Radix
FROM THE LATIN WORD FOR “ROOT”
Our Story
This is a story about finding and returning to one's roots. Marco De Santis' family has been making wine in Italy for generations and his great grandfather traveled from a small village in Central Italy to Tacoma, Washington in 1904 to work on the railroad. Marco then returned to his ROOTS in Washington State 111 years later to dedicate part of his life to crafting ultra-premium wines that showcase the Red Mountain terroir.
The most unique aspect of the winery is that each blend is composed of grape varieties that share genetic ROOTS. Our two flagship wines, Laevus and Dexter (Latin for left and right), are single vineyard blends that represent the pinnacle of our wine program.
Laevus is a co-fermented blend of Petite Sirah with its parent Grape, Syrah, from Red Heaven Vineyard.
Dexter is a co-fermented blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with its parent grape, Cabernet Franc, from Scooteney Flats Vineyard.
co-fermenting these parent and offspring grapes results in expressive, rich and harmonious wines. We hope you gather with family and friends over a bottle of our wine to discuss your own ROOTS!
2018 Carménère/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet FrancTasting Notes
This trio of Cabernet family varieties comes together to provide sultry toasted oak and dark berry aromas that emerge from the glass with just a touch of herbaceousness. The flavors of stewed plums, blackberry and cracked black pepper accentuate the rich and silky mouthfeel, leading to a seamless finish.
Varieties: 83% Carménère, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7% Cabernet Franc
2017 Carménère - Cabernet FrancTasting Notes
Alluring aromas of red plums, crushed raspberries, vanilla bean, baking chocolate, ground coffee, dried herbs and roasted poblano pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate is dominated by macerated red fruits and white peppercorn while an iron component leads to light grip on the finish.
Varieties: 80% Carménère and 20% Cabernet Franc
2016 Laevus Syrah - Petite SirahTasting Notes
Aromas of black plum, raspberry liquor, crushed rock, dark chocolate and backing spice. Layered on the palate are flavors of juicy plums, cherry compote, boysenberry, cinnamon, spiced fruitcake and leather. Ample polished tannins support a rich and silky mouthfeel with espresso on the finish.
Varieties: 53% Syrah and 47% Petite Sirah, co-fermented
2019 Roussane - MarsanneTasting Notes
Beautiful fruity aromatics of peach, apricot, melon, and hint of tangerine intermingle with white flowers and wet rock. Mouth-filling white peach and Fuji apple flavors balance remarkably with the zesty acidity, tapering to a lemony, mineral driven finish.
Varieties: 70% Roussanne and 30% Marsanne, co-fermented
2017 Dexter Cabernet Sauvignon- Cabernet FrancTasting Notes
Intriguing aromatics of graham cracker, vanilla bean, cherries, currants, violets and graphite. This wine is solidly built with a polished and persistently rich texture exuding flavors of red berries and cherry liqueur. There is also a lifted herbal note and a hint of cocoa powder lends grip on the finish.
Varieties: 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Cabernet Franc, co-fermented
2020 Rosé of Cabernet SauvignonTasting Notes
This unique rosé brings mouthwatering flavors of raspberry, pomegranate and freshly cut herbs. The vibrant acidity and touch of crushed rock make this wine irresistible.
Varieties: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Shipping update: Due to our unfair legal system, we can no longer ship to the following states…Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia.
Our team
Marco and Andrea De Santis - Owners
Marco De Santis was born in Toledo, Ohio and lived most of his life there until he went off to medical school in Bradenton, Florida. Marco's family has made wine in the Abruzzo region of Italy for generations but he developed a deep passion for winemaking during his medical training in Michigan, where he completed a residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Endocrinology. He learned the fundamentals of winemaking by reading classic textbooks and applying his knowledge on a small scale at home. When he moved to Washington he teamed up with veteran winemaker Josh Maloney in order to utilize his expertise in crafting unique, terroir driven wines from the Red Mountain AVA.
Marco met his wife Andrea, an organ transplant coordinator, at his 10 year high school reunion. They got married in September 2013 and moved to Washington State in November 2015. In February 2017 they welcomed the arrival of their son Lorenzo. They enjoy cooking, hiking, traveling and spending quality time with friends and family.
In June 2019, they moved back to their roots in Ohio. They currently reside in new albany.
Joshua maloney - Consulting Winemaker
Joshua Maloney began making wine professionally in the New York Finger Lakes over twenty years ago. After working with cool climate varieties such as Riesling and Gewurztraminer for two years, he relocated to California, working first for Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley, then Estancia in Monterey County. In 2005 he was hired by Chateau Ste. Michelle to be their Red Winemaker, running their Canoe Ridge Estate facility. After six years in this role, he left Ste. Michelle to work as the Head Winemaker for Milbrandt Vineyards as well as Director of Winemaking for Wahluke Wine Company, a custom crush winery. It was during this time that he started his own brand, Maloney, that focuses on terroir driven, single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2016 he left this position to focus on his own brand and his consulting role as our winemaker for Radix. Joshua's specialty and focus as a winemaker is applying his vast repertoire of winemaking techniques to accentuate the terroir of each parcel of grapes to create wines that reflect the vineyard, variety and vintage. During his career he has earned more than 70 scores of 90 or higher from the major wine publications, has worked with fruit from nearly every AVA in Washington, and has created blends as small as 71 cases to as large as 300,000. Aside from wine Joshua is very passionate about cooking, music and his continuing effort to finally reunite North and South Dakota.
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