" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Avennia Valery Red Blend 2018
No longer available.
| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | Washington Washington (Columbia Valley) |
| Winery: | Avennia |
| Grape Type: | Merlot |
| Vintage: | 2018 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
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Avennia Valery Red Blend is made from 86% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc
Valery is named for the patron saint of wine in the St. Emilion region that inspired it.
We started with old vine Merlot from a stony block in the heart of the Yakima Valley and added complex, aromatic Cabernet Franc from the Horse Heaven Hills. The result is a balanced, complex wine with the elegance and ethereal perfume that this blend of two of Washington’s best varietals are known for.
The nose on this wine is very perfumed, almost exotic with notes of fresh violets, red plum, winter mint, fresh herbs and crushed limestone qualities. The palate is poised and balanced, with red fruits and mocha powder encapsulated in limestone. The finish lingers delicately, with the Cabernet Franc asserting a light tobacco and herb note, giving depth. A compelling wine that will continue to unwind for 7-10 years in the cellar.
Review:
Brought up in 30% new French oak, the 2016 Valery (70/30 Merlot and Cabernet Franc) offers more black cherry and earthy, herbal notes as well as a medium-bodied, seamless, beautifully balanced style. It too shows a vibrant, fresh, yet concentrated style that has a Bordeaux feel in its weight and texture.
-Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points
Good medium-dark red. Aromas of blueberry, mocha, licorice and violet are a bit darker than those of the 2015 version. Dense and penetrating, with wild flavors of dark berries, licorice and game given lift by rocky minerality and a minty nuance. Chris Peterson slightly acidified his Cabernet Franc from Champoux Vineyard, which he added to the wine for richness. This beauty may yet tighten up in the bottle.- Stephen Tanzer" - Antonio Galloni's Vinous (November 2018), 92+ pts "A blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Valery spins out of the glass with aromas of ripe and juicy plum, sage, dark cherry skin and cocoa with signs of rocky minerality. Medium to full-bodied, there is a beautiful complexity across the mid-palate, showing youthful, dark red fruit with a mineral-driven focus. The wine lingers on the finish, with soft oak spices, healthy fruit expressions and hints of sage. I enjoyed sampling this delicious Merlot blend. This wine will go in my cellar. Only 240 cases were made. - Anthony Mueller
-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 92 Points
Merlot from old blocks at Boushey Vineyards make up 70% of this wine, with the rest Cabernet Franc from esteemed Champoux Vineyard. Fascinating aromas of ripe red raspberry, earth, green herbs, cigar box and flower are followed by ripe, hedonistic fruit flavors that show the warmth of the vintage. Coffee notes linger on the finish. It's brings unignorable appeal and will have a very long life in front of it. Best after 2023. - SEAN P. SULLIVAN
-Wine Enthusiast 91 Points
Avennia Valery Red Blend is made from 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc
Valery is named for the patron saint of wine in the St. Emilion region that inspired it.
We started with old vine Merlot from a stony block in the heart of the Yakima Valley and added complex, aromatic Cabernet Franc from the Horse Heaven Hills. The result is a balanced, complex wine with the elegance and ethereal perfume that this blend of two of Washington’s best varietals are known for.
The nose on this wine is very perfumed, almost exotic with notes of fresh violets, red plum, winter mint, fresh herbs and crushed limestone qualities. The palate is poised and balanced, with red fruits and mocha powder encapsulated in limestone. The finish lingers delicately, with the Cabernet Franc asserting a light tobacco and herb note, giving depth. A compelling wine that will continue to unwind for 7-10 years in the cellar.
Review:
"This Merlot dominant blend is made in the style of Bordeaux's Right Bank. Still, it offers a brilliant complexity sourced from two of Washington's most important sites, with old-vine Merlot that comes from a rocky section of Boushey Vineyard and Cabernet Franc from the Horse Heaven Hills standard bearer Champoux Vineyard. The resulting wine is dazzling, complex and refined. Elegance in the floral tones of dark violets and dried lavender mingle with smoky clove and a savoury saline pique. The palate offers intensity, rich red fruits, savoury dried anise and hints of wild desert sage. There's a core of dark chocolate and a streak of pencil lead into the finish."
- Decanter 96 Points
Avennia Valery Red Blend is made from 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc
Valery is named for the patron saint of wine in the St. Emilion region that inspired it.
We started with old vine Merlot from a stony block in the heart of the Yakima Valley and added complex, aromatic Cabernet Franc from the Horse Heaven Hills. The result is a balanced, complex wine with the elegance and ethereal perfume that this blend of two of Washington’s best varietals are known for.
