Winemaker Notes
This inky Cabernet-dominated wine explodes from the glass with a flamboyant and enchanting bouquet of freshly picked flowers. Malbec contributes precision and levity on the palate. These two features are defining characteristics of the truly great wines of the world. It is a sensation of density of fruit on the palate without being cloying. The wine is brimming with black and red fruits and just a whisper of oak. The tannins are luscious but structured to age magnificently. The balance is perfect.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Reserve is similar in color (it might be even inkier at the rim) and is a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec, and 5% Cabernet Franc that spent 22 months in a mix of 75% new and 25% once-used French oak barrels. It offers sensational notes of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed rocks, smoke tobacco, and perfectly integrated oak. These all flow to a ripe, powerful, yet seamless and incredibly elegant wine that has nothing out of place, building tannins, awesome purity of fruit, and a massive finish. Reminding me of the 2010, yet made in a more elegant style, this magical wine is drinkable today but will benefit for 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades. Hats off to Chris Figgins for another awe-inspiring wine.
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James Suckling
Beautifully stylish, this is a complex, youthful red with attractive, barrel-derived charcuterie, built around precisely ripe blackcurrants, red plums and dark cherries, as well as cedary-tobacco nuances and dark chocolate. So classic. The palate has a succulent, smooth and astutely groomed texture with tannins that are so nicely worked and deliver length with elegance. Black-cherry, blood-plum and dark-chocolate flavors abound. A blend of 73% cabernet sauvignon, 22% malbec and 5% cabernet franc. Try from 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Walla Walla Reserve is the king of the range with expressive, bold fruit that demonstrates finesse and power, with crème de cassis, blackberry skin and dark cherry jus that connects with a spiced core and oaky essence on the nose. Full-bodied on the palate, the wine bursts with flavor teeming with tension and ripe tannins that will carry this for decades to come. Lush and round, it ends with a long, thought-provoking finish with impeccable balance. 911 cases produced.
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Vinous
The 2016 is dark and earthy in the glass, with a captivating bouquet of exotic spices and dusty dried flowers giving way to black raspberries and fresh mint. It's soft and round, with ripe red and black fruits elevated by juicy acidity. The 2016 is already quite enjoyable today, finishing remarkably fresh and clean, leaving only a subtle coating of tannins and hints of sour cherry that add a lovely tension. In 2016, only about 1/3 of the fruit was picked before rain moved into the area in October. The result is a softer, more accessible, yet still highly enjoyable Reserve.
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Wine Spectator
Graceful, polished and dynamic, with layered blackberry, toasty allspice and espresso flavors that take on richness toward refined tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2028.
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Wine Enthusiast
Cabernet Sauvignon makes up 73% of this wine, with the balance of a healthy dollop of Malbec (22%) along with a smidgen of Cabernet Franc. For the first time, this wine includes fruit from newer estate plantings at Holy Roller and Serra Pedace. The aromas reveal notes of coffee, star anise, black cherry, plum and spice. Plump, saturated, palate-coating fruit flavors follow with highly structured acidity and tannins backing it up. This wine is always more about the future than the present, and never more so than with this vintage. Best after 2025, with a long life beyond that.
Cellar Selection
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.