This Spring, wine reviewer and critic Owen Bargreen joined DeLille Cellars Director of Winemaking and Viticulture Jason Gorski for a tasting of a range of DeLille wines, including the new Métier lineup. We are pleased to share the results from this tasting, including 95 point scores for six of the wines: 2020 Red Willow Blend, Four Flags Cabernet Sauvignon, 2020 Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon, 2020 Chaleur Estate, and 2020 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon. Read more below and stock up on your favorites!
Coming from their estate vineyard on Red Mountain, the 2020 ‘Grand Ciel’ offers terrific concentration and finesse with great balance. Sagebrush, black currants, loamy soils and Turkish coffee flavors. The balance is here. Drink 2023-2029
For years DeLille Cellars has been making some of the finest Roussanne that you will find in the state. This 2022 edition is entirely sourced from the Ciel du Cheval Vineyard on Red Mountain. Stored in a combination of natural oak, concrete and stainless steel this shows amazing flavor range with serious texture and verve. This is silky and very easy to drink with citrus blossom, kiwi, cantaloupe and brie cheese notes. Drink now and over the next eight years. Drink 2023-2031
This 2022 edition combines Grenache (50%) with 39% Mourvèdre and the remainder Cinsault. Very fragrant on the nose with white peach and guava notes alongside Yakima cherry and damp soil undertones. The palate is soft and beautifully textured with serious underlying verve. A pure core of red fruit flavors greets you, showing strawberry and red raspberry notes alongside kumquat rind and stony undertones. Complex and delicious, this will age brilliantly for another eight years. Drink 2023-2031
This edition of the ‘Chaleur Blanc’ combines 69% Sauvignon Blanc with the remainder Semillon. Showing a deep color, this offers roasted hazelnuts on the nose with bright pear and starfruit tones. The palate is marvelously textured with showing good viscosity and weight without coming off as heavy. Very youthful and finesse-driven, this is beautiful wine to cellar over the next ten years. Drink 2023-2033
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The 2020 ‘Marguerite’ is named after the Marguerite daisy which is a symbol of patience. Stored for more than a year in oak barrels, this comes from some of the oldest Sauvignon Blanc in the state. Very smooth and rich on the mouth, this shows a beautiful range of flavors from juicy peach and kiwi notes alongside honeydew melon and stony minerals on the palate. Drink 2023-2033
100% varietal, the 2020 ‘Four Flags’ is a marvelous showing from this challenging vintage. Right away this offers alluring garrigue and violet rose petal notes on the nose alongside espresso grounds. The palate is impeccably balanced, with good weight and a gorgeous core of dark fruit flavors. This is very clean and is best consumed now and over the next few years. Drink 2023-2029
Coming from the White Bluffs AVA, this 2022 Riesling was sourced from the Bacchus and Dionysus Vineyards. This shows a sterling tension with green apple, kumquat and petrol notes on the palate. Nicely textured, this is really great wine to enjoy on a hot summer day. Drink 2023-2029
The NV Forget-Me-Not Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine is the first bottling of sparkling wine that DeLille Cellars has produced. This fruity bubbles offers up peach and lemon zest flavors that combine with copious minerals on the palate. Drink 2023-2028
Coming from the Wahluke Slope, this 2020 Mourvèdre offers chocolate and smoked meat tones on the nose alongside a rich core of dark fruits. The palate is fresh and refined with silky tannins that frame a core of ripe dark plum, tobacco and mocha flavors. Drink 2023-2029
A Rhone-inspired blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, the 2020 ‘Le Dessein’ evokes Provencale herbs notes with black currants and pipe tobacco on the nose. The palate comes off fresh and lithe with a soft mouthfeel. Red raspberry combine with loamy soils, and dried sage on the palate. Drink 2023-2028
The 2020 ‘Signature’ Syrah is a seriously good effort out of the Yakima Valley. The nose is seriously good with blood orange and iodine alongside sagebrush and shades of creme de violette. The palate is fleshy and big with bright underlying acidity. Very smoky and savory with great concentration, this is fantastic wine to enjoy now and over the next few years. Drink 2023-2028
The outstanding and very inky 2019 DeLille Cellars ‘Grand Ciel’ Syrah (clone 383) was stored in 30% new French oak before bottling. Kirsch and black olives combine with loamy soils and scorched earth notes on the palate. This is very fresh and rich Syrah that is built to age. Enjoy this beauty now and over the next ten years. Drink 2023-2033
