Winery - Spring Valley Vineyard
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This unique Walla Walla property, now part of the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates portfolio, is in top form with its 2005 Derby, a 100% estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s their best of show for the warm, ripe vintage, topping out at a hefty 15.5% alcohol, and bringing tight, supple, layered black fruits into play. The stiff acids and barrel accents of coffee and clove add detail and length, while the overall muscularity of the wine prevents it from seeming flabby or too jammy for food.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
There is nothing shy about the Nina Lee Syrah, a super-saturated, almost 16% octane monster. Despite the massive structure, the wine sports a certain elegance, keeping both alcohol and oak at bay in favor of sweet black fruit and more subtle notes of sweet herb, black pepper and toasted wafer.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is three quarters Cabernet Sauvignon, the rest a mix of Merlot, Cab Franc and a drop of Petit Verdot. Dense and extracted, it is almost syrupy, like concentrated raspberry or boysenberry juice. What keeps it from being tiring are the powerful acids; they set up the berry flavors and create a bright, tartly chewy mouthfeel. Very young; this will improve for at least another five years before hitting its peak.
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Spring Valley Vineyard Bordeaux-style Red Blend - 2003
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Roughly three quarters Merlot, the rest Cab Franc with a drop of Petit Verdot, this is the mirror image of the Frederick. More fruit-forward, ripe and accessible, the spicy red fruits are set into thick, chocolaty tannins. It holds its balance despite the 15% alcohol, but it may be somewhat precarious. I would drink it early for maximum pleasure.
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Spring Valley Vineyard Bordeaux-style Red Blend - 2003
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
All estate-grown. Sappy, saturated and deep purple in color, it is vibrantly youthful despite two years of aging. The mixed berry and Bing cherry fruit flavors are highlighted with racy acids, and the aromas carry the characteristic Spring Valley nuances of fresh hay and alfalfa. There seems to be a little CO2 remaining, and the wine needs still more time to knit together. Just 169 cases produced.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Just the second Cabernet Franc since 2003, this is a wonderful wine. It has the power and concentration of the other Spring Valley wines, but with a bit more restraint. Sweetly fruity, with jammy notes of cherry compote and cassis, it’s backed with chocolaty tannins and an overriding sense of muscular power.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
As usual, the Nina Lee Syrah is dark, chewy, and hits the mid-fifteens with its alcohol. But it somehow pulls together an impression of balance, highlighted by sweet and tangy blueberry/blackberry fruit. The acids are not quite integrated, and the wine has lost some subtlety – it has traded its elegance for sheer fruit power.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The Frederick is Spring Valley’s Bordeaux blend and it would be nice to see Spring Valley turn it down a bit and bring back some of the toasted grain nuances that set it apart from the rest of the Walla Walla AVA. Instead, this piles on the sweet, jammy black fruit and new oak, and blows past the terroir.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The Derby is pure, estate-grown, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose is accented with hints of violets and roses, ripe berries, plums and licorice. Once tasted, it seems to hit a wall and just stop. Extra hours of breathing did not make a difference. Perhaps it needs more bottle age, but at the moment it does not broaden out or move into a finish with the sort of depth that this wine has demonstrated in the past.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Spring Valley wines have never been shy and retiring, but here the alcohol – 15.2% – seems to quickly mute the textural subtleties. Though it suggests a panoply of red and black fruits in the nose, the palate is a wash of coffee, toast, tannin and alcohol. The flavors get muddy and the alcohol strips the wine of its terroir.
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Spring Valley Vineyard Bordeaux-style Red Blend - 2007
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