Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Family Blend is aromatically diverse and brooding, Opening with dark cherries, raspberry, black currant and savory herb. The lush fruit is then joined with roasted cacao, wet stone. sage and lose leaf tobacco. The structure is generous in volume and very expressive, showcasing its classic Red Mountain tannins with a lovely drawn-out acid and mineral driven finish.
Pairs well with lamb kabobs, shepards pie, or a grilled steak.
Blend: 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, 11% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Family Blend checks in as 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, 11% Petit Verdot, and the rest Merlot. It has slightly more blue fruit as well as more pretty floral, graphite, orange blossom, and chalky mineral-like aromas and flavors. Rich, full-bodied, remarkably pure, and balanced, with a heady finish, it's another age-worthy, structured wine from this estate that has tons of character.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Mainly Cabernet Sauvignon with 16% Malbec, 11% Petit Verdot and 4% Merlot, the 2019 Family Blend Red Mountain is firm, spicy and floral with notions of baked earth and dark fruit aromatics. Full-bodied, the blend is dense and chewy on the palate, with the fruit expression condensing as a firm tannic edge takes its grip over the still-tight finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This onyx-hued beast is a mass of coiled tannins with equally dark aromas of briny squid ink, blackberries, black tea and graphite. Grippy tannins support the flavors of black cherry shaved ice syrup and raspberry pie.
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.
A coveted source of top quality red grapes among premier Washington producers, the Red Mountain AVA is actually the smallest appellation in the state. As its name might suggest, it is actually neither a mountain nor is it composed of red earth. Instead the appellation is an anticline of the Yakima fold belt, a series of geologic folds that define a number of viticultural regions in the surrounding area. It is on the eastern edge of Yakima Valley with slopes facing southwest towards the Yakima River, ideal for the ripening of grapes. The area’s springtime proliferation of cheatgrass, which has a reddish color, actually gives the area the name, "Red" Mountain.
Red Mountain produces some of the most mineral-driven, tannic and age-worthy red wines of Washington and there are a few reasons for this. It is just about the hottest appellation with normal growing season temperatures commonly reaching above 90F. The soil is particularly poor in nutrients and has a high pH, which results in significantly smaller berry sizes compared to varietal norms. The low juice to skin ratio in smaller berries combined with the strong, dry summer winds, leads to higher tannin levels in Red Mountain grapes.
The most common red grape varieties here are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, among others. Limited white varieties are grown, namely Sauvignon blanc.
The reds of the area tend to express dark black and blue fruit, deep concentration, complex textures, high levels of tannins and as previously noted, have good aging capabilities.