2016 La Haute Cuvée - Hedges Family Estate

Crėme de cassis, tilled soil, black forest cherry. Damson plum, crushed violet, soft blackberry glaze. Spring forest and fresh mint, damp earth and mature cellar. Black currant, blueberry, and strawberry compote converge seamlessly with cool menthol and potting soil in a beautifully classic and earth-driven attack. Notes of damp tobacco and wet wood continue the theme of organic elegance before French vanilla, mocha, and shaved chocolate impart just a hint of modern decadence. Regal, poised, and wonderfully balanced; showcasing amazingly Bordeaux-esque old world character along with terrific depth and texture. Medium plus in body with elevated tannin and acidity. This 2016 La Haute Cuvée by Hedges Family Estate is an incredible Cabernet Sauvignon from Red Mountain.

Founded in 1987 by the husband and wife team of Tom and Annie-Marie Hedges, Hedges Family Estate is a seminal producer in Washington's famed Red Mountain appellation. This unique multi-generational winery boasts a strong French influence thanks to Annie-Marie's upbringing in Champagne and to this day crafts their wine with pronounced old world sensibility. This bottling, crafted by Hedges using 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grown in their biodynamic estate vineyard, is an outstanding example of Red Mountain terroir presented in through a distinctly classic lens. While it possesses extraordinarily deep and complex fruit this wine is defined by far more than just ripeness as expressions of intricate soil and earth tones truly steals the show. It is structured, age-worth, and outstanding in its quality; strutting confidently with a sense of majestic regality rarely seen in the new world. Unquestionably impressive stuff here from Hedges.