2018 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting notes: Of all the Passing Time wines, the Walla Walla Cabernet has tended to feature Cabernet exclusively. In the classic 2018, this wine features a deep blue and black fruit character, with hints of blackberry leaf, baker’s chocolate, and crushed herbs. Featuring fruit from Seven Hills and Pepper Bridge vineyards—two locales with very different characters—this wine balances the power and structure of the Pepper Bridge site, with the beautiful elegance and bouquet of the Seven Hills vineyard. The resulting blend features the tell-tale balance of Passing Time’s style while also expressing the profound depth and balance of the incredible 2018 vintage.
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vineyards: 62% Seven Hills Cabernet, 38% Pepper Bridge Cabernet
Aging: 60% New French Oak
93-95+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck
All Cabernet Sauvignon and mostly from the Seven Hills Vineyard (there’s 38% from Pepper Bridge), the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley offers up a medium to full-bodied, fresh, nicely focused style that carries terrific cassis and black cherry fruits as well as lots of spice and violet notes. With good acidity and ripe, polished tannins, give bottles 3-4 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following two decades. (4/15/20)
93-95 Points - Wine Advocate
Stylistically similar, with the same winemaking influences, the 2018 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is relatively different, displaying the diversity of terroir. The nose offers aromas of black fruits that sway with a firm mineral tension and dark sappy flower tones before expressing seductive oak spices with an inky rigidity that shows more masculinity than others in the range. Full-bodied, the wine has a breadth and depth exuding a firm tannic structure that should settle by the time the bottle is released. The wine shows elevated alcohol on the long, lingering finish. Anthony Mueller (10/22/20)
