Country: | United States |
Region: | Washington (Walla Walla) |
Winery: | DeLille Cellars |
Grape Types: | Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot |
Vintage: | 2008 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Bernardins Beaumes de Venise Rouge Cru Cotes du Rhone is made from 65% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre and 5% Grenache Blanc.
Bright ruby color with cherry tinges. Complex black fruit aromas on the nose enhanced by spicy notes. Rounded palate with good length.
The wine is drinking well right now and can be kept for another 10 years.
Situation
Spreads out over the south-east side of the Dentelles de Montmirail hills, in Beaumes de Venise in the southern part of the Rhone valley.
Terroir
On a poor sandy, hungry and arid soil consisting of tender limestone and gritty zones of sandy mollasse.
In the vineyard
The vineyards and their terroir are the essence of our wines. This is where everything starts and where we focus our efforts throughout the year. You can’t make great wine without great grapes.
The viticulture is essentially done by hand. Five people work full-time in the vineyards. They are supplemented by seasonal employees who work during bunch thinning and the harvest in order to bring out the very best in our vines. Working by hand and the attention each vine gets are fundamental. Pruning, de-budding, trellising, leaf removal and picking are thus carried out by hand with the utmost care.
We prepare the soil by using good old-fashioned ploughing. Organic compost is made from grape marc (the discarded stalks and skins).
As a way of protecting the plants, we only use phytosanitary products when necessary and within strict guidelines by staggering the treatments appropriately, to minimise the amount of chemicals used. We prefer to use as much as possible manual and organic techniques . Leaving natural grass cover, removing buds and leaves from the vines, preserving biodiversity around the vineyard: olive, almond and cypress trees, wild rosemary and capers.
Winemaking
We make two red wines at the estate. Terroir wines shaped by the two classic Côtes du Rhône varieties: Grenache and Syrah. We don’t follow any winemaking recipe but are constantly searching for the perfect expression of terroir and each vintage’s particular characteristics. We don’t go for overripe grapes and over-extraction, as we think the wine has to stay refreshing and balanced.
Leaving the wine for 15 days in concrete vats, we try to gently extract the tannins and anthocyanins essential for the wine’s structure and colour. The wine doesn’t come into any contact with wood during ageing. This way the characteristics of our terroir can fully express
Serve with a meal especially red meat, game and cheese.
Bernardins Beaumes de Venise Rouge Cru Cotes du Rhone is made from 65% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre and 5% Grenache Blanc.
Bright ruby color with cherry tinges. Complex black fruit aromas on the nose enhanced by spicy notes. Rounded palate with good length.
The wine is drinking well right now and can be kept for another 10 years.
Situation
Spreads out over the south-east side of the Dentelles de Montmirail hills, in Beaumes de Venise in the southern part of the Rhone valley.
Terroir
On a poor sandy, hungry and arid soil consisting of tender limestone and gritty zones of sandy mollasse.
In the vineyard
The vineyards and their terroir are the essence of our wines. This is where everything starts and where we focus our efforts throughout the year. You can’t make great wine without great grapes.
The viticulture is essentially done by hand. Five people work full-time in the vineyards. They are supplemented by seasonal employees who work during bunch thinning and the harvest in order to bring out the very best in our vines. Working by hand and the attention each vine gets are fundamental. Pruning, de-budding, trellising, leaf removal and picking are thus carried out by hand with the utmost care.
We prepare the soil by using good old-fashioned ploughing. Organic compost is made from grape marc (the discarded stalks and skins).
As a way of protecting the plants, we only use phytosanitary products when necessary and within strict guidelines by staggering the treatments appropriately, to minimise the amount of chemicals used. We prefer to use as much as possible manual and organic techniques . Leaving natural grass cover, removing buds and leaves from the vines, preserving biodiversity around the vineyard: olive, almond and cypress trees, wild rosemary and capers.
Winemaking
We make two red wines at the estate. Terroir wines shaped by the two classic Côtes du Rhône varieties: Grenache and Syrah. We don’t follow any winemaking recipe but are constantly searching for the perfect expression of terroir and each vintage’s particular characteristics. We don’t go for overripe grapes and over-extraction, as we think the wine has to stay refreshing and balanced.
Leaving the wine for 15 days in concrete vats, we try to gently extract the tannins and anthocyanins essential for the wine’s structure and colour. The wine doesn’t come into any contact with wood during ageing. This way the characteristics of our terroir can fully express
Serve with a meal especially red meat, game and cheese.
Review:
"Interesting blend, and it comes through on the nose - it's a fruity, floral style of Beaumes that's really appealing. Full-bodied, rounded, generous and fluid, with very fine tannins. This is a real success in 2021. Also contains 5% Mourvèdre and 4% Grenache Blanc. No destemming, aged 12 months in stainless steel."
