Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Similarly colored, yet a step up in richness and depth, and certainly not aromatically challenged, the 2010 Champoux Vineyard is a superb blend of 42% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc and 26% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 21 months in barrel, it possesses gorgeous aromas of black raspberry, creme de cassis, dried flowers, spice box and a dusty pebble minerality on the nose. Medium-bodied, elegant and beautifully balanced, with fresh acidity and moderate tannin, it has upside and should round into form with another 2-3 years of bottle age and have over a decade or more of total longevity. Drink 2015-2022.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a blend of Merlot (42%), Cabernet Franc (32%) and Cabernet Sauvignon coming from vines with an average age of 30 years. It has light but complex notes of cherries, plum, herbs, flowers and bittersweet chocolate. It's restrained and understated in style with seamless fruit flavors, mouthwatering acids and edgy tannins that need some time in the cellar to calm down. Cellar Selection.
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Wine Spectator
The firm tannins wrap around expressive black currant, blueberry and plum fruit, with a hint of coffee emerging on the long, persistent finish. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2015 through 2020.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.