Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2004 The Widowmaker “En Chamberlin Vineyard” is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in French oak, 75% new. The most massive of Cayuse’s Bordeaux-styled wines, this purple-colored behemoth offers an imposing nose of pain grille, scorched earth, espresso roast, licorice, and black currants. Brooding on the palate, this amazingly rich and concentrated wine is an infant in terms of its development. There is enough structure to support 10-20 years in the cellar but there is so much extract and baby fat that the wine can be enjoyed now with a dry-aged prime ribeye. For those with patience, The Widowmaker (could this be a reference to the potential longevity of the wine?) should drink well through 2050. Personally, I look forward to drinking this wine when I’m 105.
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Wine Enthusiast
The minerality in this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon has an iodine/oyster shell finish that is quite unique. The fruit smacks of cassis and a bit of boysenberry; the 80% new oak is barely evident. It's got the typical potpourri mix of flower and herb, not just the scents but also in the flavors. The flavors just hang in there remarkably well; this takes cassis and black olive and smoke and tar and mixes them into a tight, compact, layered and lengthy Cabernet.
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Wine Spectator
This smells of herbs, but offers a mouthful of gorgeous plum and currant fruit on a supple frame. Finishes with harmony and a distinct stylishness. The savory notes add plenty of interest, and the oak integrates smoothly.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
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.