Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lots of tobacco leaf, truffle, cedar, and earthy notes emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Jack's Vineyard, and it has a solid core of ripe black fruits, a round, seamless texture, building yet ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. Coming from a vineyard outside of Walla Walla, it has a forward, soft feel which makes it already hard to resist, yet I see no reason it shouldn't evolve gracefully for 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One hundred percent whole-berry fermented, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Jack’s Vineyard opens with luscious and juicy aromas in the glass, offering up perfumed nuances of popcorn kernel, juicy plum, ripe cherry, black raspberry compote and red and purple flowers. Medium-bodied but full in flavor, the 13.5%-alcohol wine offers a luscious mouthfeel with velvety tannins and flavors of Chambord before ending with a smooth, juicy finish. The wine rested for 22 months on the lees in 58% new puncheons. Rating: 91+
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James Suckling
A juicy red with currant, blackberry and chocolate character. Medium to full body. Fresh finish. Slightly hollow in the mid-palate. Drink or hold.
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.
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.