Winemaker Notes
Wild black berry fruits, dried herbs, savory herbs, quince zest, cinnamon, dried ginger, cocoa, and a touch of coffee and black licorice. Full palate, bright and nice long finish. Notes of aged leather, umami, dried rosemary, and vanilla round out the structured finish.
Blend: 93% Cabernet, 3.5% Petit Verdot, 3.5% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Spicy red fruits, cedarwood, tobacco, cigar, and chocolate notes all emerge from the 2019 La Haute Cuvée, a medium to full-bodied, ripe, nicely balanced red with fine tannins, good mid-palate depth, and outstanding length. A blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and equal parts Petit Verdot and Merlot, it's drinking nicely today yet should have a good decade of longevity.
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James Suckling
Aromas of ripe dark and blue fruit with violets, chocolate orange, tobacco leaf and licorice. Full and opulent with ultra-fine tannins that are silky and plush. A lot of nuances emerge as it progresses, from delicious blue fruit to spicy and earthy notes. Lingering and delicate finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The seventh vintage ever bottled, the 2019 La Haute Cuvée is Cabernet Sauvignon-based with 3.5% Petit Verdot and 3.5% Merlot. Opening with a nose of pure, fresh and juicy black raspberries, dusty plum and dark cherry skin, hints of vanilla and brown baking spices loft with white and red flowers. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals a juicy and ripe mouthfeel, with balanced, succulent tannins that give way to an underlying dustiness. The wine continues to uncoil on the palate and shows a growing spiciness that winds its way across the focused, long-lingering, red-fruited finish, with persistent, mouth-watering acidity and fine-grained tannins. The wine rested for 27 months in 78% new oak, primarily French.
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Vinous
Dusty black currant, cinnamon, clove and ashen stone form a captivating and spicy bouquet as the 2019 La Haute Cuvée comes to life in the glass. This is pure class—silky and refined, with a sweet-and-sour twang of wild berry fruits, all perfectly balanced by saline-tinged acidity. The 2019 finishes with gentle tannins and is nearly juicy in character, leaving hints of tobacco, licorice and mint to linger. La Haute Cuvée is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.5% Petit Verdot and 3.5% Merlot, refined in 78% new oak—a mix of French and American barrels.
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Decanter
Mostly Cabernet with a bit of Petit Verdot and Merlot added in, and done with native fermentation this is a very aromatic wine, the appellation's first bio-dynamic production. It's very old school aromatically with an emphasis on floral and mineral elements, violets, crushed stone and hints of funk. The palate is supple, with red berry flavors enveloped by mineral elements and a savory, sage-driven character. A unique wine for the appellation.
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.
A coveted source of top quality red grapes among premier Washington producers, the Red Mountain AVA is actually the smallest appellation in the state. As its name might suggest, it is actually neither a mountain nor is it composed of red earth. Instead the appellation is an anticline of the Yakima fold belt, a series of geologic folds that define a number of viticultural regions in the surrounding area. It is on the eastern edge of Yakima Valley with slopes facing southwest towards the Yakima River, ideal for the ripening of grapes. The area’s springtime proliferation of cheatgrass, which has a reddish color, actually gives the area the name, "Red" Mountain.
Red Mountain produces some of the most mineral-driven, tannic and age-worthy red wines of Washington and there are a few reasons for this. It is just about the hottest appellation with normal growing season temperatures commonly reaching above 90F. The soil is particularly poor in nutrients and has a high pH, which results in significantly smaller berry sizes compared to varietal norms. The low juice to skin ratio in smaller berries combined with the strong, dry summer winds, leads to higher tannin levels in Red Mountain grapes.
The most common red grape varieties here are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, among others. Limited white varieties are grown, namely Sauvignon blanc.
The reds of the area tend to express dark black and blue fruit, deep concentration, complex textures, high levels of tannins and as previously noted, have good aging capabilities.