The nose on this wine is very perfumed, almost exotic with notes of fresh violets, red plum, winter mint, fresh herbs and crushed limestone qualities. The palate is poised and balanced, with red fruits and mocha powder encapsulated in limestone. The finish lingers delicately, with the Cabernet Franc asserting a light tobacco and herb note, giving depth. A compelling wine that will continue to unwind for 7-10 years in the cellar.
Review:
Really a beautifully refined bottle of wine, made as an homage to Bordeaux's right-bank style. An elegant Merlot dominant blend that relies on a very stony block from the legendary Boushey Vineyard in the Yakima Valley, with an undeniable influence, in the very pretty aromatics of some Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Franc. It's showy in its nuance with pretty florals, and a graphite minerality emphasis. The palate shows wonderfully with dried desert sage, flourishes of fennel, black brambles and dried mint leaves. A stunning picture of delicacy and power.
-Decanter World Wine Awards 96 Points
The really good 2023 Avennia ‘Valery’ is nearly all Merlot (90%) with the remainder Cabernet Franc. It is big and bold with terrific freshness and mid-palate depth. Black tea and exotic spices fill the nose with shades of orange bell pepper and heady dark fruits, with dark chocolate shavings. Lush and ripe on the mouth, this exhibits terrific length and underlying tension. Enjoy now and over the next fifteen plus years to come. Drink 2026-2042-
-Owen Bargreen 95 Points
Very pretty aromatics of crushed rocks, mint and fresh, crunchy red and black fruit. Texturally complex, with a mineral-driven medium body. A merlot-based wine with a little cabernet franc. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 94 Points
Avennia Red Willow Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Red Willow Cabernet is a true blockbuster.
Coming from one specific block of 30 year old vines at this iconic vineyard, then strictly barrel selected, this is the essence of powerful, old vine Washington Cabernet. After all of our efforts promoting the idea of the Bordeaux blend, it would take a pretty compelling argument to suspend that idea and make a 100% varietal Cabernet. In 2016 Red Willow provided us with just that. Each time we tasted it in the barrel, the belief grew that this was something special. Something we can't make every year. In the end we were won over, and decided to make a limited amount of this wine. But don't be fooled, as this too is a blend and a selection. Each year as we are tasting the grapes as harvest approaches, we notice that the vines near the bottom of this long, steep west-facing slope, are a little different. The vines at the bottom are in a little richer soil, and get a little more water, so we pick them separately, sometimes even a week or ten days apart, and keep them separate in barrel.
This wine is all from the top of the vineyard, with its lower yield and poorer soils giving more concentration and interest. Then further, nearly every combination of new and used French oak barrels were trialed to find the best blend. It's not enough just to use the four best barrels, but to trial each combination to see how they complement each other. For a wine with this much mass, 100% new French oak was used for the first time at Avennia. It is a wine that needs a little cellaring to start, but should last a very long time.
Review:
The flagship Cabernet, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Red Willow Vineyard is all varietal, from old vines in a great vineyard in Yakima Valley, that spent 20 months in 80% new French oak. It reveals a deep purple hue as well as a backward, brooding nose of smoked blackcurrants, tobacco, scorched earth, and violets. It has beautiful richness yet takes plenty of coaxing to open up. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied and has a nicely textured, balanced mouthfeel, plenty of tannins, and outstanding length. It's mostly potential at this point and is going to benefit from at least 4-5 years of bottle age, but my money is on it having 20+ years of prime drinking.
-Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points
Avennia Gravura Red Blend is made from 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc
Gravura is our ode to the Graves AOC of Bordeaux, emphasizing a harmony of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The name is a play on an artisan printing technique, and on the Bordeaux region of Graves, which features similar blends. Featuring more Merlot and with the addition of Red Mountain fruit, this wine is designed to be more generous and voluptuous in style, while still remaining complex and balanced.
Gravura Tasting Notes: Beautiful nose of red and black fruits, some savory leaf notes, mocha, pencil shavings. The palate is elegant and balanced, almost pretty: raspberry, black and red currants, milk chocolate and caressing tannins. Finish medium-long and ethereal.
Review:
Sophisticated aromatics of violets, rose petals, and smoky hints of frankincense and cloves. The palate is well-knit and poised, and will only evolve further. Thought-provoking, with smoky flavours of burning embers, five spice anise and clove, and a complementary collection of blue and black fruits, wild mountain huckleberries and ripe blackberries dusted in mocha powder. The finish goes on seemingly forever, and many wines at five times the price would envy this level of quality and sophistication. It's a red-fruited beauty from a who's who of Washington vineyard sites that includes names like Red Willow, Dionysus, Bacchus, Weinbau, DuBrul, Boushey and the Avennia Estate, formerly known as Taptiel.
