Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
A bouquet of hauntingly dark florals gives way to plum sauce, grilled herbs, dark chocolate and foreign spice as the complex and layered 2021 Red Wine Champoux blossoms in the glass. It's elegant in feel, with silken textures and polished red berry fruits offset by a tinge of bell pepper, rosy inner floral and graphite mineral tones swirl throughout. The 2021 creates a sweet and salty contrast through the finish, as a saline sensation mixes with ripe wild berries and hints of cola over a bed of fine-grained tannins. While already inviting today, the 2021 possesses the balance for a long and steady evolution. I can not recall tasting a more compelling example of Andrew Will's Champoux vineyard.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 56% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Champoux Vineyard is similarly ruby/purple-hued and has a spicy, minty herb-laced nose of red and blue fruits, sandalwood, and dried flowers. This complex, medium-bodied, elegant red has velvety tannins, terrific balance, and a great finish. It's not a blockbuster but shines for its purity, complexity, and finesse-driven style.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Champoux Vineyard is composed of 56% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, matured for 24 months in 30% new French oak. It bursts from the glass with expressive blackcurrant, bell pepper, licorice, savory herbs, iron and violet. The full-bodied palate balances waves of dark, briary fruit with abundant, powdery tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity, and it has a very long, layered finish.
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James Suckling
Rich, earthy and savory with black and purple fruits and spicy cinnamon. Full-bodied. Drink or hold.
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.