
“The Walls” is what the locals call the Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla’s least talked about but perhaps most notorious landmark, and one that loomed just down the street from where our first wines were made. Since 1886, the “Walls” or “Concrete Mama” has surreptitiously presided over the ebb and flow of this little town, lives frozen inside while outside, growth and progress eddy past.
This contradiction is also a personal one as walls have become metaphors in all of our lives — we put up walls to protect our hearts, we toil within the walls of work constraints, we build walls to defend what’s important to us. Nevertheless, as we build walls we’re also always looking for ways we can tear them down. Wine is the river that can overflow, subvert and topple these walls. It is a powerful force in bringing people together and building true community, capturing and preserving memories of time, places and people.
The Walls Curiositas Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Walls Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a variety of vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA providing structure and power on the nose and palate. Extremely aromatic and super silky tannins – loads of freshness, energy, full spectrum and super complex, with that great combination of weightlessness but great texture and length.
Review:
Coming from Red Mountain and 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Cabernet Franc brought up in 80% new French oak, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Curiositas offers more red and black fruits to go with classic Red Mountain minerality, notes of graphite and tobacco, full-bodied richness, and building, firm, yet ripe tannins. It's going to need 3-5 years of bottle age, but it’s a classic expression of this terroir.
- Jeb Dunnuck 94-96 Points
Rudi Pichler is among the elite growers of the Wachau producing wines of precision, power, and longevity. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling make up 95% of the production with the remaining 5% shared between Weißburgunder and Roter Veltliner. Rudi Pichler belongs to the prestigious Vinea Wachau and vinifies under the strict parameters of their codex.
Yields are kept low between 30 and 35 hectoliters per hectare with botrytis carefully removed by hand. Grapes are crushed by foot and receive between three and 36 hours of maceration on the skins. Vinification is entirely in stainless-steel tanks and malolactic fermentation is avoided.
Hochrain, a name meaning "high place," is a southeast-facing terraced vineyard in Wösendorf sitting between 200 and 300 meters of elevation. The vineyard consists of an unusually high content of loess, a mineral-laden soil that produces wines that are especially broad and rich.
Review:
“A stunning wine for this grape that is also rather easy to understand. The Reine Claude plum and peppery nose is complex, but already charming. As exciting as the simultaneously creamy and succulent mid-palate is, what makes this medium- to full-bodied gruner veltliner really stand out is the extremely long, crushed rock finish.”
James Suckling 96 Points
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc .
True to their heritage of producing top-tier Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine showcases a seamless blend of elegance and strength. It begins with captivating aromas of dark red berries and cardamom, leading the way to a defined palate that showcases flavors of fig jam and boysenberry pie. Firm, dusty tannins provide a sturdy foundation, guiding you to a long, focused finish that denotes a harmonious blend of mountain and valley floor fruit.