Winemaker Notes
Ferguson’s flavor profile is distinctly influenced by its basalt soil. This wine offers complex aromas of espresso, tobacco, and dark mineral-laced fruit. Wild blackberries and dusty tannins integrate with flavors of flint and graphite on the palate. Concentrated natural acidity leads to a robust and lingering finish.
Blend: 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Estate Ferguson Vineyard checks in as a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cab Franc, and 7% Malbec that spent 22 months in 50% new oak. It's the smallest production release of the top cuvées and comes from a single vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley. Currants, smoke, graphite, toasty oak and a kiss of tobacco leaf all define this ripe, opulent, gorgeously pure and layered red. With a big mid-palate, sweet tannin, and a great finish, it's a beautiful wine from this estate that can be drunk today or cellaring for 10-15 years.
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James Suckling
The tar and blackberry aromas are impressive with hints of roasted almonds. Full-bodied, layered and delicious. Licorice and hot-stone undertones. Blend of 56% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 7% malbec. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
This winery's young estate vineyard is proving itself to be a special spot. This is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 7% Malbec. The brooding aromas of dark cherry, cassis, fresh and dried herb, incense, luxurious oak spices (50% new French), mineral, pencil lead, flower and scorched earth lead to a flavorful but exceptionally well-balanced palate that shows sophistication. The tannins are highly structured but also bring a sense of polish. It has the stuffing to go the distance but needs significant time to settle in. Best from 2028–2034.
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Wine & Spirits
This represents the fifth vintage of Ferguson, a cabernet-based blend from L’Ecole’s dramatic basalt-laden, wind-whipped vineyard above Seven Hills. The 2015 feels somewhat cooler than past vintages, still savory in its cedar and cigar-wrapper scents, and spice notes of cardamom and capsicum; but there’s a leafy quality to the plum flavors that lends itself to the texture as well, creating a more elegant feel to the tannins. Ready to drink now, it will age beautifully, and you’d be advised to cellar at least a few bottles to taste in five years, ten years, twenty.
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.