D2
Rand Sealey
Review of Washington Wines January 2010
www.reviewofwashingtonwines.com
2007 DeLille Cellars D2, Columbia Valley
This blend of 51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot takes its name from Bordeaux’s Route D2 which cuts through the Chateaux countryside. It offers up a rich, aromatic nose of raspberry, crushed roses, lavender and tobacco with plush and supple flavors that show undertones of licorice, cocoa and mocha and finish with a sprinkling of nutmeg and clove on the warm ripe tannin finish. 18.5/20 points.
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar NOV/DEC 09
2006 DeLille Estate D2 Red Wine Yakima Valley
($37) Currant, graphite and dried flowers on the nose. Sweet, lush and concentrated, with very sexy fruit tones complemented by graphite and flowers. Very suave and accessible merlot-based wine with a silky texture and sweet tannins. 92 Pts.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Closing Date: 10-31-09, Issue 185
2006 DeLille Cellars D2 Columbia Valley Red J.M. 91
The red wines begin with the 2006 D2, a blend of 52.5% Merlot, 38.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot sourced from 8 vineyards, much of the fruit from the Red Mountain AVA. Dark ruby-colored, it delivers an expressive perfume of spice box, earth notes, violets, cassis, and blackberry. Elegant on the palate, it has ample ripe, succulent fruit, excellent depth and concentration, and a pure, fruit-filled finish. It has the structure to evolve for 2-3 years but can be enjoyed now.
Wine Enthusiast Magazine, November 2009
DeLille Cellars 2006 D2 Red Wine Red Blend (Columbia Valley)
DeLille’s D2 is a declassified wine in the best possible sense—the grapes come from all of the winery’s premier vineyard sources. This 2006 vintage is a substantial, muscular Bordeaux blend—mostly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Nicely layered, it mixes its tart red fruits with moist earth and hints of tar and licorice. - P.G. 91 Pts. Editor’s Choice
 |
Gold - DeLille DeLille D2 2006 Columbia Valley |
91 Pts. Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Nov/Dec 08 (2005 Vintage)
Deep ruby-red. Sweet black cherry, violet and graphite on the nose. Concentrated, lively and penetrating, with red fruit and mineral flavors nicely framed by ripe acidity. This combines a firm spine with an attractively pliant texture and enticing sweetness. Classy wine for the price.
Double Gold Medal – DeLille Cellars 2006 D2 - Second Annual American Fine Wine Competition (AFWC). November, 2008
The judges are a mix of wine educators, wine buyers, chef's, a Master Sommelier, Sommeliers, and wine writers, and the judging is conducted blindly. To receive a medal from any one of the panels is a terrific achievement. The "Double Gold Medal” winners required a unanimous vote of the panel, while a "Gold Medal" required 75% of the panel’s approval.
The Top 100 Northwest Wines, Wine #17 - Seattle Metropolitan (2005 Vintage)
To create a list of the best Pacific Northwest wines currently in release, Seattle Metropolitan enlisted wine critic Condé Cox, a current candidate for the prestigious master of wine certification, who braved serious palate fatigue from tasting over 1,000 different bottles.
90 Pts. - Jay Miller, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2005 Vintage)
The red wines begin with the 2005 D2 (named after the principal route de vin in Bordeaux). It is composed of 51% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot and was aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak. Purple-colored, it has an expressive perfume of wood smoke, earth notes, spice box, and assorted red and black fruits. Fruity and forward on the palate with plenty of red and black cherry flavors, this sweetly fruited, lengthy wine will evolve for 1-2 years and provide pleasurable drinking through 2015.-J.M.
91 Pts - Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator (2005 Vintage)
The review: 91 DeLille D2 Columbia Valley 2005 Supple and generous, this seamless wine delivers a lithe mouthful of tobacco-and spice-accented black cherry and berry flavors, adding savory, minty notes as the finish sails on. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2013. 2,800 cases made. May 2008
92 Pts - Paul Gregutt, Editor’s Choice Wine Enthusiast (2005 Vintage)
DeLille’s D2 red (51% Merlot/38% Cabernet Sauvignon/8% Cabernet Franc/3% Petit Verdot) is a declassified wine in the best possible sense --- the grapes come from all of the winery’s premier vineyard sources. The result is a substantial, even meaty red wine, muscular rather than plump. The fruit is layered and tart, its flavors laced with smoke, tar and licorice. The wine gathers strength in the midpalate, then gradually unfolds through the finish with polished tannins that are just slightly herbal. Editor’s Choice
92 Pts. - TOP 100 WINE OF 2007 Wine Spectator (2004 Vintage)
DeLille winemaker Chris Upchurch sourced fruit from 12 vineyards for the 2004 D2. A blend of 45 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 41 percent Merlot, 12 percent Cabernet Franc, and 1 percent Petit Verdot, the wine has softer structure than DeLille’s flagship offering, the Cabernet-dominated Chaleur Estate. Most of the D2 grapes come from Red Mountain, a district known for brawny tannins, but judicious irrigation practices encourage steady, ripening and supple structure.
