I am so down for WR Cabernet Franc!
It was really supposed to only be one per year. I have mixed emotions about making more than one. It’s definitely confusing. But the wines were the ones that really demanded it. While I love the wines from Whistling Ridge, there’s no doubt that the Durant and Lewman wines have been every bit as worthy.
12 cases of the Cabernet Franc…
And I generally have a rule against designating a Heritage wine from a site that I haven’tworkedwith for more than 3-4 years. While I have worked with Whistling Ridge since 2004, the rogue bordeaux varietals(there used to be an acre planted but phylloxera wiped it out) have only been fermented in 2017 and 2018.
I broke the 3-4 years rule with the Lewman vineyard because the wines were dynamite, and when Dennis passed 2018 and 2019 were the only wines I would make with him as the planter and farmer.
Yeah so when I bought the covid heratige pack I thought the Lewman was just a throw in and not a heritage so I drank it (not marked iirc) I’m pretty sure I deserve 2 replacement bottles 
btw on the second day it was f’ing delicious!
Lol…that was just a throw in!
It was a 5 pack and we had abused your credit card pretty hard before I dropped the Heritage vertical on the quarantine thread.
We’re prepping the Eola-Amity Hills terroir based email, and opened the Lewman and Temperance Hill wines Monday. Last night I tasted through again. It’s just a great, great vintage. 16, 17,
and 18 really are the best set of vintages I have seen.
Reposting Marcus tasting notes on WR Heritage from another thread:
2018 Heritage No. 12, Whistling Ridge: while this may be the most youthful of the 5 wines, it should have a beautiful early window for drinking. Fruit intensity in the 2018s is exceptional(and alcohols are quite modest). The No. 12 supports this on pnp, the nose is very pure deep red fruits, layered with rose petals, orange rind, and hints of brown spices, specifically notes of clove. The palate is more richly toned, with sappier fruit, richer texture, and intensity. Acidity and tannins are fine in quality, but fold in easily to the fruit. This really opened up over day 2 and especially day 3.
2017 Heritage No. 10, Whistling Ridge: translucent ruby on pnp. This has many similar traits to the other wines, but in a not open for business way. It almost seems to me to be a ghost version of the No. 12. More than any of the others it reminds me of young wines from high whole cluster Burgundy producers(Dom. de l’Arlot specifically). Taut red fruits, cranberry, sour cherry, stem spice, crushed rocks. The palate has excellent depth and texture but is quite tight and dominated by the structural elements. Refined-yes, ready to go-no. On day 4 the wine showed up. The tannins softened and aromatically the red fruit deepened, and acids became part of juicy fruit character. Floral tones filled out, but the wine stayed ethereal, with a compelling perfume.
2016 Heritage No. 7, Whistling Ridge Vineyard: seamless nose, and quite expressive and compelling on pop-n-pour. A range of aromatics that somehow express as a singular whole. The parts are dusty red fruits, exotic spices, tea leaves, hints of orange, and very red cherries. Ripe red fruits in the mouth, but a savory character to it, weightless yet silky, with excellent acidity, and very fine tannins. Again, I can talk around this wine all day, but for me there is an “it” factor that’s hard to verbally express.
2015 Heritage No. 4, Whistling Ridge: pours with a more garnet color, and shows the weight of the vintage on pnp. Deep spice, red fruits tinged with black, hints of dark earth. A touch ponderous compared to the others. Still it stays balanced to savory stems, with good nuance, an array of red fruits, pipe tobacco, and excellent structure. On day 2, this is singing. It’s lighter on it’s feet, more nuanced and balanced. Just delicious.
2013 Heritage No. 2, Whistling Ridge: this opens up with a fine translucent ruby color(there is some fine sediment in the bottles so be sure to stand them upright for a few days). The nose shows a lifted cranberry and pomegranate aroma, rose pastilles, stem spice, and a hint of smoke. Over several hours this deepened considerably showing deeper red fruits, ripe strawberry and tart but red cherry. In the palate the wine opens up with time into a dense strawberry/cherry and rose petal expression. The wine is long, with an excellent almost Nebbiolo-like finish.
Likewise. I think my head just exploded.