Winemaker Notes
Blend: 64% Cabernet Franc, 22% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the more backwards, structured efforts, the 2012 Champoux Vineyard is a blend of 64% Cabernet Franc, 22% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised in 35% new French oak. Full-bodied, serious and loaded with tannin, it offers impressive currant and darker fruits, tobacco leaf and crushed rock like aromas and flavors that continue to gain depth and richness with time in the glass. It should hit full maturity at around age 10, and nicely for a decade or more after that.
Rating: 94+ -
Wine & Spirits
The 2012 Champoux is about two-thirds cabernet franc, with the balance merlot and cabernet sauvignon. It’s dark and warm at the outset, with scents of plums glazed with warm brown sugar, a hint of mocha emerging with air. The texture is a marvel, dark, suave, as plush as suede, with a lean mineral frame that gives the wine its length and gravitas. Cellar it for a year, then serve with steak.
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Wine Spectator
Bright and tangy, with a sharp edge to the red pepper—accented red berry flavors, followed by blueberry and plum notes that emerge gradually. Finishes with finesse against fine tannins. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
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.
"Surely this is Horse Heaven!”
Its wide prairies and rolling expanses led an early pioneer to proclaim that the region looked like “horse heaven,” and as a result, the area was appropriately named. Horse Heaven Hills is in south central Washington state, geographically bound on its northern border by the Yakima River and in the south, by the larger Columbia River.
Its proximity to the Columbia River contributes to a variety of climactic factors that dramatically affect its grapes. In particular, an increase in wind from changes in pressure along the river, which flows from the cool and wet Pacific Ocean, inland to Washington’s hot and arid plains, creates 30% more wind than there would be otherwise. These winds moderate temperatures, protect against mold and rot, reduce the risk of early and late season frosts, diminish canopy size and toughen grape skins.
The vineyards bordering the river are on steep, south-facing, well-exposed slopes, with well-drained, sandy-loam soils. But the soils of the appellation are diverse throughout, ranging from wind-blown sand and loess, Missoula Flood sediment, and rocky basalt. Horse Heaven Hills has an arid continental climate with elevations ranging from 200 to 1,800 feet.
The first vines of the appellation were planted in 1972 in an optimal spot now referred to as the Champoux Vineyard. Today it remains the source of some of Washington’s most desirable and expensive Cabernet Sauvignons. In fact, the appellation as a whole boasts many of Washington’s top scoring wines. Its primary grape varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Riesling.