| |
|
2006 Bordeaux-Styled Wines
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Père de Famille
Achieving a final blend for any of our wines takes me months; trial blends, barrel by barrel, are made “in the lab”, assessed and recorded. Starting with a blank slate for each blend helps keep things focused on the completeness of flavor, mouthfeel, complexity and balance. We were somewhat surprised when the final blend for the 2006 Père de Famille was almost identical to the 2005, within 0.5% for any of the four varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec
The blend yielded a wine of serious proportion, lush and silky structure, and a complex tangle of fruit, spice and wood notes. There’s a deep core of black currant, with plum and black cherry beneath, then the sweet pipe tobacco, black olive and sandalwood set in. It’s full bodied, with a fundamental grip of tannin for longevity (79% of the fruit comes from Red Mountain), but a lifted and plush texture (composed of equal parts from the Horse Heaven Hills and Yakima Valley).
84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec
79% Red Mountain, 10.5% Horse Heaven Hills, 10.5% Yakima Valley
The Wine Advocate (Parker) reviewed the 2006 about 3 months after bottling and had this to say: “…Opaque purple, the wine has a brooding nose of wood smoke, earth notes, mineral, spice box, black cherry, and blackberry. This is followed by a layered, opulent wine with superb depth and concentration…” 95 points
|
 |
2006 Clos de Betz
During the months of barrel aging and evolution we began referring to the 2006 Clos de Betz as the “black hole” wine, somewhat for its color, but more for the character of its fruit: black, blue and a little red. Black cherry, kirsch, blueberry, plum, espresso and bitter chocolate. With barrel aging it took on an added creaminess to soften a massive mouthfeel, yet it retains a vibrant, intense personality.
The reason, we think, is in not “dumbing down” the Merlot fraction (47% of the blend) to just a smooth, pleasant quaffer. By focusing on low yields, careful fermentation and maturation techniques and not over-oaking, Merlot can achieve a deep pure fruit expression. Blending with selected barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec created a complex, complete wine, with a depth and power beyond previous vintages. Perhaps we like calling it the “black hole” wine because of the way it draws us in and doesn’t let go.
47% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, 10% Malbec
41% Horse Heaven Hills, 31% Yakima Valley, 28% Red Mountain
Wine Advocate (Parker) also reviewed the Clos de Betz at the same time:
“…Purple/black in color, it reveals a fragrant nose of pain grille, pencil lead, scorched earth, black cherry, blackberry, and plum. This leads to a smooth-textured, intense, layered wine with superb depth and concentration…” 93 points |
 |
|
|
