2016 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Notes

Medium ruby in color, this wine is beautifully aromatic. Juicy red fruit—fresh cherries, strawberries, currant, and a subtle hint of tobacco, black licorice, and pencil shavings. On the palate, this wine may be the most true-to-form Doubleback we have made yet—pure unadulterated elegance, but richness and balance to back it up with an uber long finish. Sandalwood, red rose petal, fine grained tannins—approachable now but will age gracefully for the next two and a half decades. 2016 is proving to be an incredible year in Walla Walla. This will only get better with time, drink now through 2041.

Vintage Notes

Diving in to our first round of blending trials, I was immediately reminded in what I had suspicions of early on in the life cycle of these wines. Whether it was tasting fermenters, press fractions, individual barrels, or reflecting on the growing season itself, I knew 2016 was a special year. We started off on record pace with bud break happening in early April and as the warm weather persisted we saw bloom coming at the end of May. This heat put us ahead of the record setting 2015 vintage and I began to feel a bit nervous about what would lie ahead. Time would have it though that the summer brought cooler, more classic weather and a fantastic beginning of harvest that started on September 13th with McQueen Merlot. Harvest maintained its great weather and we finished with Petit Verdot from McQueen on October 22nd.

Each year is a new adventure, and a continuation along the journey of farming, growing, and watching over wine in the Walla Walla Valley and this still proved true in 2016. I am constantly humbled by Mother Nature and God, and completely grateful for the trust and partnership with which I have experienced with Drew, Maura, our team, and of course, our incredible supporters here at Doubleback.

Thank you and salud!

Join Wine Allocation

OUR VISION — The 2016 growing season was excellent in the Walla Walla Valley. All of the wine that Josh McDaniels (along with assistant winemaker Joe Woolsey) made for us is truly outstanding. Blending trials were more difficult with the 2016 vintage because we were splitting hairs when it came to determining which wine made the cut for the Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon and the Estate Reserve. The resulting wines have power, depth and deep color while still maintaining the beautiful balance we have made our trademark style. These wines are approachable in their youth but will definitely reward with some cellar time if you can be patient. The move into our new state-of-the-art production facility was as smooth as we could have hoped and I am very excited to see what the future holds. Josh and the team will take full advantage of the new winery and continue to strive for the very best expression of our estate vineyards. We hope you can all make the pilgrimage to Walla Walla and truly experience Doubleback. On behalf of the Bledsoe family and our amazing Doubleback team we sincerely thank you all for your belief in us. We will continue to strive to make some of the world’s great Cabernet for you to enjoy with your family and friends.
– Note from Drew

Technical Notes