Winemaker Notes
Two Blondes is an important site because it represents the coolest site that we work with. This allows for some of the most elegant wines that they craft. It is also named after two of the owners of the Vineyard who happen to be blonde.
Blend: 64% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lots of tobacco, tapenade, smoked black fruits, and iron notes emerge from the 2018 Two Blondes Vineyard, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a plush, rounded texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. Coming from a vineyard in cooler Yakima Valley and a blend of 64% Merlot. 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Malbec, this complex, rich, nicely concentrated 2018 will keep for two decades.
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Vinous
The 2018 Red Wine Two Blondes is intense, blasting up with a seductive Merlot-centric bouquet of wild blueberries, lavender and sweet smoke before nuances of wet stone and baking spice emerge in the glass. This is a total darling, silky-smooth and elegant, with generous ripe red and blue fruits contrasted by saline-tinged acidity and the slightest tug of sour citrus. It finishes incredibly long and like a basket full of wild berries, staining the palate while also leaving it with an unbelievably fresh impression. There's a balanced structure here, but also enough fruit to nearly mask the tannins at this young stage. Total beauty.
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Decanter
Exhibits a deep core and is loaded with rich dark fruits alongside tar, anise and sagebrush tones on the palate. Full-bodied and downright delicious to consume now, this has a long life ahead of it.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 64% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec, the 2018 Two Blonds Vineyard opens with a lush and warm nose with aromas of blackberry jus, spiced plums and baked earth. Medium to full-bodied, the palate displays a balanced structure as dusty fruit flavors unpack across the mid-palate, ending with a long, winding finish leaving persistent flavors of black cherry skin in the mouth. The wine rested in 35% new French oak for 22 months. Just under 7,000 bottles were filled. Keep an eye out for this release.
Rating: 92+
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.