Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Kingpin is a bigger, richer, riper wine than the Rainmaker release. A blend of 94% Cabernet and 6% Petit Verdot, aged the same 22 months in 72% new French oak, it offers up lots of kirsch liqueur, blackberry, chocolate, toasted spice and dried herbs, full-bodied richness, and the classic savory Red Mountain tannin that’s the hallmark from this AVA. It’s approachable now, but I think it will be even better with short-term cellaring, and be at its best from 2018-2032.
Rating: 91+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Aromatically brooding, this has notes of dark cherries, blackberries, mineral and herbs with abundant barrel accents. It's full bodied, rich and high octane, at times seeming a bit overwrought but still delivering plenty of enjoyment.
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.
As the first recognized wine-growing region in the Pacific Northwest, Yakima Valley is centrally located within Washington’s vast Columbia Valley. The region also includes Washington’s oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines, Otis Vineyard, planted in 1957, and Harrison Hill Vineyard, planted in 1963. Yakima Valley contains three smaller sub-regions: Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, and Snipes Mountain and is ideal for both red and white wine production. In fact, Yakima Valley is Washington’s most diverse region, boasting more than 40 different grape varieties over about one hundred miles.
The cooler parts of the valley are home to almost half of the Chardonnay and Riesling produced in the state! Both are made in a wide range of styles depending on the conditions of the vineyard site.
But its warmer locations yield a large proportion of Washington’s best Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The finest Yakima Valley reds are jam-packed full of red cherry, currant, raspberry or blackberry fruit, as well as cocoa, herb, spice and savory notes, and exhibit a supple texture, great body, focus and length.