The Provence-inspired 2020 ‘Doyenne’ comes from Columbia Valley and combines Syrah (60%) with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon. This is rich and viscous wine that shows brilliantly salty and savory undertones on the palate. Black olives, black tea and rich dark fruits parade with chocolate notes on the plate. Drink 2023-20230
The delicious 2020 DeLille Cellars ‘Red Willow Vineyard’ Malbec is a dense and concentrated effort that is great to enjoy right now. Kirsch and dark currant flavors combine with huckleberry and suggestions of violets on the palate. Enjoy now. Drink 2023-2028
The 2020 DeLille Cellars ‘Minuit’ Red Wine is a beautifully balanced wine from the Yakima Valley. Nicely textured, with medium weight, this displays ripe boysenberry and black cherry flavors with chocolate and good structure on the palate. Enjoy now. Drink 2023-2029
The 2020 ’D2’ combines 61% Merlot with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and a touch of Petit Verdot. This comes off very clean on the palate with chocolate, blackberry and black cherry flavors, with tilled soil notes. Enjoy this outstanding wine now and over the next few years. Drink 2023-2028
This 2020 by DeLille combines mostly Merlot (92%) with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is fresh showcasing ripe red currant flavors that combine with pipe tobacco, red raspberry and loamy soil notes. Finishing long, this is drinking beautifully right now. Drink 2023-2029
This outstanding blend from the Red Willow Vineyard combines 47% Cabernet Franc with 40% Merlot and the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine displays beautiful florals with ripe red currants, menthol and shades of chocolate covered red cherry. The palate is fleshy and intense, with fantastic underlying verve. Drink 2023-2029
Also 100% varietal, the 2020 ‘Shaw Vineyard’ displays ripe huckleberry notes that combine with espresso grounds and dark current with roasted fig accents on the nose. The palate is refined and rich with plenty of concentration and depth. This is truly outstanding and decadent Cabernet Sauvignon that is best consumed now and over the next seven years. Drink 2023-2029
This comes from this famed site in the heart of Red Mountain. Scorched earth and dried herbal notes come together with rich dark fruits on the nose. The palate is rich and viscous with salty undertones and a bright underlying acidity. Drink 2023-2029
Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon (65%) with the remainder Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this shows tar and mocha on the nose with garrigue and shades of wild blackberry. The palate is soft and refined with silky tannins that combine with a rich core of dark fruit flavors. Drink 2023-2029
The 2020 DeLille Cellars ‘Chaleur Estate’ Red Wine blends 63% Cabernet Franc with the remainder Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a dash of Petit Verdot. Rich dark chocolate and roasted dates combine with garrigue and freshly tilled soils on the nose. The palate is very fresh and refined with silky tannins that combine with rich dark fruits and creme de violette flavors. Drink 2023-2029
The sun-soaked Columbia Valley of Washington State provides ideal growing conditions for wine, with dramatic swings in temperature from day to night. This natural phenomenon, known as diurnal shift, offers cool nights that conserve acidity, and intense sunny days that infuse bold, ripe fruit flavors. It is from this foundation of distinctive fruit that we meticulously craft our Métier, acknowledging the very best of the hands that diligently work the vineyards and the cellar. Explore our three wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and a red blend.
Sourced from the Horse Heaven Hills, the 2022 Metier Sauvignon Blanc shows pretty white rose petals and pink grapefruit blossom notes that combine with kiwi notes on the nose. The palate is soft and nicely textured with bright acidity that holds together a core of green apple and kumquat with green papaya notes. Drink 2023-2027
The 2021 Red Blend by Metier is a medium-bodied combination of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot that shows good stuffing and brightness. Milk chocolate and black currants combine with shades of baking spices on the palate. Drink 2023-2027
The 2021 Metier Cabernet Sauvignon is a really good value that is nearly 100% varietal. Roasted herbs and dark cherry dominate the nose with tobacco leaf accents. This shows good balance with medium bodied dark fruit and coffee ground flavors. Drink 2023-2028
DeLille Cellars is proud to have such amazing reviews on our most prized wines and varietals. Shop these wines and more at our Shop page, and to view more scores from other wine critics and publications, head over to our Blog page.
