Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
More Merlot-dominated, the 2018 Uriah is a complex blend of 46% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, 17% Petit Verdot, and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon. It's another impressive Bordeaux blend from this team that has impressive purity in its red and black fruits as well as complex notes of dried herbs, tobacco leaf, lead pencil, and loamy earth. As with all the releases here, it's balanced, has ripe tannins, and a great finish. Drink it any time over the coming 15 years.
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James Suckling
Aromas of ripe red cherry, clotted cream and rosemary. Full-bodied and well balanced. Slightly chewy tannins. Milk chocolate and red fruit on the palate with oolong coming at the finish.
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Wine Spectator
Polished and sleekly elegant in structure, with expressive red currant, espresso and tobacco flavors that fan out toward refined tannins. Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is 59% Cabernet Franc and 41% Merlot. Cherry, raspberry and cedar aromas lead to reserved, sophisticated red fruit flavors. The focus is squarely on the fruit on this notably elegant wine.
Cellar Selection -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Dark ruby at its core, the 2018 Uriah starts firm and dusty in the glass with a rocky essence and elements of blackberry skin, black plum and hints of oak and spice before notions of baked earth sway on the nose. Medium to full-bodied, the wine offers a firm tannic edge that will loosen with time in the bottle. It offers succulent flavors of dark red cherry and spiced plum and a delicate mineral tension. The wine concludes with a firm, mineral-laced finish and will remain food-friendly until its 15th birthday.
Rating:90+ -
Wine & Spirits
From the Palouse Hills in the northeast corner of the appellation, this wine’s scents of tomato leaf and cedar nail it as Walla Walla. Mostly merlot and cabernet, it’s a big wine, with opulent plum and black-cherry flavors, and exceptionally firm, robust tannins. Grab a decanter and pour it for lamb medallions
Spring Valley Vineyard is located just outside of Walla Walla, amid the scenic wheat fields of southeastern Washington. The family-owned land dates back to the late 1880’s when original owner Uriah Corkrum started farming wheat in the area. In 1993, Shari Derby, granddaughter of Uriah and husband Dean Derby planted the first grapes at Spring Valley. The first vintage of Estate grown, and bottled Spring Valley Vineyard wines were produced with the 1999 vintage. In 2007, 66 acres of new vineyards were planted & now consist of 111 acres of grapevines including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec.
Spring Valley was built on the strong foundation of grit, authenticity, hard work, love for the land, and love for family. The names given to the Spring Valley Vineyard Estate wines are in tribute to the family members who struggled and succeeded in farming in the same land for over 150 years. True to the family’s vision, the Spring Valley Vineyard and wheat fields are family-farmed this day to the 6th Generation. Katherine Derby, the granddaughter of Spring Valley vineyard owners Dean and Shari Derby and great-great-granddaughter of Spring Valley Founder Uriah Corkrum is carrying on the family’s legacy with leading winemaking operations – 30 years after planting the first vines.
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.