Januik Winery Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
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Robert
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Blend: 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc
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Wine Enthusiast
Coming from Red Mountain's most esteemed vineyard, this wine offers aromas of cocoa, vanilla, coffee bean and dark cherry. The coffee and cherry flavors show exquisite polish and depth, with fruit and barrel flavors playing off each other on the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Another pure, elegant, focused effort is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, which incorporates 4% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and spent 20 months in 50% new French oak. Its deep ruby/purple color is followed by classic Ciel du Cheval spring flower characteristics as well as lots of crème de cassis, graphite and dried earth. Medium to full-bodied, silky and polished, it could use a touch more density and depth, but shines for its purity and light texture. Drink it over the coming decade.
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A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
A coveted source of top quality red grapes among premier Washington producers, the Red Mountain AVA is actually the smallest appellation in the state. As its name might suggest, it is actually neither a mountain nor is it composed of red earth. Instead the appellation is an anticline of the Yakima fold belt, a series of geologic folds that define a number of viticultural regions in the surrounding area. It is on the eastern edge of Yakima Valley with slopes facing southwest towards the Yakima River, ideal for the ripening of grapes. The area’s springtime proliferation of cheatgrass, which has a reddish color, actually gives the area the name, "Red" Mountain.
Red Mountain produces some of the most mineral-driven, tannic and age-worthy red wines of Washington and there are a few reasons for this. It is just about the hottest appellation with normal growing season temperatures commonly reaching above 90F. The soil is particularly poor in nutrients and has a high pH, which results in significantly smaller berry sizes compared to varietal norms. The low juice to skin ratio in smaller berries combined with the strong, dry summer winds, leads to higher tannin levels in Red Mountain grapes.
The most common red grape varieties here are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, among others. Limited white varieties are grown, namely Sauvignon blanc.
The reds of the area tend to express dark black and blue fruit, deep concentration, complex textures, high levels of tannins and as previously noted, have good aging capabilities.