-Clive Pursehouse 95 Points
Avennia Justine Red Blend 61% Grenache, 21% Mourvèdre, and 18% Syrah.
Justine reflects our belief that Washington is capable of producing world class blends of grape varieties traditional to the Southern Rhone region of France. The name is inspired by one of the great heroines of recent literature, who also sprung from the imagination of the Mediterranean. Dark, seductive, complex, with a chasm of depth: The Justine is a great reflection of Avennia's mission of expression, and Washington's generous terroir.
Tasting Note: Big black cherry, blackberry, hints of orange peel, fresh herbs and loam on the nose. Plush and round on the palate. Dark earthy fruits from the Mourvedre, along with citrus high notes, mountain flowers, jasmine, and savory herbs. Balanced and complex without forgetting its hedonistic roots in the Southern Rhone.
Review:
The 2022 ‘justine’ is a beautiful wine made from this slightly cooler vintage. Made from largely Grenache grapes (61%) this takes on garrigue and scorched earth notes on the nose alongside red rose petals, cran-orange and suggestions of red currants. The palate is soft and beautifully balanced, with great underlying verve and meaty character from the Mourvèdre. A joy to consume now, watch this evolve for another ten plus years.
-Owen Bargreen 95 Points
Product Description
Avennia Valery Red Blend is made from 86% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc
Valery is named for the patron saint of wine in the St. Emilion region that inspired it.
We started with old vine Merlot from a stony block in the heart of the Yakima Valley and added complex, aromatic Cabernet Franc from the Horse Heaven Hills. The result is a balanced, complex wine with the elegance and ethereal perfume that this blend of two of Washington’s best varietals are known for.
The nose on this wine is very perfumed, almost exotic with notes of fresh violets, red plum, winter mint, fresh herbs and crushed limestone qualities. The palate is poised and balanced, with red fruits and mocha powder encapsulated in limestone. The finish lingers delicately, with the Cabernet Franc asserting a light tobacco and herb note, giving depth. A compelling wine that will continue to unwind for 7-10 years in the cellar.
Review:
The Merlot-dominated 2018 Valery (there's 11% Cabernet Franc) comes from two great vineyards, Boushey and Champoux, and spent 20 months in 28% new French oak. Deep ruby/plum-hued, with a great nose of black cherries, plums, dried herbs, and violets, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a round, expansive texture, soft tannins, and a great finish. This ripe, plump, sexy Merlot has loads of character and will keep for a decade. It has a certain Pomerol-like elegance, and I’m a fan.
Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
Winery: Avennia
The Avennia Estate
Our goal is to make wines that evoke clarity: clarity of place, clarity of type, clarity of purpose.
We believe this is best expressed by using the classic French varietals and blends, with methods passed down over generations. We work within this context to allow Washington vineyards and terroirs to distinguish themselves. Terroir is only readily appreciable in a well-formed, harmonious wine. Structure is the backbone from which beauty can radiate.
Avennia is inspired by the Roman name for the city of Avignon, and signifies for us the heart of Old World winemaking. Our wines are designed to tease rather than flaunt; pique interest, not beg for attention. They stand for elegance, delicacy, purity. Our wines are made to enhance conversation, not dominate it, and will be a welcome guest at the table
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Rising 1,650 feet above the Napa Valley floor on the southwestside of Howell Mountain, the Family Reserve Howell MountainCabernet Sauvignon sits above the fog line. The distinctiveclimate, along with volcanic and iron-rich red soils, producefruit with great balance and intensity.
Review:
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release Cold Springs is the most distinctive of the wines in this range of limited-release Cabernets from Charles Krug. Gravel, licorice, menthol and spice all develop in a Howell Mountain Cabernet endowed with tremendous class and nuance.
-Vinous 92 Points
Castelmaure Col des Vents Corbieres is made from 50% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 15% Syrah and 5% Cinsault.
"Col des Vents" means "windy mountain pass" — the vineyards sit at the foothills of the Pyrenees, where the wind blows hard and keeps the fruit clean and fresh. The original label reproduced a painting by Max Savy.
Brambly berry, cherry and raspberry meet spice and black pepper in this authentic French country red. Aromas of garrigue — rosemary, thyme and lavender — lend a minty, herbal freshness.
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