Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
More Cabernet Sauvignon dominated, the 2011 Camaspelo incorporates 20% Merlot and was aged in 50-60% new French oak. One of the few 2011s that has some upside, it offers up a smoke-laced array of black currants, singed herbs, graphite and hints of spring flowers to go with a medium to full-bodied, elegant and seamless character on the palate. Inky purple in color, with fine tannin and a big finish, it’s a smoking Cabernet that will evolve nicely for 15 to 20 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Camaspelo is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with 20% Merlot. The fruit shines through brightly in this cooler vintage, black cherry and plum with a saline minerality. The wine saw 40% new oak, perhaps for the last time, as Christophe Baron believes “the barrel is dead” and is moving to all-neutral, large format foudres, puncheons and concrete. Soft, supple and sensuous, this is a delicious wine drinking quite nicely already.
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Wine Spectator
Remarkably fresh and elegant, with pure red berry and black raspberry flavors set on a narrowly focused frame, gliding easily into a deft and glowing finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
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.
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.