PHINNY HILL VINEYARD
Phinny Hill Vineyard is owned and operated by Dick Beightol with his son Brandon. It is situated in a prime location in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA near several other highly acclaimed vineyards. The vineyard was first planted in 1998 with several more expansions taking place over the following years. The 2015 wine comes from block 19 which was planted in 2001 to clone 8 Cabernet Sauvignon and sits at around 780 feet in elevation. The soil in the block is classified as Malga gravelly fine loam. You can see pictures of the soil below, which has a layer of black volcanic dirt a few feet from the surface.
Dick and Brandon are wonderful winegrowers with a keen eye towards quality. They are able to manage their vineyard with minimal manipulation and inputs, keeping both the canopy and crop size in balance. The 2015 vintage was one of the warmest and earliest vintages on record in Washington, yet Dick and Brandon were able to address all the necessary management of the vineyard at the right time. The result is that they were able to achieve very uniform ripening across the block while keeping the yield low but still allowing enough hang time for flavors to develop.
