Andrew Will Winery Ciel du Cheval 2011
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Blend: 52% Cabernet Franc, 48% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the top wines in the vintage, the 2011 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard (52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot that spent 21 months in 35% new French oak) offers thrilling amounts of fruit and texture, with full-bodied richness, excellent mid-palate depth and sweet tannin. Loaded with both red and black currant fruit, dried flowers, damp earth and hints of meatiness, it can be consumed anytime over the coming 10-12 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Half Merlot and half Cabernet Franc, this firm, minerally, tightly wound Bordeaux-style blend seems anchored in the latter grape. Lovely whiffs of coffee grounds, wild berry and currant, stiff acids and sculpted tannins work together to craft a complex red. Cellar Selection.
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Wine & Spirits
This blend of nearly equal parts cabernet franc and merlot leads with the blue fruit you might expect from Ciel, but it’s more minty and high-toned and less massive than most Red Mountain wines. Vinous, dry and focused, the intensity of the wine gives the impression of purity more than power, with a finish that feels like a skater's schuss to a stop on the ice. Impressive, but for the cellar.
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Wine Spectator
This firm textured version offers a plush core of red berry and cherry flavors, shaded with sweet spice notes as the finish lingers. Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
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Andrew Will Winery was started in 1989 and is owned by Chris Camarda. The winery was named for nephew Andrew and son Will. Andrew Will was launched out of a love for wine that Chris developed while working in the restaurant trade for almost 20 years. Named after his son Will and nephew Andrew, Andrew Will has been a major contributor in putting Washington State on the map as a world-class wine-producing region.
Andrew Will wines are labeled by vineyard with each wine a different makeup of the Bordeaux varietals. These vineyards, all in the Columbia Valley, include Camarda's own estate Two Blondes. He is part owner of the Champoux Vineyard and sources from Ciel du Cheval Vineyard. They make about 4500 cases of wine. In addition to the blends, Andrew Will makes from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and Sangiovese from fruit grown at Ciel du Cheval.
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.
As the first recognized wine-growing region in the Pacific Northwest, Yakima Valley is centrally located within Washington’s vast Columbia Valley. The region also includes Washington’s oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines, Otis Vineyard, planted in 1957, and Harrison Hill Vineyard, planted in 1963. Yakima Valley contains three smaller sub-regions: Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, and Snipes Mountain and is ideal for both red and white wine production. In fact, Yakima Valley is Washington’s most diverse region, boasting more than 40 different grape varieties over about one hundred miles.
The cooler parts of the valley are home to almost half of the Chardonnay and Riesling produced in the state! Both are made in a wide range of styles depending on the conditions of the vineyard site.
But its warmer locations yield a large proportion of Washington’s best Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The finest Yakima Valley reds are jam-packed full of red cherry, currant, raspberry or blackberry fruit, as well as cocoa, herb, spice and savory notes, and exhibit a supple texture, great body, focus and length.