from Lucha Vino
Rob Newsom of Boudreaux Cellars is an adventurer, story teller, wine maker and nice guy. You could put the phrase “hell of a…” in front of each one of those labels and still be telling the truth.
Rob Newsom of Boudreaux Cellars is an adventurer, story teller, wine maker and nice guy. You could put the phrase “hell of a…” in front of each one of those labels and still be telling the truth.
Rob moved from Louisiana to the Pacific Northwest in the mid
1970s. He hasn’t lost his Louisiana
drawl or down South hospitality in the intervening years. Both welcome you into
his world and make you feel like a long time friend from the first time you
meet. Whether he is regaling you with
stories of mountain climbing, building his winery or making wine you will hang
on every word.
Rob ultimately moved to his spot on Icicle Creek in the
early eighties after discovering the location on a climbing adventure. First, he built his cabin and then twenty
years later built his winery on the same location. He personally cut the timbers for his cabin
and built it himself by hand. He also
hand built the bridge that crosses Icicle Creek (twice!). Rob says that cutting the timbers for his
cabin and building that bridge were two of the most dangerous things he has
ever done in his life. When you consider
the fact that he has climbed mountains in the Himalayas, Denali in
Alaska and our own Mt. Rainier (multiple times) you can begin to envision what
cutting those trees and building that bridge must have been like!
The Boudreaux Winery is rustic and striking, rising up among
ancient trees along Icicle Creek. Rob
and his assistant wine maker, Tyler Vickrey, handpicked and carried all the
river rock that adorns the exterior walls of the Boudreaux winery. They just placed the last rock this year and
Rob likes to say they are stonemasons that make wine on the side.
It was during the 90’s that Rob was introduced to Washington
wines through Leonetti and the Figgins family.
Between outdoor adventures and wine Rob built a lasting friendship with
the Figgins family. He immediately
became known as “Boudreaux” (a famous Southern character known for adventure
and story telling).
As the story goes, Rob was complaining about the cost of
wine to Gary Figgins. So Figgins threw
down the challenge “Why don’t you do it yourself.” Naturally, that was all the encouragement a
guy like Rob Newsom would need. His
retort “I think I will!” The name for the
winery was a natural fit with Gary Figgins’ son Chris naming Rob’s first wine
the “cru Boudreaux.” And that is how you
start a winery that has become one of the most unique wineries in the state of
Washington.
When we walked into the winery Rob got things started by
pouring us a glass of the “Big Nasty”, an unfiltered chardonnay that hit the
spot considering the mercury in the thermometer was already pushing 100
degrees. Next, we took a stroll down
into the barrel room where it was considerably more comfortable. The barrel room is completely underground with
ambient temperature control varying from 49 to 59 degrees. With the cooler temperatures in his barrel
room, Rob likes to age his wine in barrel for an extra year. You will see that most of his wines spend up
to 36 months chilling in barrel.
Rob intertwines his love of adventure with his
winemaking. While we were hanging out in
the barrel room we tasted a “Frangio” – a blend of Cabernet Franc and
Sangiovese. The result of getting some
Cab Franc from Den Hoed and then wondering “What the heck do I do with this?” Frangio was the result, a co-ferment of Cab
Franc and Sangiovese that melds the herbal spiciness of the Cab Franc and tart
cherries and earth tones of the Sangiovese into a splendid slightly spicy
medium bodied wine. Rob sells most of
the Frangio to his friend J-Bo in Lousianna.
As the story goes, J-Bo tried the wine and wanted to know
how much it would cost. When Rob replied
with the price of a bottle, J-Bo said, “not for a bottle, for all of it!” And the rest is history as J-Bo bought the
whole lot for $12,000! And that is how
you get a wine named after you…
After we tasted the J-Bo Rob told us about a little Cab,
Syrah, Sangiovese, Petite Verdot he had just whipped up. And the adventure continues.
Back up to the tasting room and Rob opened a 2007 Cabernet
and 2008 Cabernet Reserve for us. The
stories were already blowing my mind and now these two cabs finished the
job. Boom!
Rob’s first reserve cab was 100% Champoux fruit. Today it is a blend of Loes Leonetti estate
vineyard fruit and Champoux. The Boudreaux Reserve Cabernet is a one of a kind
combination of Walla Walla and Horse Heaven Hills AVA grapes from two of the
highest quality vineyards in Washington.
The 2008 Cabernet
Sauvignon reserve features bold rich dark fruit with some slightly herbal overtones
and a big spicy tannin fueled chocolate finish.
Both of these wines
are big, bold , rich and sassy. You can
enjoy them now or lay them down in your cellar for the future.
You can taste the Boudreaux wines at their tasting room in
Leavenworth, the Wine Library in Woodinville and by appointment at the winery
just off Icicle Creek outside of Leavenworth.
Rob’s wines are dynamite captured in a bottle. Get on out and taste them
for yourself. If you are fortunate
enough to book a visit to the winery you will get the double pleasure of
tasting the Boudreaux wines and listening to Rob’s stories of life and
adventure.
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