LTL by Upchurch Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker - Vinous
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Notable black, purple, opaque color showcases a deep dark wine with tons of Red Mountain fruit. Black raspberries, plumbs, soft leather, flowers and a cabinet of spices are present in the nose. A big powerful and rich mouthfeel exhibits deep flavors of raspberries, blackberries and toasty oak. Lower tannins and mouthwatering structure make this wine hedonistic and pure with a lengthy finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Plums, currants and dried flowers on the nose. Full-bodied with powdery tannins. Rich and plush on the palate. Ripe black fruit and black tea wash over the palate, in harmony through the long finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Juicy and fresh-fruited with a dense nose, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon starts with ripe aromas of dusty black cherry skin and succulent plums before showing hints of pencil lead and brown baking spices. Full-bodied, lush and firm, the mid-palate offers layers of complexity that continue to evolve with a firm tannic edge and succulent acidity. This spectacular wine concludes with a long, lingering finish and is a no-brainer at this price.
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Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon packs a wallop with a burst of rubbed sage, black raspberries, exotic spice and dark chocolate. This is silky and elegant to the core, with tart wild berries and mounting mineral tones that add a youthful tension throughout. Masses of salted licorice and dried black cherries linger incredibly long under an air of violet florals. The 2019 punches well above its price point. It's a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot from Red Mountain that was refined for 18 months in 50% new French oak.
Other Vintages
2018-
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
Chris’ love for wine started in his youth, with extensive travel throughout the Grand Cru winegrowing regions of Europe and the west coast of the US. “I had to start off developing my palate and my perspective. How can you make great wine if you don’t know what that is?” After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Colorado and University of Washington, Chris began his career as a wine merchant, working with several of Seattle’s best-known restaurants. This experience allowed him to hone his palate while tasting wines from around the world. For 23 years and counting as founding winemaker and partner of DeLille Cellars, Chris has crafted some of the finest and most award winning wines in Washington State. In 2007 Chris came full circle and started his own vineyard and was able to create what most winemakers dream about.
While Upchurch Vineyard has long been a dream of the celebrated Washington State winemaker Chris Upchurch, and his wife Thea, LTL came about more as a lucky coincidence.
"I’m always surprised at how much exceptional fruit comes from Red Mountain,” remarks Upchurch. “Our vineyard produces a Cab with exceptional structure and ripeness, reflecting a terroir all its own; the first selections go into our UV Cabernet and Counterpart wines, but I’ve discovered that I can blend some of our Cabernet with fruit from other great Red Mountain vineyards to create some hedonistic wines of great richness and character. At first, frankly, it was an experiment during the blending trials, but I realized that the wine that was created was another great red blend at a more accessible price.” - Chris Upchurch
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.
A coveted source of top quality red grapes among premier Washington producers, the Red Mountain AVA is actually the smallest appellation in the state. As its name might suggest, it is actually neither a mountain nor is it composed of red earth. Instead the appellation is an anticline of the Yakima fold belt, a series of geologic folds that define a number of viticultural regions in the surrounding area. It is on the eastern edge of Yakima Valley with slopes facing southwest towards the Yakima River, ideal for the ripening of grapes. The area’s springtime proliferation of cheatgrass, which has a reddish color, actually gives the area the name, "Red" Mountain.
Red Mountain produces some of the most mineral-driven, tannic and age-worthy red wines of Washington and there are a few reasons for this. It is just about the hottest appellation with normal growing season temperatures commonly reaching above 90F. The soil is particularly poor in nutrients and has a high pH, which results in significantly smaller berry sizes compared to varietal norms. The low juice to skin ratio in smaller berries combined with the strong, dry summer winds, leads to higher tannin levels in Red Mountain grapes.
The most common red grape varieties here are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, among others. Limited white varieties are grown, namely Sauvignon blanc.
The reds of the area tend to express dark black and blue fruit, deep concentration, complex textures, high levels of tannins and as previously noted, have good aging capabilities.