Winemaker Notes
Blend: 43% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Starting the 2010s and from a warmer, windy terroir located in the western part of Yakima Valley, the 2010 Two Blondes Vineyard is made from a blend of 43% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc and a splash of Malbec that spent 21 months in barrel. Its ruby, semi-opaque color is followed by a medium-bodied, elegant effort that has notions of red plums, underbrush, licorice and cedar on both the nose and palate. Finesse oriented, yet reserved aromatically at the moment (especially when compared to the 2009), it should flesh out nicely with another year or two of bottle age and drink well for 7-8 years after that.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Sophisticated and complex, this terroir-specific wine artfully blends herbal components—green tea, chamomile and mint—with tart red fruit flavors of pomegranate, raspberry, and bramble. The blend is 43% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec.
-
Wine Spectator
Firm in texture, with juicy blackberry and cherry fruit pushing through a layer of fine tannins and extending expressively onto the finish. Displays a pleasant sense of tension. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec
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.