2009 Pere de Famille Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, and 8% Merlot that spent 16 months in 65% new French oak, the 2009 Betz Family Cabernet Sauvignon Père de Famille is a brilliant, structured wine that has an almost Bordeaux like quality to its aromas, firm tannin, and focused texture . Showing classy and beautifully pure aromas of blackberry liqueur, wild herbs, violets, lead pencil, and cutting mineral and crushed stone nuances on the nose, it is full-bodied and powerful on the palate, with a concentrated, rich mid-palate, fantastic verve to the texture, and substantial, building tannin through the finish. The overall balance and texture keeps this enjoyable now (barely), but it really needs 5-7 years of bottle age, and should have 15 to 20 years of total longevity.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
(82% cabernet sauvignon, 10% petit verdot and 8% merlot): Bright ruby red. Cassis, crushed blackberry and violet on the nose. Intensely flavored and juicy, with terrific cut and lift to the flavors of blackberry and licorice. Boasts plenty of acidity but there's nothing hard about this cabernet. Finishes quite tight, though, with firm, peppery tannins that call for at least six or seven years of bottling aging.
The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Pere de Famille is made up of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, and 8% Merlot aged for 16 months in 65% new French oak. Doing a fine impersonation of a classified growth Pauillac, it offers up a nose of sandalwood, Asian spices, incense, herbal notes, violets, black currants, and blackberry. This sets the stage for an already complex, elegant, smooth-textured, structured wine that will evolve for another 5-7 years. This lengthy, impressive effort will offer prime time drinking from 2016 to 2029. Bob Betz, MW, and his family continue to make some of Washington’s finest wines. The downside is that Betz has sold the winery although he will be staying on for a while as a consultant. The 2009s are a worthy successor to the 2008s. Betz says, “I love the vintage” and it does seem to provide racier aromatics. However, Washington’s vintages are so consistent that there is little, in my opinion, to separate any of the recent years. Tel. (425) 861-9823; www.betzfamilywinery.com