Winemaker Notes
This Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon offers notes of blackberry, cassis, anise, fig, cardamom, fresh leather, graphite, dried herbs, and dusty cocoa. It is lush, rich, and round on the palate. A tense, dry wine with long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Slightly more reserved, the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain is deep ruby/plum-hued with a solid core of red and black fruits, leafy herbs, tobacco, and spicy oak. Rich, nicely concentrated, and medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a layered, balanced mouthfeel as well as enough tannins.It's another incredibly complex, impressive wine from this estate that offers tons of pleasure.The blend is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec, Syrah, and Petit Verdot.
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James Suckling
Dense and dark, with aromas of cedar, cinnamon and black plums, then tight on the palate as bitter chocolate and black cherries are coated in firm, sandy tannins. Char and graphite accents build and linger on the finish.
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Vinous
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain is impossible to ignore. Hints of stone dust, graphite and sweet sage complicate crushed raspberry and strawberry nuances. It washes across the palate with a silken texture, maintaining a lifted and graceful feel as tart red berry fruits slowly saturate. A coating of fine tannins lingers as the 2021 tapers off with a totally classic feel, dry and youthfully angular yet wonderfully balanced. It's fantastic. Rating: 93+
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.