L'Ecole 41 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Beautifully structured and polished, this stylish Cabernet immediately impresses with its aromatic purity, displaying brooding dark fruits, espresso, and graphite with hints of rose, black currant, and a savory earthiness. In the mouth, fresh flavors of black plum, blackberry, and lavender give way to a robust, mineral-laced finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The appellation 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley comes from a mix of sites including the estate vineyards of Ferguson and Seven Hills. It's another round, textured, nicely concentrated 2020 with lots of classic crème de cassis and sweet plum fruit as well as leafy herbs, truffle, spice, and loamy earth aromas and flavors. I love its texture, it's balanced, and it has ripe yet present tannins, as well as a great finish.
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James Suckling
Dark chocolate, black cherries, blackberries and grilled herbs on the nose, with some savory wet-earth notes. It’s medium- to full-bodied, firm and compact, with chewy tannins and a savory, pleasantly austere finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
The first sniff of this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon brings an energizing mineral wave of wet rock and earthy, ozone-laced petrichor. Then comes a secondary swell of persimmon, Asian pear, dark chocolate and cigar box aromas. Blackberry, black tea and orange citrus flavors are backed by grippy tannins.
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Decanter
A mineral-laden Cabernet aromatic profile with notes of pencil lead, crushed stone and savoury garrigue. Seven different vineyards with distinct soil types comprise this Walla Walla designated Cabernet. The palate is concentrated with elegance: black tea, Damson plum and fig mark the front palate as streaks of graphite, wild fennel and white pepper carry this wine to its well-structured finish.
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Vinous
A gorgeous blend of sweet sage, white smoke and clove wafts up from the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley. This sleek and elegant beauty flows across the palate with ease—not a hard edge in sight. Tart wild berry fruits emerge on the palate, guided by brisk acidity. Hints of sour orange keep the mouth watering as a coating of fine tannins tugs at the senses and an air of lavender slowly fades.
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Wine & Spirits
Like the Columbia Valley (also recommended here), this is a benchmark from a classic vintage, exhibiting the cedar and tobacco aromas common to Walla Walla fruit, with spicy cardamom and clove notes. It’s a big boy; give it time in the cellar to knit.
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Founded in 1983 in the Walla Walla Valley, L'Ecole No 41 is one of Washington State's most iconic and oldest family-owned wineries. Housed in the historic Frenchtown School depicted on our label, we have earned international acclaim for producing distinctive wines of the highest quality. We craft ultra-premium wines that reflect the unmistakable typicity of Washington State and the unique terroir of our Walla Walla Valley vineyards.
Growing and making 100% of our wines, each bottle is handcrafted with a commitment to quality in the vineyards and the winery. More than three decades of winemaking experience, ongoing investments in our Walla Walla Estate Ferguson and Seven Hills Vineyards, and long term relationships with many of the most prominent vineyards in Washington State are central to our well-known reputation for quality and consistency across our wine portfolio. These tenets will continue to sustain L'Ecole well into the future.
L'Ecole is one of the most honored wineries in Washington State. We are proud to be recognized by Wine & Spirits Magazine as a Top 100 Winery of the Year for fourteen consecutive years. In 2014, Decanter awarded our 2011 Estate Ferguson the International Trophy for Best Bordeaux Blend in the World! In 2016, the 2013 Ferguson won the International Trophy for Best New World Bordeaux Blend from the Six Nations Wine Challenge.
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.