Winemaker Notes
Blend: 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot, 7% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Estate Perigee Seven Hills Vineyard checks in as a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Malbec and Petit Verdot, aged 22 months in 40% new French oak. It sports a deep purple color as well as terrific notes of ripe plums, violets, blueberries, incense and lead pencil. Pure, beautifully concentrated, layered and elegant, it's another beautiful wine from this team that's made in good quantities.
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Vinous
(L'Ecole's youngest Cabernet Sauvignon planting at Seven Hills has now reached 20 years of age): Bright ruby-red. Penetrating perfume of cassis, licorice, chocolate, herbs and tobacco, plus a cedary note that's typical of the site and a hint of blackberry from the Petit Verdot. Chewy, very rich wine with terrific inner-mouth energy and subtle violet, laurel and rose petal lift from the Cabernet Franc. The longest and most palate-staining of these 2015 reds to this point, with the late-arriving tannins coating the teeth without turning dry. Marty Clubb mentioned that this wine historically was from the highest or the oldest block in Seven Hills but that with more sites to choose from today, he now has more options for making this wine.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Cabernet Sauvignon makes up 56% of this blend, with the balance Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. It's locked up on first pour, with notes of barrel spice, dark chocolate, graphite, cassis, green herb and purple flower. The palate brings abundant cherry flavors backed by brawny, slightly astringent tannins. It shows a lot more tannic heft than this vineyard is often known for, needing significant time to settle in. Best after 2024.
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Wine & Spirits
Tobacco drenched in red wine” is how one taster described this Seven Hills blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot. Indeed, it’s so savory, with notes of cedar, tobacco and anise, that the plum-sauce and cassis notes took a day to arrive. It’s a mouthful, the flavors as dark and deep as balsamic syrup, the tobacco-like tannins acting as a vise on the tongue; for a ribeye.
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.