Winemaker Notes
Beautifully structured and polished, this stylish Cabernet immediately impresses with its aromatic purity, displaying brooding dark fruits, espresso, and graphite with hints of rose, black currant, and a savory earthiness. In the mouth, fresh flavors of black plum, blackberry, and lavender give way to a robust, mineral-laced finish.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A noble Cabernet Sauvignon from L'Ecole 41 with structure for serious longevity. Crafted from four sites meant to showcase the diversity in the Walla Walla Valley's terroir, the nose features bay leaf and blackberries with mint framed by a mineral streak of graphite. The palate is densely layered with baking chocolate, cinnamon, and eucalyptus, enveloping a core of black fruits. The tannins frame the wine nicely and reveal that this wine is one to cellar.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Cassis, spicy wood, vibrant flowers, and hints of spicy oak all emerge from the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley, a nicely balanced, elegant and medium-bodied Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that has ripe, polished tannins and a great finish.
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James Suckling
A compact, dark-fruited cabernet showing black currant, blueberry, ink and tomato leaf aromas. It’s full-bodied with chewy tannins that melt into the black fruit.
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Vinous
Dark and brooding, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley entices with hints of blood orange and split pine before giving way to blackberries and sage. Creamy textures envelop the palate with ripe red berry fruits and sweet spices as a tinge of zesty acidity maintains energy throughout. Mineral-driven, tactile, structured and long. Rating: 92+
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Wine Spectator
A solidly built version, with tightly focused currant and blackberry flavors framed by dried herbs and bitter chocolate. Finishes with a nip of tannins. Drink now through 2031. 2,050 cases made.
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.