Ashley Trout crafts Malbecs of intention. “I think variety is the spice of life and no one is giving [Malbec] the credit it deserves,” Trout says of her star grape. “For me, making Malbec is making a statement in many ways.” In the case of her Flying Trout Wines, all of which have some percentage of Malbec in them, the statement is the juice itself—all of the wines are aged in neutral French oak barrels to highlight the grape variety’s natural characteristics, instead of what the manipulation can do to it. Trout, who also makes the wines for sister winery TERO Estates, sources fruit from Columbia Valley’s Konnowac Vineyard, which has the second oldest plantings of Malbec in the state, for the 2012 Old Vine Malbec. Gushing with scents of freshly-pressed berries, loganberry pie (berry and crust both), cocoa nibs, crushed herbs and slate, this wine is lush and juicy, vibrant and savory with a solid frame of acid and fine-grained tannins to sturdy the force of the fruit with finesse.
Follow on Facebook: TERO Estates and Flying Trout Wines
Track on Twitter: @flyingtroutwine