- Decanter (September 2022), 93 pts
Brize Clos Medecin Anjou Villages Rouge is made from 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon.
This is the flagship of the Estate. Clos Medecin has been produced at the estate for 90 years. All the grapes for this wine come from a very special parcel. The wine offers red fruit aromas. It is fresh, round and ample in the mouth.
Kinsella Estates Jersey Boys Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Winemaker: Thomas Rivers Brown
Pure 100% cabernet Sauvignon, this vineyard continually astonishes. Loads of loamy soil notes followed by blue and black fruits give this cabernet massive depth and beautiful integrated tannins. Milk chocolate, crème de cassis and tobacco give this massive wine the depth you come to expect with Napa cabs, but it is all Sonoma County, all from our magnificent little private valley which sees sun all day! We buy no fruit; we sell no fruit.
Jersey Boys Vineyard (Kevin Kinsella is the largest individual investor in the hit Broadway show "Jersey Boys")
Jersey Boys is a six-acre vineyard that was replanted in 2008 with four different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, handpicked by winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown.
Wow…just Wow!! This wine has it all. Not as “big” as past vintages this wine is gangbusters right out of the gate. Ripe blackberry, juicy and rich with a wonderful chocolate core. Has a dusky quality that we have seen in this vineyard in the past that tricks your brain into thinking the wine is older than it is. It’s pure. It’s rich. It’s delicious! Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown
Any vegetable or meat in the grill. Delicious with Chocolate as well.
Kinsella Estates Jersey Boys Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Winemaker: Thomas Rivers Brown
Pure 100% cabernet Sauvignon, this vineyard continually astonishes. Loads of loamy soil notes followed by blue and black fruits give this cabernet massive depth and beautiful integrated tannins. Milk chocolate, crème de cassis and tobacco give this massive wine the depth you come to expect with Napa cabs, but it is all Sonoma County, all from our magnificent little private valley which sees sun all day! We buy no fruit; we sell no fruit.
Jersey Boys Vineyard (Kevin Kinsella is the largest individual investor in the hit Broadway show "Jersey Boys")
Jersey Boys is a six-acre vineyard that was replanted in 2008 with four different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, handpicked by winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown.
Wow…just Wow!! This wine has it all. Not as “big” as past vintages this wine is gangbusters right out of the gate. Ripe blackberry, juicy and rich with a wonderful chocolate core. Has a dusky quality that we have seen in this vineyard in the past that tricks your brain into thinking the wine is older than it is. It’s pure. It’s rich. It’s delicious! Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown
Any vegetable or meat in the grill. Delicious with Chocolate as well.
Mordoree Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge Dame Voyageuse is made from Grenache 90 % Mourvèdre 4% Syrah 4 % Counoise 1% Vaccarese 1% .
Mordoree Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge Dame Voyageuse is a more approachable version of the La Reine des Bois. It is meant to be enjoyable early compared to her sister Cuvée which is made for the long run.
Color : deep ruby red, opaque.
Aromas : red fruits, changing to touches of leather, black truffles and coffee.
Palate : fat, concentrated and full flavored with a very long liquoriced and fruity finish.
Ageing potential : 6 to 10 years.
Surface : 5 Ha.
Yield : 30 Hl./Ha.
Vineyard age: 60 Years
Terroir : Clay-siliceous on pebble stones
Harvest : by hand
Vinification : 100 % destemmed, long 30 days maceration with a maximum of 34° C temperature.
Estate bottled
Review:
"Moving to the 2019s from bottle, the Grenache-heavy 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Dame Voyageuse offers a beautiful array of both red and black fruits as well as classic Provençal notes of lavender, peppery garrigue, and flowers. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured on the palate, this is another terrific vintage for this cuvée, which remains an incredible value in the market today. It will drink nicely for 10-12 years if stored correctly."
- Jeb Dunnuck (November 2021), 95 pts
DeLille Chaleur Estate Rouge is made from 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
This wine showcases a rich and powerful vintage. The nose unfolds in layers of red, black and blueberry fruits highlighted with plums, allspice, anise, and jasmine. There is also an intriguing element reminiscent of a toasty, flaky piecrust to the wine along with pepper and cocoa aromas. On the palate, the complexity continues with the addition of raspberries, red currants, cedar, pie cherries reinforced with more plums, anise and cocoa. Every sip is wrapped in accessible and savory tannins. There is a beautiful yet youthful balance to the wine with a seamless finish.
"Dense, focused, chewy and explosive in flavor, offering cinnamon accented red berry, blackberry and spice notes in profusion, coming together tightly on the dark finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2014 through 2020.- H.S."
