Winemaker Notes
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Shiels’ 686 cases of 2008 DuBrul Vineyard Carriage House – its Cabernet Sauvignon blended with 23% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, and raised in two-thirds new barrels – represents the latest installment of a wine that is their “second” red from Bordelais varieties but not at all a “second wine” in the classic sense, since it originates in separate rows with slightly different underlying soils from those farmed and sourced for the Cote Bonneville flagship. As usual for this bottling, there is a lovely alliance of polished, even silken texture with Washington fruit-typical vim and vigor. Despite the dominance of Cabernet Sauvignon, there is a significant, not to mention winsome, profusion of bittersweet floral perfume. Cassis, elderberry, and dark cherry are mingled with nut oils and tinged with iodine, smoky Latakia tobacco, and dark chocolate. Glycerol-rich yet with a buoyancy that belies its high-14% alcohol, this finishes with lusciously lingering fruit in a vibrant exchange with floral, herbal and mineral elements.
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Wine Enthusiast
This Bordeaux-style blend is two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 12% Cab Franc. It’s got tart, juicy fruit flavors of berry and cherry, plenty of supporting acidity, and light suggestions of mineral and barrel toast. It’s drinking well at almost six years of age, and may be consumed immediately.
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.
As the first recognized wine-growing region in the Pacific Northwest, Yakima Valley is centrally located within Washington’s vast Columbia Valley. The region also includes Washington’s oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines, Otis Vineyard, planted in 1957, and Harrison Hill Vineyard, planted in 1963. Yakima Valley contains three smaller sub-regions: Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, and Snipes Mountain and is ideal for both red and white wine production. In fact, Yakima Valley is Washington’s most diverse region, boasting more than 40 different grape varieties over about one hundred miles.
The cooler parts of the valley are home to almost half of the Chardonnay and Riesling produced in the state! Both are made in a wide range of styles depending on the conditions of the vineyard site.
But its warmer locations yield a large proportion of Washington’s best Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The finest Yakima Valley reds are jam-packed full of red cherry, currant, raspberry or blackberry fruit, as well as cocoa, herb, spice and savory notes, and exhibit a supple texture, great body, focus and length.