Wine & Spirits - December 2021 - 65

92 | Pursued by Bear
$80
2018 Walla Walla Valley Twin Bear Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Most of this wine comes
from Heather Hill Vineyard, with a couple
sources outside the appellation (Dubrul and
Weinbau, in small quantities). Aged in 100
percent new oak, this is as warm as Mexican
chocolate, the wine's oak treatment giving
the dominant first impression, along with a
savory accent of tobacco and leather, tawny
as a men's-club easy chair. It starts off big but
with air the smoke lifts and the wine's fleshy
black-cherry flavors come forward. -P.J.C.
(125 cases) §
92 | Saviah Cellars
$30
2018 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ Well made in an oak-driven
mode, this wine leads with exotic scents of
five-spice powder, cardamom and cocoa,
all laced around dark plum fruit, with finegrained,
plum-skin tannins that are as sensuous
as crushed velvet. -P.J.C. (1,179 cases) §
91 | Brook & Bull
$42
2018 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
^ This wine starts off a little gruff and
green when first poured, but relaxes into
dark lushness, all black-fig compote, cocoa
and cassis. It's concentrated, powerful in a
sneaky way, for roast lamb shoulder. -P.J.C.
(471 cases) §
91 | Northstar
$55
2018 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
^ Scents of graham cracker and caramel
frame a seductive core of blackberry and cassis
fruit, the oak effecting a savory mouthfeel,
of unsweetened cocoa and suede. Exceedingly
well-made in an oak-forward style.
-P.J.C. (220 cases) §
91 | Northstar
$50
2018 Walla Walla Valley ^ This blend has a
mildly smoky scent, oak-forward tobacco
aromas laced around a core of dark, compact
fruit flavors-fig and cassis. The wine
feels chocolatey both in flavor and texture: a
grainy tannic overlay of Mexican chocolate.
-P.J.C. (398 cases) §
91 | Walla Walla Vintners $35
2018 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ This feels like a classic, a
big, firmly planted cabernet that channels
the broad tannic structure of early Walla
Walla reds. It smells of sawdust and sundried
tomato, with flavors of dark cherry
and cedary oak, massively structured, needing
time in the cellar to integrate. -P.J.C.
(532 cases) §
90 | Spring Valley Vineyard $50
2018 Walla Walla Valley Uriah ^ From the
Palouse Hills in the northeast corner of the
appellation, this wine's scents of tomato leaf
and cedar nail it as Walla Walla. Mostly merlot
and cabernet, it's a big wine, with opulent
plum and black-cherry flavors, and
exceptionally firm, robust tannins. Grab a
decanter and pour it for lamb medallions.
-P.J.C. (3,600 cases) §
YAKIMA VALLEY
93 | DeLille Cellars
$75
2018 Yakima Valley Red Willow ^ DeLille
likes to blend at Red Willow, employing
cabernet franc in the main, with merlot and
cabernet sauvignon taking up a little over 40
percent of the blend. It's a good move for a
site as cool as this, keeping the wine bright
and peppery without being at all green. The
tarry purple-plum core deepens to cassis on
day two, with depth and tension in equal
measure, woodsy and intense, very ageable.
-P.J.C. (550 cases) §
92 | Airfield Estates
$50
2018 Yakima Valley H Lloyd Miller ^ This
tête de cuvée displays the estate's cool-climate
bona fides, with sumptuous oak to
frame the savor. It leads with scents of rye
grain and pine tips, cedar and black plum.
The fruit achieves impressive depth, even
as the savory elements fall in behind it. For
braised beef. -P.J.C. (248 cases) §
91 | Airfield Estates
$35
2018 Yakima Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
^ This estate red is focused, mildly herbaceous
and concentrated, the product of a
long growing season. Its menthol scent leads
to black-fig flavors and leathery tannins that
are long and firm, very satisfying in a savory
mode. -P.J.C. (465 cases) §
91 | DeLille Cellars
$60
2018 Yakima Valley Le Colosse ^ Le Colosse
is a new wine for DeLille, a blend placing
emphasis on merlot (88 percent). The wine
is dense and concentrated, powerfully built
with scents of cocoa and carob, its blackberry
flavors held in suspension by firm but velvety
tannins. It's got the stuffing for a New York
strip. -P.J.C. (800 cases) §
88 | Airfield Estates
$18
2019 Yakima Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ Youthfully blunt, this wine is an
inky purple with dark blackberry flavor and
plenty of extractive power. For carne asada.
-P.J.C. (4,436 cases) § l
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Wine & Spirits - December 2021

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