Cadence Winery: Precision, Restraint, and the Quiet Identity of Red Mountain
Cadence Winery: Precision, Restraint, and the Quiet Identity of Red Mountain
I strongly recommend their wines.
I. Introduction – An Alternative Vocabulary for Washington Wine
In a region where expressive fruit and scale often set the tone, Cadence Winery has built its reputation on control, not volume. Since its founding in the late 1990s, Cadence has offered a different interpretation of what Washington wine can be: less about immediate seduction, more about structure, minerality, and time. Its wines are not the loudest in the room, nor are they meant to be. Instead, they speak with proportion and tension, balancing clarity of site with architectural coherence. In doing so, Cadence has established itself not as a dissenter from the Washington canon but as a parallel lineage, one that emphasizes ageworthiness over amplitude and quiet confidence over flash.
II. Founding and Historical Context
Cadence emerged during a transitional moment for Washington wine. According to Auction of Washington Wines, Ben Smith and Gaye McNutt bought land on Red Mountain, launched the winery, and got married within a two-year window spanning 1997 to 1998. The couple brought with them backgrounds far outside the wine industry. Smith was an aerospace engineer at Boeing, and McNutt practiced law. The first commercial release, from the 1998 vintage, featured fruit from Ciel du Cheval and was produced in small quantities. While the exact number of cases has not been definitively confirmed, early production was modest in scale and focused in intent.
The decision to work with Red Mountain fruit, which at the time was better known for supplying structure to blends than for site-specific bottlings, reflected a forward-looking vision. Cadence did not aim to replicate Bordeaux or emulate California. Rather, it sought to use Washington’s natural ripening capacity to build wines that emphasized shape, clarity, and aging potential. From its inception, the winery favored restraint and internal balance over density or volume. The site was the message. The bottle was its medium.
III. Winemaking Philosophy and Vineyard Sourcing
Cadence’s cellar practices have remained stable for over two decades. Fermentations proceed with native yeast. New oak is limited to around 30 to 40 percent. Alcohols are held in check, typically staying under 14 percent. Extraction is moderate. There is no fining or filtration. The goal is not to erase the vintage or overwrite the site but to translate both as faithfully as possible. Each wine is treated as a structural exercise rather than a flavor showcase. The emphasis is on proportion, not density.
The focus is exclusively on Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. Vineyard sourcing is concentrated within Red Mountain and includes some of the most respected sites in the AVA. From the beginning, Cadence prioritized single-vineyard bottlings as a way of articulating the nuances of slope, elevation, and soil. Tapteil, Ciel du Cheval, and, later, Cara Mia form the backbone of this approach.
IV. Estate Development: Cara Mia Vineyard
In 2004, Smith and McNutt moved from sourcing to estate farming by planting the 10-acre Cara Mia Vineyard on Red Mountain. The site was selected for its high elevation, wind exposure, and fractured basalt soils. Planted to all four Bordeaux varieties, the vineyard features dense spacing, careful canopy management, and a long growing season. Its fruit is now used exclusively by Cadence.
Cara Mia serves as the foundation for two of the winery’s most structured and ageworthy wines: Bel Canto, led by Cabernet Franc, and Camerata, led by Cabernet Sauvignon. These are not opulent reserve bottlings. They are rigorously composed, aromatic, and built for long cellaring. Bel Canto, in particular, has earned a quiet following among collectors who prize its combination of floral lift, savory complexity, and mineral persistence.
V. The Portfolio – Precision Within Constraint
Cadence produces a focused range of wines, each driven by vineyard identity and varietal character. Rather than build a house style and replicate it across sites, the winery uses the vineyard as the organizing principle. Differences between bottlings are not based on oak treatment or extraction level. They emerge from soil, elevation, and exposition.
Tapteil Vineyard: The most mineral and linear. Tends toward red fruit, graphite, and iron-rich tension.
Ciel du Cheval: More expansive. Darker fruit, warmer spice, and broader tannin.
Cara Mia Vineyard: Split between two top-tier blends.
Bel Canto: Cabernet Franc dominant. Floral, vertical, and herbal with a tightly coiled core.
Camerata: Cabernet Sauvignon dominant. More muscular and brooding, with equal balance and clarity.
Coda: The entry-level Red Mountain blend. Made in the same restrained idiom but intended for earlier enjoyment.
Older bottlings such as Composition, a Columbia Valley blend, have been discontinued. The current portfolio is centered on Red Mountain and estate farming, with no concession to broader market trends.
VI. Critical Reception and Positioning
Cadence has never relied on marketing volume or critical flash. Yet the wines have received steady, thoughtful praise from outlets such as Vinous, Wine Advocate, and Jeb Dunnuck, particularly for their ageworthiness, balance, and articulation of site. These are not wines that court early drinking. Instead, they appeal to tasters who value patience and who return to the bottle years later to find something fully resolved but still intact.
As of 2008, production was estimated at around 2,400 cases per year, according to Wine Enthusiast. More recent totals are not publicly confirmed, but the scale remains artisanal. Pricing has remained relatively restrained. Even flagship wines are priced well below many peers. This reinforces the winery’s position as a value within the category. Its reputation has been built on continuity and clarity rather than rebranding or expansion.
VII. Challenges and Future Trajectory
Cadence’s style is not always aligned with prevailing norms. In a state where ripeness and fruit density often define success, their wines ask for a different kind of attention. They reward air and time rather than flash. In warmer years like 2015 and 2021, preserving freshness and restraint requires precise timing in both vineyard and cellar. Adjustments in farming practices, including earlier picking and greater canopy shading at Cara Mia, reflect a dynamic response to these pressures.
As older vintages continue to mature, they provide retrospective confirmation of the winery’s early principles. Tapteil from 2002, Ciel du Cheval from 2005, and Bel Canto from 2008 are all still evolving. The structure has held. The aromatics have expanded. The promise of slow development, once a hypothesis, is now demonstrable.
VIII. Conclusion – A Disciplined Architecture of Place
In the larger conversation about Washington wine, Cadence occupies a distinctive place. Its voice is not loud, but it is consistent and deliberate. These are wines that reflect not only where they are from but how they were made. They were crafted quietly, with attention to form and proportion, and with a respect for the limits of the land. Cadence has offered an enduring counterpoint to the dominant regional styles. It reminds us that structure can be expressive, that clarity can be compelling, and that sometimes the most lasting wines are the ones that reveal themselves slowly, not all at once.