Region: Yakima Valley, Columbia Valley, Washington

Varietal: 100% Petit Verdot

Tasting notes: A perfect steak wine with its unctuous, full-bodied and powerful style, it gives up lots of cassis, graphite, crushed rock and violet-like aromas and flavors. While it’s a big wine, it stays remarkably elegant and graceful, with polished tannin and notable freshness. It’s a fabulous expression of this variety.

Producer: Brennon Leighton is the Director of Winemaking and Viticulture at Charles Smith Wines where he oversees all viticulture, vineyard relations and winemaking for all Charles Smith brands, including K Vintners, Charles Smith Wines, ViNO, SIXTO, Wines of Substance and Casa Smith. Considered to be one of the best winemakers in the state of Washington by wine critics and connoisseurs alike, Leighton has nearly 20 years of experience in winemaking and viticulture. In 2012, Leighton created B. Leighton Wines to showcase the world-class terroir of Washington State. B. Leighton Wines are authentic, classic and alive. The wines have received 90+ points by wine critics such as Wine Spectator and Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, who most recently noted, “If you haven’t heard of Brennon Leighton, now’s a good time to fix that!”

Vineyard and Winemaking: Olsen Vineyards are located in the East end of the Yakima Valley from north of Prosser to north of Benton City. The vineyards are planted on several different sites with a wide variety of slopes, aspects, and elevations. The first vines were planted in 1980 and the youngest were planted in 2005. 100% whole cluster fermentation using native yeast then aged in French oak barrels for 22 months.