2016 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Pepper Bridge Winery

Creamy blackberry, roasted tobacco, dark cherry compote. Ripe blueberry, grilled bell pepper, crushed black currant. Crème de cassis, dark plum, and anise liqueur highlight a fresh and expressive yet deeply concentrated fruit core decadently adorned with hints of vanilla bean, mocha, and gourmet chocolate. Wild sagebrush, eucalyptus, and tea leaf emerge to provide a dusting of pretty herbal charm while a parade of dense purple florals spills notes of violet oil and blooming iris. Hazelnut, cinnamon stick, and caramel grasp control through wafts of mouth-watering confections underlaid with earthy tones of basalt and gravel. Impressively poised and polished on the palate; possessing a sense of restrained opulence that balances sizable weight with a bright thread of freshness. Full bodied with elevated levels of both tannin and acidity. This 2016 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon by Pepper Bridge Winery is a refined, robust, and outstandingly crafted red from the Walla Walla Valley.

Pepper Bridge Winery was founded in 1998 with the ambitious intention of creating world class Bordeaux-style wine in the Walla Walla Valley. This bottling, crafted using 78% Cabernet Sauvignon plus portions of Merlot/Malbec/Cab Franc/Petit Verdot sourced from their estate vineyards on the Washington side of the valley, proves that Pepper Bridge has achieved their goal of creating exceptionally luxurious Walla Walla Valley wine. While it boasts a rich, ripe, and borderline unctuous fruit profile backed by substantial tannin, this wine remains tremendously balanced thanks to a redeeming vein of acidity. Its complexity comes not only from layered fruit but also from a beautiful collision of earthy, herbal, and toasted oak tones that converge with both elegance and power. This is an expressive, delicious, and undoubtedly world class wine.