Winemaker Notes
Dark to the rim of the glass, the 2021 Cabernet has an intoxicating perfume of ripe plum and black cherry, graham cracker, crème brûlée, and cassis. The creamy texture is flawless with tannin and acid in perfect harmony. What the 2021 vintage lacked in yield, it utterly compensated for in quality. This wine is both handsomely built for the cellar and a challenge to not enjoy in its youth.
Blend: 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The classic 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon from this reference point estate checks in as 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec raised 22 months in once-filled oak and neutral oval botti. Its vivid purple hue is followed by a perfumed, youthful bouquet of cassis and blue fruits that give way to more graphite, chalky minerality, violets, and spicy oak. It's deep, rich, and medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a gorgeous mid-palate, ripe, building, polished tannins, and fabulous length on the finish. Rating: 97+
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Vinous
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is intense, smoldering up with a dark blend of blackcurrants, crushed rocks, hints of graphite and sage. This is cool-toned and crisp, with crunchy red and black fruits that cascade across the palate as a saturation of primary concentration adds inner tension. A web of fine-grained tannins penetrates deeply, yet the 2021 maintains a fresh persona, tapering off long, staining and truly classic. A mineral tinge lingers on the finish.
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James Suckling
This is an elegant red with aromas ranging from dried earth, sage and black olives to mulberries, mocha and peaches. It’s medium- to full-bodied, silky and refined, with firm yet seamless tannins. 81% cabernet sauvignon 7% petit verdot, 5% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 3% malbec.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made with the addition of 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec, the 2021 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon is a broad, structured and generously layered wine. It exhibits a full-bodied and complex profile with juicy freshness, fine-grained tannins and a dusty essence of dark red and black fruits. Ending with a plummy finish, this wine promises to evolve and drink even better in the coming years.
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Wine Spectator
Impressive for its detailed structure and polished texture, this red offers robust black cherry and red currant flavors highlighted by mocha espresso and allspice tones as this ends with medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2033. 2,941 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.