Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
My favorite of the three special cuvees, the 2014 Ferguson checks in as a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 6% Malbec. It knocks it out of the park with its dark, savory, mineral-laced fruit and is full-bodied, deep, rich and concentrated on the palate. This beautiful wine has building structure and ripe tannin, and it’s going to have two decades or more of longevity.
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James Suckling
Aromas of mirepoix and red currants lead to a palate that has a richly fruited core, framed in assertive, sturdy and muscular tannin. The dark fruit is held in tight. Try from 2024.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine comes from a recently planted area of valley, high on a ridge top. A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 6% Malbec, the aromas boast high-toned notes of mineral, herb, cherry, licorice and dark fruit. The cranberry and cherry flavors bring a sense of concentration and richness. It shows well now, but should only get better with some additional time in the bottle.
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Wine & Spirits
A young wine from a warm vintage, this blend focuses on cabernet sauvignon (56 percent) and merlot from L’Ecole’s dramatic planting above Seven Hills, a parcel of the Sevein project. It’s dark and brooding, overlaid with scents of cedar and clove. With air the wine’s frame comes into view, firm and tannic, as if the grape skins had been whipped by the wind. The structure is moored to dark, basaltic, mineral tannins. Impressive, and nowhere near ready to drink.
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.
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.