Winemaker Notes
Blend: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Even deeper colored, the 2014 Walla Walla Reserve checks in as a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec, and 8% Petit Verdot. Its vibrant purple color is followed by sensational notes of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings and hints of damp herbs. Rich, full-bodied, gorgeously concentrated, tannic and impeccably balanced, it's unquestionably one of the gems in this vintage. It needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years and will keep for two decades or more.
Rating: 96+ -
Vinous
The 2014 Red Wine Reserve bursts from the glass with a mentholated freshness as dusty rose and musky black cherries form its perfumed bouquet. This is deeply textural and plush on the palate, with saline minerals and brisk acidity adding tension as pretty inner florals form toward the close. The 2014 finishes energetically, buzzing with residual tension, as sour cherries and licorice tones slowly fade. Aromatically, the 2014 is beginning to develop, but it still requires some patience to truly soften.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and precise, balancing plush flavors with a firm, refined structure. The blackberry espresso and black olive accents finish with big but polished tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2019 through 2025.
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.