Winemaker Notes
Luke Cabernet Sauvignon offers aromas dominated by marionberry and dark chocolate, accented by hints of mint and molasses. Supple, focused and expressive, layering coffee-accented blackberry and currant flavors with polished tannins and hints of cedar and smoke.
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Shows presence and polish, with expressive blackberry, smoked spice and dusty cedar notes that take on structure toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2025.
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James Suckling
A soft, fruity red with currant, berry, chocolate and hazelnut aromas and flavors. Medium to full body. Polished, velvety tannins. 96% cabernet sauvignon, 3% petit verdot and 1% malbec. Drink or hold.
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Tasting Panel
Dark ruby color; smooth, ripe, juicy and bright with deep plum and berry fruit; good acid structure and a long finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
More dark fruits and leafy herb notes emerge from the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, another value-priced effort with medium-bodied richness, impeccable balance, light tannins, and loads of charm. I don’t think it’s going to make old bones, but it will certainly have a solid 4-6 years of prime drinking.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A well-made wine that offers aromas of dusty red plum, blackberry and cassis, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a concentrated fruit core and touches of oak spices on the nose. Full-bodied, the palate is clean and correct with a well-structured mid-palate that offers firm tannins that are still tight in youth. The wine shows excellent value for the price, lingering long and delivering succulent black fruit flavors with a dusty essence on the finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromas offer notes of espresso, vanilla, spice and cherry. The palate brings cherry and raspberry flavors. Grainy, slightly astringent tannins back it up. It’s a bit clenched at present and will only improve with some time in bottle. Give it a long decant if drinking in the near term.
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.
Distinguished by a broad, south-exposed, uniform slope and landlocked by the Columbia River to its south and Saddle Mountains to its north, the Wahluke Slope AVA of Washington holds 15% of the total vine acreage of the state and takes its name from the Native American word for “watering place.”
Incidentally the Wahluke Slope AVA has one of the hottest and driest climates of the state so irrigation is not only essential, but also allows complete grower control of vine vigor. On top of its arid and warm environment, strong summer winds blow across this broad slope and ensure both smaller leaf size and grape clusters. The result is top quality wines with great concentration, phenolic ripeness, body and depth of flavor.
Vineyards cover the AVA from 425 to 1,480 feet along the slope. Its deep soils of wind-blown alluvium and sand with a depth, on average, of more than 5 feet along the continuous grade allow optimal drainage for the vines.
Thriving varieties include Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc.
Merlots are rich in sweet, ripe cherry, red currant, raspberry and cocoa. Syrahs tend to express black and blue fruit along with savory notes. Wahluke Cabernets are rich in stewed red and black berries.