are not as old in Washington, he feels that the quality of the wine from such young vines shows great potential for the area. He likes the vibrancy of the fruit and he is careful to maintain the acidity. He does not want dead fruit character or fruit that is too ripe. He adds four percent of Cabernet Sauvignon for structure. ‘Cabernet tannins are different from Shiraz tannins,’ he said.
The 2005 rendition of ‘Sequel’ Syrah, which bears a Columbia Valley appellation, has an opaque, black ruby color with black fruit and spice aromas and flavors: cherry, berry, currant and pepper. A whiff of rosemary and smoke add to the intriguing scents and flavors of this full-bodied, dense, concentrated, yet polished wine. You’ll find it drinkable now, but time in the bottle will add to its elegance.
Standing around a tasting table in the winery lab we also tasted three other wines: Poet’s Leap Riesling 2006, Chester-Kidder Red 2004 and Saggi 2005. The other four wines made at Long Shadows were sold out.
Armin Diel of Schlossgut Diel in the Nahe is responsible for Poet’s Leap, a Riesling. Diel is not only a renowned winemaker, 
he is also an award winning writer responsible (with co-editor, Joel Payne) for Gault Millau’s German wine guide. Winemaking for Poet’s Leap is aimed at preserving fresh fruit aromas and flavors. The grapes are sourced from older vines in the Yakima Valley and the Dionysis Vineyard, north of Tri-Cities that was planted in 1972. Hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed, most of the grapes are fermented at cool temperatures in stainless steel tanks, but 3% are fermented in a lightly-toasted French oak cask. Diel believes this gives the wine added brightness without wood character.
You’ll find that Poet’s Leap Riesling 2006 begins with somewhat subdued aromas of peaches brushed with a touch of spearmint, opening on the palate with, layered, slightly sweet white peach, apricot and pear flavors enlivened with vibrant acidity then it lingers, resonating with the flavor of peaches on the tongue.
Chester-Kidder is Shoup’s wine named for his grandparents, 
Charles Chester and Maggie Kidder. It is made by Nicault, who was previously the winemaker for Washington wine pioneer Rick Small at Woodward Canyon. Nicault was educated at the University of Avignon and worked in several French wine regions before he came to eastern Washington. He is clearly delighted to be making Chester-Kidder and to be able to work with and learn from some of the biggest names in winemaking. The 2004 is a blend of predominately Cabernet Sauvignon (58%) and Syrah (29%) with a bit of Cabernet Franc (10%) and an even smaller bit of Petit Verdot (3%). It spends 28 months in French oak with ten percent of the wine aged in Eastern European oak for a bit of spice.
Chester-Kidder 2004 displays the intense, concentrated fruit elevated by well defined acidity that is classic for eastern Washington. The fruit flavors are blackberry and plum, with wisps of chocolate and smoke. Round and full-bodied, but not heavy, Chester-Kidder will only get better in the bottle.
Saggi is the name of the Long Shadows wine made by father and son team of Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari from Tuscany. The 
Folonari family has a long history and tradition of making wines. In 1912, members of the Folonari family bought the Ruffino winery. Ambrogio served as president until 2000 when the family split and he and his son Giovanni left to start Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari Tenute, focusing on small-lot, estate-grown wines.
Sangiovese is not a grape variety that has done well outside of Italy. Part of the reason for that may be clonal selection. Indeed, it is only recently that the Italians have seriously looked at clones in their vineyards to determine which are the best for an area and how best to grow them. Nicault said that Sangiovese is difficult to work with, almost like making Pinot Noir. He explained that Giovanni Folonari feels it is important to keep the acid level high in the Sangiovese. However, Saggi does not rely entirely on Sangiovese. It is a super-Tuscan style meaning that the Sangiovese is blended with two non-traditional Tuscan grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon for structure and Syrah for color and spice
Saggi 2005 is a beautiful wine with red cherry, fig and cedar aromas and flavors. The firm acidity keeps the fruit lifted and lively with refined tannins, a structure that will allow the wine to age gracefully.
The wines I didn’t get to taste at the winery also have aristocratic 
pedigrees. Randy Dunn, the Cabernet iconoclast from Napa’s Howell Mountain, makes ‘Feather’ of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Michel Rolland, flying winemaker extraordaire, makes ‘Pedestal,’ a Merlot blend that includes Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc and Petit Verdot. Augustin Huneeus, Sr. and Philipe Melka team up to make a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Syrah called ‘Pirouette.’ If you are interested in purchasing any of these wines, you will have to sign up for the winery mailing list.
Long Shadows Vintners is a ‘retirement project’ created by Allen Shoup, former head of Stimson Lane, now called Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, which is based in Woodinville, WA. He has 
worked for and with American wine industry titans including Ernest and Julio Gallo and Andre Tchelicheff. He was inspired and encouraged by Robert Mondavi. He was involved in the creation of the Columbia Valley AVA and the Washington Wine Commission. While at Ste. Michelle, in a foreshadowing of things to come, he developed wine partnerships with Tuscany’s Piero Antinori to make Col Solare and Ernst Loosen of Germany to make Eroica both with Washington grapes. You would think after such an illustrious career, retirement would be a welcome change of pace. However, it is hard to imagine another person with the vision, influence and contacts to attract such super-star winemakers to make wine in remote Walla Walla, Washington.