Description
Inspired by Robert Mondavi, and after 20 years at the helm of Chateau Ste. Michelle, Allen Shoup founded Long Shadows in 2002 to showcase Columbia Valley’s viticulture to the rest of the world. The portfolio showcases ultra-premium wines from the region, but produced by a selection of world’s most renown winemakers who specialize in a particular varietal. At inception the Long Shadows “Feather” Cabernet Sauvignon was made by Napa Valley’s legendary Howell Mountain producer Randy Dunn. While working as Caymus’ winemaker in the late 1970s Randy began his Dunn Vineyards venture, and the rest is history. Still influenced by Dunn, the 2021 edition of Feather is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and now minted by Long Shadow’s long time Director of Winemaking Gilles Nicault.
Now the 2021 Feather is sourced from three distinct Cabernet Sauvignon growing regions of the Columbia Valley to create a complex, layered wine. Weinbau Vineyard (Wahluke Slope) gives Feather its texture and backbone. Dionysus Vineyard (WhiteBluffs) brings intense, dark fruit, and a collection of top Horse Heaven Hills vineyards give the wine a silky, elegant texture and its appealing earthiness.
“Dense and deeply colored in the glass, this bold, robust Cabernet offers enticing aromas and a lavish core of black fruits complemented by dried rosemary, ripe plum, earthy notes and oak spice. Lush and beautifully balanced on the mid-palate, structured tannins combine to provide a harmonious impression that stretches across a long, graceful finish.” – Alcohol 14.9%, pH 3.92, acid .37g/100ml.
97 points – International Wine Report! “In the glass, it unveils a saturated obsidian hue with a radiant violet shimmer at the rim. Aromas are immediately commanding – layers of crushed blackcurrant, roasted fig, worn saddle leather, and graphite shard leap from the glass, underscored by forest mushroom and cigar humidor. The palate is deeply concentrated, with an expansive texture that builds across the mid-palate, showing off charred plum, cracked black pepper, and espresso-soaked earth. There’s a savory core beneath the fruit that reveals hints of iron and dark mineral dust, adding a grounded complexity. Full-bodied and boldly structured, its tannins are firm yet graceful, weaving seamlessly with the wine’s taut acidity to deliver both tension and poise. Every sip expands with breadth, yet the wine remains tightly composed, never veering into excess. The finish is long and powerful, echoing with bittersweet cocoa, cedar spice, and black fruit compote. Highly recommended and editor’s choice.”
97 points Jeb Dunnuck! All Cabernet Sauvignon and a blend put together by Randy Dunn, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Feather is inky purple-hued and offers a brilliant nose of cassis, new leather, graphite, and truffly earth. This rich, spicy, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon has terrific purity, a deep, layered mid-palate, and a broad, layered, expansive mouthfeel that keeps you coming back to the glass. Drink this remarkable Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon over the coming two decades. Drink 2024-2044.
94+ points Vinous! The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Feather is lifted and perfumed with a cascade of red berries, dusty rose and lavender pastille. This is pure elegance, silken, polished and nearly creamy in feel, with fresh acidity and complicating notes of dark chocolate and cola. It leaves a spicy sensation that lingers, finishing firm and tannic as hints of blueberry preserves fade. Drink 2026-2034.
94 points James Suckling! This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon began as a partnership with winemaker Randy Dunn of Napa Valley. It opens with a heady, minty aroma and dense blackcurrant flavors shaded by char, graphite and black figs wrapped in plenty of fine-grained tannins. Time will be the friend of this muscular wine. Best from 2028.