Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesA red with lots of rich blackcurrant and blueberry character. Chocolate and walnut undertones, too. Full body, chewy yet polished tannins and a solid finish. This is one for the cellar, even though it’s drinking surprisingly well now. 99% cabernet sauvignon and 1% cabernet franc. Try after 2022.
Brooding aromas of cherry, scorched earth, herb and bittersweet chocolate are followed by plump, ripe cherry flavors backed by tannins that are combed to a fine sheen. Bright acidity accents it all. It’s a delicious offering of the variety.
Coming from three separate sites on Red Mountain (Quintessence, Ciel du Cheval, and Obelisco) and all Cabernet, the 2017 Stone Cairn has lots of spicy oak as well as beautiful red and black fruits, cedarwood, and green tobacco aromas and flavors. This ripe, medium to full-bodied Cabernet has ripe tannins, sound underlying structure, and a great finish. Give it a year or two and enjoy over the following 8-10 years. Rating: 91+
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Cairn is succulent with black fruits, juicy dark cherries, the essence of toasted oak and vanilla bean and hints of chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, juicy plum reduction and chocolate-covered blackberries show on the mid-palate with a balanced structure, before ending with a lingering finish. The wine spent 20 months in French oak, 50% first use.
At the age of twenty six, Andrew was able to say that he'd spent more than half of his life working in the business and knew it would one day be his career, so it was no surprise when he suggested the possibility of creating his own wine to the people closest to him. During his time off and on during school years, he worked fulltime pending his college graduation, harnessing the opportunity to learn and understand all the broader points, and all the finer intricacies, of the wine industry through two of the more experienced and impassioned winemakers in the industry, Mike Januik and Scott Moeller.
It was in 2011 when he would finally start his own wine label, Andrew Januik.
A coveted source of top quality red grapes among premier Washington producers, the Red Mountain AVA is actually the smallest appellation in the state. As its name might suggest, it is actually neither a mountain nor is it composed of red earth. Instead the appellation is an anticline of the Yakima fold belt, a series of geologic folds that define a number of viticultural regions in the surrounding area. It is on the eastern edge of Yakima Valley with slopes facing southwest towards the Yakima River, ideal for the ripening of grapes. The area’s springtime proliferation of cheatgrass, which has a reddish color, actually gives the area the name, "Red" Mountain.
Red Mountain produces some of the most mineral-driven, tannic and age-worthy red wines of Washington and there are a few reasons for this. It is just about the hottest appellation with normal growing season temperatures commonly reaching above 90F. The soil is particularly poor in nutrients and has a high pH, which results in significantly smaller berry sizes compared to varietal norms. The low juice to skin ratio in smaller berries combined with the strong, dry summer winds, leads to higher tannin levels in Red Mountain grapes.
The most common red grape varieties here are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, among others. Limited white varieties are grown, namely Sauvignon blanc.
The reds of the area tend to express dark black and blue fruit, deep concentration, complex textures, high levels of tannins and as previously noted, have good aging capabilities.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.