Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The fruit for the 2008 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from four prominent Walla Walla vineyards with the final blend consisting of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and 7% Petit Verdot aged in 60% new French oak for 22 months. A total of 900 cases were produced. Notes of pain grille, pencil lead, Asian spices, incense, violets, black cherry, and a hint of chocolate inform the nose of a dense, smooth-textured, suave, beautifully balanced wine that will reward 4-5 years of cellaring. It offers a drinking window extending from 2015 to 2028.
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Wine Enthusiast
Not a lot of wood scents are showing, though the aging took place in roughly 50% new oak barrels. This has forward, pretty black fruits, juicy acids, some still-unresolved astringency, and aromatically it incorporates a nice herbal note, reminiscent of green tea. Still too young to drink, and the rating could go higher with more bottle age.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Broad, ripe and generous, with a weightless feel to the dense cherry, blackberry and herb flavors, mingling effortlessly with fine tannins on the long finish. Should age to an elegant style.
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.