Corvus Cellars is Causing a Ruckus

At the Auction of Washington Wines at Chateau Ste. Michelle in August, we ran into Steve Lessard (winemaker) and Randall Hopkins (winegrower) of Corvus Cellars, two amiable fellows with smiles on their faces and bottles in their hands. They were excited to be “beta testing” their newest release, a secondary label called “Ruckus.”

They decided to call this Cab/Merlot blend “Ruckus,” because they were sure it was going to create quite a stir when people found out that a wine of this quality, balance and structure would sell for just 18 bones. Even they seemed incredulous at the price of their own wine, like they could hardly believe that they had landed on such a great find in their own winery. They were sure that once Ruckus was discovered, winos would be running pell-mell to snatch it up.

We gave it a whirl, and then smuggled out an unopened bottle in one of our AAW totes.

This week, the folks at Corvus announced the official release of the 2007 Ruckus, and they’re very excited. So, I pulled our bottle of Ruckus out and invited fellow wino Robin Brower to take it out for a spin with me. Here’s what we found:

2007 “Ruckus” Red Wine

Columbia Valley
50% Cabernet Sauvignon / 50% Merlot

Like candy on the nose, the Ruckus offers up notes of red licorice ropes, red berries, anise and milk chocolate. It gets a little more serious on the palate with baker’s chocolate, anise, some bitters and hints of lavender and violet. While the 14.2% alcohol brings quite a bit of heat to the party, it’s still a lush, round wine that’s easy to drink–evidenced by the fast emptying of the bottle. With soft tannins and good acidity, the Ruckus is balanced and tasty. And it’s true, at just $18, the QPR is remarkable.

They only made 400 cases of the Ruckus, which is still twice the production of the ’06 Cabernet Sauvignon bearing the Corvus label. If you want a case lying around the house, you’ll probably need to hurry.