Winemaker Notes
Blend: 55% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 D2, a blend of 55% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, is a multi-vineyard, multi-regional blend that must have been like a jigsaw puzzle to assemble. It is a racy, elegant, complex effort sporting aromas of lavender, thyme, espresso, and toasty black fruits. On the palate a hint of chocolate, black cherry, and blackberry make an appearance. This savory, lengthy, nicely balanced wine will benefit from 2-3 years of cellaring (although it can be approached now) and will provide pleasure through 2020.
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Wine Enthusiast
Always a fine "second" label, the D2 from DeLille is no wimp. Alcohol is listed at a hefty 14.7%, and the blend—55% Merlot/39% Cabernet Sauvignon/4% Cab Franc/2% Petit Verdot—would stand proudly alongside most winery’s top wines. This has it all—sappy, tangy fruit, a mix of blue and purple; streaks of herb and leaf; smooth but firm tannins, and a buttery coating over the polished tannins. The finish goes and goes; the wine is still young and knitting itself together.
Editors' Choice
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.