2016 Passing Time Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a splash of Merlot and aged in 60% new oak, the 2016 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon shows the rocky tension of the Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills vineyards from Walla Walla. The wine has a deeply focused nose with a petrichor note over a core of red and black fruit, with hints of sweet tobacco and red-spiced florals. Medium to full-bodied and rich on the palate, the wine has a crunchy minerality and tight tannins that are balanced and cellar-ready. It ends with notes of dusty plum and sweet spice on the long finish. Just 320 cases made.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Moving to the three single appellation cuvées just bottled, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley is a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot raised in 60% new barrels. It offers a powerful bouquet of blackcurrants, plums, chocolate, leafy herbs, and damp earth that grows in intensity and stature with time in the glass. Deep, full-bodied, beautifully polished, and plush, it has remarkable purity of fruit as well as building underlying tannins. It's a rock star of a Washington Cabernet Sauvignon that has the class to drink beautifully today yet the class and balance to keep for two decades or more.
Bright medium ruby. Black cherry and menthol aromas are sweetened by a very rich suggestion of chocolate. Mouthfilling and edge-free, with its remarkably sexy dark berry and violet flavors accented by mint and menthol. Conveys a strong impression of ripe fruit further sweetened by the 80% new oak. Finishes with strong but well-distributed tannins and building flavors of black fruits and violet. With its breadth, dimension and refinement of texture, this wine is quite distinctive in the Passing Time line-up--in fact, it makes the Red Mountain Cabernet seem a bit inky by comparison. While it's already exciting to taste today, it has the stuffing to age.