Winemaker Notes
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 8% Malbec,3% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Apogee Pepper Bridge Vineyard is made up of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 8% Malbec, and 3% Cabernet Franc aged for 22 months in 50% new French oak. Balsam wood, graphite, cinnamon, clove, espresso, violets, black currant, and blackberry aromas inform the nose of a structured, savory, incipiently complex blend that will benefit from another 3-4 years of cellaring. This balanced, lengthy effort offers a drinking window extending from 2014 to 2028.
Rating: 91+ -
Wine Enthusiast
A Cabernet-dominated, Bordeaux-style blend, this peppery red has a complex mix of earth and spice scents around tart red fruit. Notes of toast and cinnamon, sharp acidity, and tannins with residual green tea flavors keep the finish interesting.
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Wine & Spirits
Red wines grown at Pepper Bridge often take their time to open, like this vintage of Apogee, which is in hibernation at the moment. Decant it and the wine begins to yield savory notes—tobacco, tea, dried chocolate—while the scent of fruit remains faint. The wine comes to life on the palate, where it feels poised even while unformed. Give this at least a year in the cellar.
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Wine Spectator
A bit tough in texture, but the pure blueberry and currant fruit comes through clearly, driving through a layer of chewy tannins to persist nicely on the meaty finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2014 through 2018.
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.