Winemaker Notes
Blend: 55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A full-bodied red with aromas of blackberry, mulberry, vanilla, brown rice, chocolate and coconut. Firm, fine-grained tannins frame a generous, ripe core of sweet red and black fruit. Rounded, polished and richly flavored. Generous, but not overdone. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
A wine with presence and length, showing multilayered blackberry, green tea and licorice flavors that pick up speed and tension toward medium-grained tannins. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2030. 600 cases made.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Clos De Betz checks in as 55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Petit Verdot, and it has its Merlot component front and center, with loads of ripe cherry, currant, chocolate, tobacco, and leafy herb-like aromas and flavors. Nicely textured and medium-bodied, with good mid-palate depth as well as ripe tannins, it's approachable today, yet I think it will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and cruise over the following decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Clos de Betz is composed of 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot. In the glass, the wine is brilliant dark ruby with a firm ruby edge and opens to a nose that is full of red fruit tension and aromas of black raspberry, black plum, dark cherry and spiced red potpourri. Medium-bodied, the mouthfeel is silky with firm tannins and a balanced structure. The wine continues with flavors of dark cherry essence and a soft smoky tone across the lingering finish. It’s a delicious wine that will be approachable upon release, but don’t feel rushed to drink it right away—it has finesse and will age beautifully, so be patient. Only 7,200 bottles produced.
Rating: 93(+) -
Wine Enthusiast
This is a blend of 55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot. The aromas are brooding, with notes of tobacco leaf, cocoa, flowers, cedar, bay leaf and sautéed herbs. The palate shows refinement, sophistication and polish. This is far more about brains than brawn. A long finish caps it off. The intensity at this alcohol level is impressive and the balance spot-on. It will offer drinking pleasure for many years to come.
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.