2015 Pere de Famille Cabernet Sauvignon

87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot. An almost inky nose – has an iodine/bloody and ferrous note with sweet perfumed fruit. A note of green herbaceousness and delicate fruit with a graphite-tinged mid palate. Firm tannins that are assertive but not overpowering and an attractive tomato-leaf note on the finish. Lovely. (AC)

The 2015 Père de Famille is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, and 4% Merlot that's mostly from Red Mountain aged 20 months in 70% new French oak. This inky colored effort is packed and stacked, with deep blackberry and currant fruits intermixed with lots of graphite, crushed rock, and minerals as well as smoky, violets aromas and flavors. This full-bodied beauty has gorgeous purity and elegance. It needs 2-4 years of bottle age and will keep for two decades. Owned by the Griessel family since 2011, Betz Family Winery still has Washington State’s incredible ambassador of Bob Betz firmly involved in the winery, with the wines made by the talented Louis Skinner since 2013. This is an undeniable reference point estate for the Washington State and the wines go from strength to strength. Today, they are at the top of the hierarchy in just about every vintage. In addition, while it would be easy to sit back and maintain the status quo at an established estate like this, they continue to push for improvements in quality at every level, purchasing an optical sorting machine in 2015, creating a second wine, doing an even more strict selection for their top cuvées, and experimenting with stems in the ferments as well as with different sizes (and types) of vessels in their vinification and aging regimes. This is a terrific, world-class estate that readers need to try, and both the 2014s and 2015s are incredible wines.

(14.5% alcohol; the Cabernet Sauvignon received longer skin contact during fermentation--12 days, or about 50% longer than usual; a blend of Betz's best barrels): Dark ruby-red. Musky currant, blackberry, black cherry, sweet plum and black olive on the nose. A step up in definition and nuance from the Clos de Betz, with its classic Cabernet dark fruit flavors complicated by sexy oak spices from the Taransaud barrels and lifted by a note of black pepper. Boasts a sensual texture with good lift; not a blockbuster like the 2014 version but this may be more complex. This wonderfully supple yet firm wine finishes with creamy, palate-saturating length.