Winemaker Notes
Blend: 13% Bacchus Vineyard Cab, 15% Dionysus Vineyard Cab,18% Red Willow Cab, 21% Red Willow Merlot, 12% Boushey Merlot, 15% Klipsun Merlot, 3% Bacchus Cab Franc, 4% Champoux Cab Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The entry-level Bordeaux blend from Chris is the 2015 Gravura, and in 2015 it’s a rough mix of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc. It’s a terrific wine, as well as a year in year out great value. The 2015 offers classic notes of blackcurrants, tobacco leaf and violets in a rich, pure, charming and classy style. It has ripe tannin and outstanding purity, and I’m sure it will drink nicely right out of the gate.
Range: 91-93 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The entry-level Bordeaux blend is the 2015 Gravura, made from 47% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Cabernet Franc and aged 20 months in 70% new French oak. It's the most open-knit, sexy, and voluptuous of the 2015s and has tons of ripe red and black fruits, chocolate, earth, and assorted spicy aromas and flavors. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured, drink it over the coming decade.
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 large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.