2015 Gorman Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Old Scratch

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Hedonist Fever Dream (+Block Party REMINDER), 7/26/2017

  (Old Scratch Cabernet Sauvignon) Block Party REMINDER: Please recall that tickets for the second annual Sodo Block Party are $35, but *only through the end of July!* Starting on Aug 1, the price goes up to $45, so if you’re planning on attending, purchasing tix during the next five days would be wise. That ticket comes with a $10-off coupon for every participating winery, so it pays for itself several times over if you purchase broadly. WHEN: Saturday August 26, 12pm -8pm WHERE: SoDo Urbanworks (Full Pull and our neighboring tasting rooms) WHO: In addition to Full Pull and our neighbors you already know (Kerloo, Latta, Rotie, Sleight of Hand, Structure, Waters), both of the soon-to-open tasting rooms will be participating – that’s Den Hoed and Nine Hats by Long Shadows – as will Schooner Exact Brewing. WHAT: Wine tasting, live music, food trucks, discounted purchases; the works. PICKUP POLICY: Because of the scope and complexity of the event, we will not be able to accommodate any wine pickups on the 26th. Thank you for understanding. ---- Hello friends. Chris Gorman is a busy man these days, with three different winery projects up and running and growing. We recently had a chance to taste broadly across all three lineups, and what emerged for me is that Chris’ house style is well-suited to Washington’s recent string of warm vintages. These are wines from a hedonist fever dream: unapologetic pleasure bringers. We offered the 2014 vintage of this last autumn, and just in time, too, as a 93pt Wine Spectator review destroyed all remaining stock of the ’14 before the holidays even moved into full swing. No reviews yet for the ’15, which means we can tuck some away before the hordes descend. That big review from Spectator came as no surprise to those of us who have been following Old Scratch Cab from the beginning. We’ve offered every vintage to date (it kicked off with 2013), primarily because it’s still quite unusual to see Red Mountain Cab retail in the $20s, and furthermore because this wine is always a fine expression of a vineyard growing in importance in Washington. Quintessence Vineyard Cabernet makes up nearly half of this wine, and it’s a vineyard to follow closely. It’s still a relatively young site on the mountain (planted in 2010), and I have heard nothing but raves from the winemakers working with the fruit. In 2014 Eric Degerman wrote a great article about Marshall Edwards, the gentleman who is managing this site. And wow, if the fruit is this good young, the future is seriously bright for this site. This spent 18 months in used French oak and clocks in at 15.2% listed alc. The nose is evocative of what I’ve come to expect from Quintessence: purity of Rainier cherry fruit paired to lovely green earth notes, almost like the peppery cress notes you see in good Cabernet Franc. The texture is very true to Red Mountain Cabernet as well, with just-right toothsome chew carried by dusty, medium-grained tannins, which leave a lingering finish of chamomile tea. Exquisite.