Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A new cuvee that I absolutely loved from barrel last year, the 2012 Tempranillo La Paciencia Vineyard is brilliantly done and gives up a crazy bouquet of blackberries, black cherries, bouquet garni, roasted meats and dried violets. Full-bodied, seamless and elegant, with silky tannin and fabulous precision and length, it’s slightly more approachable than Cayuse’s Impulsivo, yet should still benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and evolve for 10-15 years after that. Drink 2017-2032
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine stops you in your tracks with its aromas of earth, peat, fire pit, tapenade and coffee. The flavors are outrageously rich, dense and textured, with a lightly tacky feel to the tannins and a hyperextended finish. It's a knockout.
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Wine Spectator
Dark, dense and spicy, layering generous currant and plum flavors with black pepper, toast and smoky bacon notes, persisting on the harmonious finish against refined tannins. Drink now through 2019.
Notoriously food-friendly, long-lasting and Spain’s most widely planted grape, Tempranillo is the star variety of red wines from Rioja and Ribera del Duero. The Rioja terms Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva indicate both barrel and bottle time before release. Traditionally blended in Rioja with Garnacha, plus a bit of Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, the Tempranillo in Ribera del Duero typically stands alone. Somm Secret—Tempranillo claims many different names depending on location. In Penedès, it is called Ull de Llebre and in Valdepeñas, goes by Cencibel. Known as Tinta Roriz in Portugal, Tempranillo plays an important role in Port wine.
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.