Winemaker Notes
Blend: 57% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
A rich and darkly alluring mix of plum sauce, grilled sage and hints of sweet smoke makes the 2018 Red Wine Ciel du Cheval a total pleasure on the nose. This is seamlessly silky, with potent red fruits complimented by a pleasant inner sweetness that's quickly firmed up by saturating minerality and fine tannins collecting toward the close. The 2018 finishes youthfully inward and structured, leaving nuances of blueberry preserve and a dusting of cocoa to linger. The 2018 is just a baby today, but with serious cellar potential packed in. Wow.
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Jeb Dunnuck
An interesting mix of 57% Merlot and 43% Cabernet Franc, all from one of the top sites on Red Mountain, the 2018 Ciel Du Cheval Vineyard sports a deep ruby/purple hue along with lots of Bing cherry, mulberry, and blueberry fruits as well as notes of spring flowers, graphite, and cedar. Medium to full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with good acidity and ripe tannins, it's another wine from this estate that will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and have two decades of prime drinking.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed of 57% Merlot and 43% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard displays a vibrant magenta core with a lively ruby edge. Aromas of pencil shavings, graphite, sweet tobacco and dried herbs sway from the glass with layers of dark red and black fruit tones. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is precise with fantastic mineral tension and elements of fresh redcurrant, black cherry skin and crème de cassis flavors, with buttressing tannins that lift the mid-palate with succulent acidity. The wine continues to evolve in the mouth, revealing layers of complexity and finesse as it comes to a close over the long, lingering finish. The wine rested for 22 months in French oak, 35% first fill. It's another gorgeous wine from Andrew Will.
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.