Winemaker Notes
A deeply violet wine that opens with layers of blackberry, plum, and mocha. Richly textured, it reveals depth and nuance with flavors ranging from clove to black cherry. The finish is long and lifted, carried by the hallmark bright acidity and refined tannins of Red Mountain.
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Blueberries, dried spices, bay leaves and hints of orange zest on the nose. It’s full-bodied but lively, fresh and fine-grained, with tasty, savory herb notes. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Cairn contains 4% Merlot and was matured for 20 months in 55% new French oak. It has layered aromas of cassis, black cherries, tobacco leaves, thyme and salumi. The full-bodied palate offers restrained ripeness and concentrated flavors and is refreshingly easy to drink. It’s structured by rounded tannins and juicy acidity and has a long, nuanced finish.
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Wine Spectator
Expressive and well-sculpted, this Cabernet offers deep, polished flavors of black currant, tobacco and licorice that finish with big but refined tannins. Drink now through 2035.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Structured in high-toned red fruit, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Cairn is generous yet balanced in a medium to full-bodied style, showing a wealth of cedar, clove, and black pepper spice. The tannins are luxuriously layered and dense and should help the wine age gracefully over the next 10-15 years.
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.