- Wine Spectator Insider (July 18th 2012), 92 pts
The DeLille Cellars Estate
Founded in 1992, DeLille Cellars is a small family owned winery located in Woodinville, Washington. Their goal is to make the very best handcrafted, old-world style red and white wine made in the State of Washington.
The DeLille Cellars Vineyard
The beautiful ten-acre site sits above the Woodinville valley floor, overlooking the wineries of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Winery. All DeLille wines are elaborated with the highest “hand-crafted” standards. Only grapes from the oldest and best vineyards in Washington State are used. They are hand picked and hand sorted at crush, using only the finest berry clusters. The wines are aged in 100% new French oak barrels each and every year and are never filtered.
The DeLille Cellars Wines
In the words of David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate, December 2012:
"Winemaker-vineyard manager and self-styled "old world traditionalist" Chris Upchurch has been the guiding spirit of DeLille Cellars since its early-’90s inception, although the ostensibly Old World models followed have evolved significantly in both marketing and winemaking terms. Early-on, DeLille, unsurprisingly, – like so many other U.S. wineries – focused exclusively on a Bordelais vision. That said, Upchurch and his partners had been in business for nearly a decade before they purchased a vineyard: Grand Ciel, adjacent to Ciel du Cheval and Galitzine and managed by the accomplished and (seemingly in Red Mountain at least) ubiquitous Ryan Johnson. DeLille also vinifies and bottles separately the fruit of Harrison Hill’s antique vines (for more about which see my tasting note on the 2009 vintage) and a second estate vineyard project is afoot. The established if misleading name Chaleur Estate was retained for DeLille’s flagship wine crafted from contract fruit (second wine: D2); while the designation Doyenne – utilized from early-on for Syrah – morphed into an officially separate winery for experimental-minded exploration of themes inspired by Southern France. (For database purposes, we at The Wine Advocate / eRobertParker.com treat Doyenne as part of the relevant wines’ descriptions and a DeLille sub-label, which reflects the way those wines are marketed and the spirit in which they were presented to me. Comments on Upchurch’s vinificatory approaches can be found sprinkled though my tasting notes.)"
Long Shadows Feather Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Washington State Cabernet.
Acclaimed Napa Valley vintner Randy Dunn has a reputation for producing world-class Cabernet Sauvignon. He brings more than four decades of winemaking experience to the Columbia Valley to produce Feather, his only wine made outside of California.
Tasting Notes: Deep crimson colored with pure and expressive Cabernet Sauvignon character. Generous aromas and flavors of dark fruits, violets, coffee and toasted herbs combine with a textured mid-palate to deliver a big, yet focused, wine with polished tannins and persistent finish.
Winemaking: Grapes were hand-harvested at the peak of ripeness, then lightly crushed and fermented in small stainless steel tanks. Once fermentation was underway, the cap was pumped over aggressively to extract color and structure. As fermentation neared completion, pump overs were handled more gently to further extract color and flavors without imparting harsh tannins. The finished wine was aged 22 months in 90% new Vicard French oak barrels (Randy's cooper of choice at Dunn Vineyards as well).
Alcohol: 14.4%
pH: 3.86
TA: 0.58 grams / 100ml
Review:
"Instantly impressive, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Feather opens to silky, fresh and fleshy dark red and black fruit tones with picturesque rich and ripe notions that sashay out of the glass with elegance, power and precision. World-class and devastatingly beautiful, the wine continues to somersault across the ever-evolving finish, and it will undoubtedly be well received upon its release. Mark your calendar now, and run, don’t walk to add this to your cellar. Just under 48,000 bottles were filled after the wine rested for 22 months in all French oak, 90% first fill. - Anthony MUELLER"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (May 11th 2023), 98 pts
Pine Ridge Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Petite Sirah, 5% Malbec.
While admiring the cranberry red hue, forward fruit aromatics of black cherry and cassis begin to make your mouth water before the first sip! On the palate, juicy notes of blueberry compote and cherry cordial meld seamlessly with hints of cinnamon and cream soda. The wine methodically transitions from the bright, round entry through the viscous midpalate and onto a broad-shouldered finish. This is where hints of clove, graham cracker and toasted marshmallow are juxtaposed with those of dark roast coffee and Bing cherry. This wine can be enjoyed now but will benefit from another 10 to 20 years of bottle age.
It pairs beautifully with a vegetarian chili and cornbread slathered in a generous helping of sweet cream butter.
Review:
Alluring nuances of rose petal, tobacco and cinnamon lead into a ripe, chocolaty palate of black cherries, cocoa and raspberries as a soft, velvety texture achieves a very smooth mouthfeel.
-Wine Enthusiast 93 Points