In 15 years Malbec has grown to become Kiona’s fifth-most-planted cultivar on Red Mountain. The grape thrives here, producing wines of uncommon depth and complexity. The fruit is highly sought after by Washington winemakers for its strong varietal typicity and opaque coloration – demand continues to outpace supply.

Malbec was “discovered” by the new world wine-drinking public as a superb stand-alone cultivar for fruit-forward, dark, affable wines with lots of depth. This certainly holds true on Red Mountain, where the wines tend to exhibit a softer, svelte tannin profile. Of the Bordeaux red cultivars, Malbec stands out as being particularly tasty in its youth and equally at ease with food or by itself.

Our smallest estate vineyard by a wide margin, Sunset Bench nonetheless serves as our primary location for Malbec. The site sits high on the hill, with microblocks strategically placed so as to best take advantage of the topography.