Country: | United States |
Regions: | Washington Washington (Columbia Valley) |
Winery: | Tamarack Cellars |
Grape Type: | Cabernet Franc |
Vintage: | 2012 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Tamarack Firehouse Red is 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Syrah, 22% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 3% Sangiovese, 2% Grenache, 2% Cinsault 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Counoise, 1% Mourvèdre and 1% Carmenere.
Deceptively sweet aromas of strawberries, raspberries and rose petals. The flavors are dark, rich, lusciously mouthwatering, with cherries, boysenberries, tart plum skins, hints of leather, sweet pipe tobacco, and coffee beans. The tannins are firm, but not a bit edgy and the finish lingers with just a touch of anise. A truly lovely vintage.
Enemigo El Enemigo Gran Enemigo is made from 100% Cabernet Franc.
In the spectrum of people who pay attention to detail, winemakers are often incredibly detail-oriented. This can sometimes spill over to become an internal battled, and, as Alejandro Vigil and Adrianna Catena state, "We are our own worst enemy." El Enemigo pays homage to this internal struggle.
The nose presents sweet aromas of black ripen fruits with hints of vanilla and chocolate, which appear after the oak ageing. The mouthfeel is sweet with structured, persistent tannins due to the natural acidity of this wine, leading into an excellent long finish.
Review:
The nose of the 2018 Gran Enemigo El Cepillo Single Vineyard, from a low-yielding and drier year, is full of curry, a note that was a constant across the three vintages I tasted together, but it tends to be stronger in low-yielding and dry years like this. It's also floral and comes through as aromatic and a little exotic, in a good way, with elegance, persistence and very pure flavors. It has fine-grained tannins, great acidity and balance. 7,200 bottles. All these single-vineyard bottlings mature in ancient 4,000-liter oak foudres for some 15 months.
-Wine Advocate 97 Points"Pretty and inviting on the nose with gorgeous aromas of floral violet, cassis and completed with a lifted, delicate liquorice note. The palate is graced with deep herb, pepper, crunchy red fruit and graceful, silky tannins."
-Decanter 97 Points
Monteagrelo Cabernet Franc has beautiful ruby red with purple highlights.
It displays aromas of ripe red berries with a nice wood smoke complexity, thanks to the aging in French oak barrels. The wine has a very good structure, but the tannins are still quite round and integrated.
Aged in French and American oak barrels for 15 months. No filtration and no fining.
The finish is very long and will allow the wine to be consumed with food, such as grilled meat or cheese.
Review:
"From the Uco Valley, the 2019 Cabernet Franc Monteagrelo was aged in French vats for 10 months. A light purple in hue, the precise, expressive nose presents notes of green pepper, blackcurrant and ash with hints of jalapeño. Smooth with a broad palate, the flow is corseted a little by the mild freshness, as is the bold finish. A delicate red of a kind you rarely see in a Cabernet Franc. - Joaquín Hidalgo"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (November 2021), 92 pts
Chakana Cabernet Franc is made from 100 percent Cabernet Franc.
Chakana is the name of the Southern Cross constellation. Its rotation in the sky throughout the year made it an effective agricultural calendar for the ancient Andean people.
Expressive and ripe nose, juicy texture and intense fruit. Excellent balance, well integrated tannins and stunning minerality.
Review:
- Tim Atkin (Argentina Report 2023), 91 pts
Hickinbotham Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Trueman represents Cabernet in Clarendon at its best. Its purity, its elegant style, its supple, polished nature ... it’s a wine of its own.Distinct in character, this is not like Cabernet from the Vales below or the hills to the east. From its pretty, delicate florals and musk, through to its silky blackcurrant and kalamata juice and down to its dark carbon soul - Trueman is a modern Cabernet that encapsulates all the toil and antiquity of Clarendon. Echoing the unearthed prose of wine writer Ebenezer Ward from 1886 on theCabernet sown from this very land – Trueman is “an excelled wine, of very marked flavor and bouquet”.
