Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Baron’s as usual Cabernet Franc-dominated 2009 Flying Pig – incorporating 34% Merlot as well as 12% Cabernet Sauvignon; its entirety sourced from the 1998 En Cerise plantings; and assembled around nine months after fermentation – gives a mouthwatering impression of being suffused with savory, carnal, fatty pan drippings. If this libation doesn’t qualify as high umami, I don’t know what would! With that come ripe, succulent, subtly tart-edged cassis and blueberry; bittersweet floral perfume; as well as rich yet piquant toasty walnut and hickory, all of which ally on a polished, soothing palate, leading to a long, vibrantly dynamic and – as already adumbrated – salivary gland-milking finish. This should prove a terrifically memorable table companion over the coming decade if not also beyond.
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Wine Enthusiast
The Flying Pig is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot. Bursting with a ripe, succulent cherry flavor, it offers layers of blackberry and spice, with floral highlights of talcum powder and rose. It's has a potpourri tone that dots the long, spicy finish. Perfect for ribs in a sweet barbecue sauce.
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Wine Spectator
Smooth, velvety and rich, with rose petal-accented black cherry, sassafras and tobacco flavors, remaining broad and open-textured as the finish lingers enticingly. Cabernet Franc 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.