Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Moving away from the Rhones-styled efforts and the most up-front and perfumed of the Bordeaux blends (just ahead of the Widowmaker), the 2010 Flying Pig is a Cabernet Franc-dominated blend that incorporates 37% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon into the blend. Loaded with notions of cassis, dried flowers, saline-like minerality, exotic spice and damp earth, it flows onto the palate with a juicy, brilliantly focused profile, with a core of sweet fruit, full-bodied richness and no hard edges. Give it 3-4 years to fill out and enjoy it over the following decade. Drink 2017-2027.
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Wine Enthusiast
Half Cabernet Franc, 37% Merlot, and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is one of a handful of Cayuse wines that spends a few months in new oak (about 50%). Done in a Claret style, it's firm, lightly toasty, with explosive dark fruits, streaked with umami, saline sea scents, dried plum, fig, cassis, earth and herbs all entwined to create compelling aromatics that carry through to an impressive finish.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Fresh and vibrant, pulsing with cherry, raspberry and spice flavors that glide onto the long and evocative finish. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
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.