Wine Advocate
Coming more from the Seven Hills vineyard, the 2012 Columbia Valley Red Wine has an old-school, classic Cabernet feel in its lead pencil, tobacco, dusty pebble and assorted dark fruits. Full-bodied, elegant and layered, with both texture and structure, this beauty will hit maturity around age 4-5, and drink nicely through 2027.
~ Jeb Dunnuck, June 28, 2015 Issue 219 | Rating: 91
Vinous
(51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc): Bright dark red with ruby highlights. Aromas of currant, plum, licorice and spicy oak. At once supple and cool, showing a suave texture and noteworthy intensity and depth to the slightly medicinal plum, redcurrant, mineral and menthol flavors. Much more than just a fruit bomb. Finishes with serious but suave tannins and excellent rising length. This classy, firmly structured blend should age gracefully. This is the new Washington project of Napa Valley’s Dennis Cakebread, with Aryn Morell responsible for the winemaking. An early look at the 2013 confirms that this is an emerging star.
~ Stephen Tanzer, November 2014 | Rating: 91
Wine Spectator
Firm tannins and a sleek structure support the black currant, savory spice and coffee flavors as they glide into the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2017 through 2022. 3,000 cases made.
~ (HS) August 31, 2015 | Rating: 90
Wine & Spirits
A blend of cabernet sauvignon (51 percent) with merlot and cabernet franc, this has a pretty spice that hints at the wine’s complexity. With air, the core of dark cherry fruit starts to plump up the middle, a mingling of cedary oak tannins and fruit tannins lending complexity to the finish. Give it a bit of time to integrate in the cellar.
Rating: 91
Great Northwest Wine
Famed Napa Valley producer Dennis Cakebread marks the debut of his investment in the Washington wine industry with this reference to the historic wagon path across the Rockies to Fort Walla Walla. Cakebread’s collaborative effort with Columbia Valley winemaker Aryn Morell proves to be a wise choice for several reasons, starting with Morell’s experience with Royal Slope fruit through the Lawrence family as well as Seven Hills Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley — near where Morell lives and works. Both sources formed this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (51%), Merlot (37%) and Cabernet Franc, an 81-barrel lot that spent 17 months in oak. The fluid is remarkably perfumy with sweet baking spice and cocoa powder amid plum, blueberry, bittersweet chocolate, chalkboard dust and violet. There’s a bold juiciness to the entry with pomegranate, black cherry and red currant, followed by underlying tannin making for a well-balanced structure. It turns darker on the finish with flavors of blackberry and more plum.
~ January 21, 2015 | Rating: Excellent