Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Broad and open-textured, brimming with cherry, blackberry, floral and licorice flavors. The finish gains lift and momentum against buffed, fine-grained tannins. Best from 2018 through 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
More complex than the Columbia Valley Cabernet, the 2013 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon (100% Cabernet aged in 40% new French oak) reveals a healthy ruby/purple color as well as perfumed cedar, spice-box, crushed flowers and cassis and black raspberry like fruit. The oak is present, but nicely integrated. This medium to full-bodied, beautifully polished 2013 has solid mid-palate depth and enough tannin to keep it evolving gracefully for another decade or more.
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Wine Enthusiast
All varietal, this wine is a blend of fruit from seven different vineyards, ranging from those planted in river rock to those in windblown loess. Aromas of cherry, barrel spice, cocoa and dried herb lead to tart fruit flavors and bold tannins. It needs time to stretch its legs.
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Wine & Spirits
L’Ecole’s Walla Walla Cabernet from 2013 is surprisingly dark and plummy at first pass. Gone are the usual leafy, sun-dried spice notes, replaced by a powerful, almost Red Mountain style of cabernet sauvignon, firm, black-fruited and compelling in its depth and structure. This needs time in the cellar to find its balance. (2,200 cases)
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.
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.