91 Pts. - Jay Miller, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2004 Vintage)
A blend of 12 vineyards, the wine is composed of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot aged in 100% new French oak. Dark ruby-colored, it offers up a lovely perfume of pain grillé, spice box, clove, menthol, cassis, and black currant. This is followed by a full-bodied, sleek wine with gobs of sweet fruit, layers of flavor, light tannin, and outstanding balance and integration. Drink it over the next 8-10 years.
90 Pts. - Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar (2004 Vintage)
Good deep red. Pungent red berries, cherry and nutty, spicy oak on the perfumed nose, plus a whiff of cabernet franc herbs. Supple, subtle and fine-grained, with a restrained sweetness to the red berry, tobacco leaf and milk chocolate flavors. A rich wine with no rough edges, but with the cabernet sauvignon component giving it firm underlying structure. A very suave and aromatic Bordeaux blend.
www.wineaccess.com
93 Pts. - Lisa Minucci’s Spring 2007 Vintrust SOMMselection (2004 Vintage)
A Right Bank-styled blend that delivers rich ripe fruits and great structure. In relation to the composition of fruit and acid, this wine is finely balanced.
Spring 2007-Sommelier Jesse Rodriguez, Grand del Mar Resort, San Diego, CA
92 Pts. - Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator (2004 Vintage)
Ripe, firm and beautifully focused, a complex mouthful of currant, plum, cedar and autumn leaf flavors that glow enticingly through the long, long finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2012. -H.S. May 2007
91 Pts. - Paul Gregutt, Wine Enthusiast (2004 Vintage) Editor’s Choice
An extraordinary, effusive nose, smooth and voluptuous, with spectacular focus and concentration, opens this wine. There is an herbal underpinning, and just a bit of tannic roughness, but it's nothing that won't soften up with time. This, along with Quilceda's
second tier red, is the best red wine value in the state. Still showing youthful tart, tight acid; it's chewy but focused. Good flavors of very tart cherry, plum and even red apple, leading into hints of menthol, cigar box, pepper and slate.
5 stars: Outstanding Quarterly Review of Wines,"Best of the Best in Washington" (2003 Vintage )
Lush and handsomely styled wine, with plum, blackberry, and rich chocolate notes. Nicely made.91 Pts. - Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator (2003 Vintage)
Lithe, supple and generous with its sweet berry and currant fruit, wrapped with toasty oak as the finish goes on and on. Has impressive depth and elegance for a hefty wine. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2007 through 2013.90 Pts. - Pierre Rovani, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2003 Vintage)
Blackberries, cedar, and pencil lead make up the aromatic profile of the 2003 D2. A medium to full-bodied, Bordeaux-like red with loads of plump black fruits, this expansive offering is spicy, detailed, and well-delineated. Projected maturity: 2007-2015.90 Pts. - Paul Gregutt, Wine Enthusiast (2003 Vintage)
The '03 vintage is a particularly good year for D2. The warm, ripe vintage means that this second wine of DeLille has unusual sweetness and richness across the palate. Toasty and laden with cherry/berry flavors, good weight and concentration and enough stuffing to hang in there through a long, satisfying finish.92 Pts. - Pierre Rovani, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2002 Vintage)
Undoubtedly the finest D2 to date, the 2002 bursts from the glass with sage-laced dark fruits. It is a blend of 49% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. Dense, rich, and medium to full-bodied, it is a broad wine with satiny layers of blackberries, spices and brambleberries. An immensely impressive effort, it is big, lush, complex, and friendly. Drink it over the next 10 years.90 Pts. - Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar (2002 Vintage)
High-toned, aromatic nose combines raspberry, cassis, graphite and nutty oak, all lifted by a floral nuance. Lush, pliant and generous, with expressive flavors of raspberry, currant and tobacco. Conveys an enticing impression of mid-palate warmth. Finishes with sweet tannins that seem more giving than some past vintages of this bottling.
www.wineaccess.com
90 Pts. - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2001 Vintage)
This broad, intensely flavored offering has excellent depth, more power than I'm accustomed to find at this winery and boasts winemaker Upchurch's signature elegance. A lovely, ample wine, it reveals loads of wonderfully ripe black fruits in its expressive lengthy character. Drink over the next 6 years.90 Pts. - Paul Gregutt, Wine Enthusiast (2001 Vintage)
This is DeLille's second tier Bordeaux blend. Still, the list of contributing vineyards reads like a who's who of Washington viticulture. The Merlot-based wine delivers classic black cherry and plum fruit, hints of herb, and plenty of power. Most wineries would kill for a flagship wine this good.91 Pts. - The Wine News (2000 Vintage)
This is the "second" wine at DeLille, but at this stage it is precocious and performing as well or better than the Chaleur. Elegant and complex with scents and flavors of dry red fruit and toasty oak imbued with sensuous tannins.90 Pts. - Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator (2000 Vintage)
Rich in texture, with beautifully focused cherry and berry flavors at the core, shaded with spice, chocolate and leather notes, all melding nicely on the lingering finish. Tannins are refined. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.89 Pts. - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2000 Vintage)
Medium-bodied, silky-textured, and deep, this is an excellent effort that is loaded with ripe black fruits as well as fresh sweet herbs. Drink it over the next 4-5 years.88 pts. - Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator (2000 Vintage)
Shows some restraint, shooting for elegance over power. Features polished texture, currant and black pepper flavors, and a touch of smoke as it all lingers on the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2005.