Review:
Deep garnet/purple, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Hickinbotham Vineyard has a classic nose showing pronounced fresh blackcurrant and blackberry highlighted by cloves, menthol, pencil shavings and earth notes. Medium to full-bodied, taut and muscular, the palate has grainy tannins, nice freshness and a long finish.
-Wine Advocate 93 Points
I Brand Cabernet Franc Bayly Ranch is made from 100% Cabernet Franc.
This 100% Cabernet Franc is produced from vineyards located in Tres Pinot Creek, (along San Andreas Fault Line), at only 800 foot elevation. A great locale for Cabernet Franc to exhibit Loire-like structure overlaid with the bright fruit befitting California sunshine.
Review:
"This is a sprightly, textural, mineral-driven bottling that's immediately fascinating yet will be a joy to watch evolve. Light in the glass, it begins with aromas of cranberry, nori wrap, herb-dusted strawberry and a hint of dried blood. The palate shows a rusty edge, offering dried strawberry, crumpled oregano and a hint of green peppercorn. Drink now through 2034. - Matt KETTMANN"
- Wine Enthusiast (Septmember 1st 2021), 94 pts
Tamarack Cabernet Franc 2012 100% Cabernet Franc.
40% new French oak with the remaining half older French oak. Select barrels from the best forests of Taransaud, Millet, Vicard, Boutes, Dargaud and Jaegle coopers.
Crushed gently and dropped by gravity into 1.5 ton bins, cold soaked 72 hours, then inoculated with a variety of yeasts, hand punched and pressed directly to barrel where the wine finished both primary and secondary fermentations.
Glorius vintage with wonderful weather conditions for normal production of low tonnages equaling delicious, balanced and succulent fruit.
Elegant with spiced cherry, blackberry and boysenberry mingling pleasingly and lingering seductively with a hint of oak, smooth chocolate and mocha on the structured tannins and fine-grained finish.
The Tamarack Cellars Estate
Founded in 1998 by Ron and Jamie Coleman, Tamarack Cellars is dedicated to the production of small lot, hand-crafted wines from select vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley, Yakima Valley, Red Mountain and Columbia Valley appellations.
“Boutique winery from Waterbrook and Canoe Ridge alumnus Ron Coleman delivers ripe varietals and blends; Syrah-Bordeaux blend Firehouse Red is outstanding value.”
- Anthony Dias' blue pocket guide to wine 2006
The Tamarack Cellars Vineyard
Grapes are purchased throughout the Columbia Valley and are crushed, fermented and blended in a small winery located in a World War II firehouse complex at the Walla Walla airport.
Chateau Franc Lartigue Saint-Emilion Grand Cru is made from Merlot 70%, Cabernet franc 15%, Cabernet sauvignon 15%
Eight hectare property in the town of Saint-Emilion. Elegant and structured wine, keep for 10 to 15 years depending on the vintage.
Review:
Bold and rich, this ripe black-currant-flavored wine come from vineyards on the plain below Saint-Émilion center. With the rich Merlot dominant, the wine has density and concentration that will allow it to age. Drink from 2023.
-Wine Enthusiast 91 Points
Gaec de Brangers Menetou Salon Blanc 100% Sauvignon Blanc is crisp and refreshing with rich, ripe lime and grapefruit aromas. Elegant, beautifully rounded, harmonious and well-balanced, a mineral sytle and a smooth and long finish. It is ideal as an aperitif and a great match with shellfish, smoked and grilled salmon, goat cheese.
DOMAINE DU GAEC DES BRANGERS is owned by the CHAVET family, which is one of the most reknown winemaking families of the Menetou-Salon Appellation. Philippe Chavet has been running the estate for 25 years and each year, his cuvees are awarded in the international competitions and by the international press.
Unoaked
12.5 ABV
Average age of the vines is 20 years old. Traditional winemaking in temperature-controlled stainless steel tank.
Slow fermentation at low temperature.
Ideal as an aperitif, any cooked fish such as smoked and grilled salmon, and with goat cheese.