Winemaker Notes
2017 featured a warm spring, cool summer, and lovely fall. Focused and precise, Côte Bonneville expects the wines from this vintage to be exceptionally long lived. The grapes developed wonderful acidity which keeps the wines young and vibrant. Effusive berry, fresh cherry, red currant, and cocoa are complemented by Cambodian red peppercorn and citrus oil.
The powerful structure and lingering finish pair beautifully with steak or mushroom pappardelle.
Blend: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Devastatingly aromatic, the 2017 DuBrul Vineyard is composed of a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot. It’s generously layered without being massive, possessing power with a finesse that perfectly captures the ripeness of fruit with a juicy essence, dusty core and fine glossy polish to the nose. Full-bodied, luscious and juicy, it features ripe red and black fruit flavors in the mouth with impeccable balance and precision across the mid-palate, exposing layers of complexity with elements of vanilla, cinnamon and black raspberry, sensational mineral tension and a seamless expression with youthful and fine-grained tannins. It somersaults to a long, evolving finish that has me staring into my glass and inhaling deeply, wanting to continue just smelling it as it evolves in the glass. This bottling is currently not released. You'll want to make this a top priority to add to your seller once it's available. Only 3,400 bottles were filled with this stunningly gorgeous wine. Bravo!
Rating: 96+ -
Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship from this notable estate is the 2017 Cote Bonneville Dubrul Vineyard, which comes exclusively from the DuBrul Vineyard and is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot that spent two years in 70% new French oak. Gorgeous redcurrants, cassis, toasted bread, baking spices, and incense notes emerge from this beauty, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a round, supple, seamless texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This is an age-worthy cuvée, yet there's certainly lots of up-front appeal in the 2017, and I would lean toward drinking bottles over the coming 10-15 years.
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.