Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Saturated dark ruby. Ultra-sexy, juicy, ripe raspberry, with notes of vanilla and toasty oak. Rich, velvety, and an absolutely intense mid-palate weight that is so pleasing. Cocoa, baking spices, and a lengthy, mouthwatering finish with soft and rich tannin. Loving this new vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2035.
Blend: 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 3% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Winemaker Josh McDaniels continues to fashion brilliant wines under the Doubleback label. The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon checks in as 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and tiny amounts of Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Its deep purple hue is followed by a great bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, liquid violets, sage, and crushed stone. One of the top wines in the vintage, it has remarkable purity, full-bodied richness, ripe tannins, and a great finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Winemaker Josh McDaniels continues to fashion brilliant wines under the Doubleback label. The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon checks in as 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and tiny amounts of Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Its deep purple hue is followed by a great bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, liquid violets, sage, and crushed stone. One of the top wines in the vintage, it has remarkable purity, full-bodied richness, ripe tannins, and a great finish. Drink this utterly brilliant 2020 over the coming two decades.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made with 6% Merlot, 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a rich, lively, expressive nose of black raspberry, oak and red florals that sway with sweet herbs and elegant baking spices. Full-bodied, fresh and still tannic, the wine will take a couple more years to come around but will be a juggernaut once it picks up momentum. After spending almost two years in 87% new French oak barrels, it will need some time, so be patient.
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Decanter
This Cabernet from Walla Walla's team of former Quarterback Drew Bledsoe and winemaker Josh McDaniels is an elegantly well-knit wine of substance. Aromas of lavender, violet and pencil lead are backed up by fruit accents provided by red currant and dollops of blackberry jam. The palate is so well integrated already and promises to shed some of its oak influence over time in the bottle. Flavours of soft bramble berries, currant, graphite and bay leaf and flashes of red raspberry with elegant acidity make this wine one of the most readily drinkable of the vintage. Bright and fresh, yet it has the class to go for years.
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2019-
Jeb
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Suckling
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A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.