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95
2019 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Dusty and inward in the glass the 2019 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon wafts up with a mentholated mix of musky black currants, exotic spices and balsamic herbs. This is deeply textural with dark mineral-tinged raspberry and tart cherry fruits offset by sweet baking spices under and air of tobacco. This tapers off both structured but also potent and incredibly long as grippy tannins fade, leaving nuances of plum and lavender to linger.
Eric Guido | Mar 2023 | VINOUS
99
2019 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Instantly impressive, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel is broad, focused and fruity, with layers of seductive complexity that continue to waft from the glass. Full-bodied, impressively layered and textured, the Cabernet offers profound pleasure that sings with harmony and unison of world-class wine. Gobs of dusty dark red fruit tones give way to a lively mineral tension before juicy spiced plum and blackberry reduction somersault across the almost unending finish. It’s a fantastic wine that proves Washington Cabernet deserves to be in the private collection of serious collectors worldwide. Just under 3,700 bottles were made after the wine rested for almost two years in 100% new French oak. This is worth seeking out.
Anthony Mueller | May 2023 | ROBERT PARKER WINE ADVOCATE
93
2019 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Decant if you open this glorious beast anytime soon – tannins are at peak grip. Blackcurrants, orange peel, tobacco and cedar aromas announce the wine’s presence. Blackberry preserves on a blueberry scone deep inside a chest of cedar drawers describe the flavors. Enjoy 2024-2039.
Michael Alberty | May 2023 | WINE ENTHUSIAST
92
2019 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Attractive aromas or black cherries, blackcurrants, crushed walnuts, violets and cedar. Medium- to full-bodied, fleshy and succulent with supple tannins and a polished texture. Vivid blue-fruited finish. Drink or hold.
James Suckling | APR 2023 | Jamessuckling.com
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95
2018 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
The classy 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel is a deep, hedonistic bottling by DeLille Cellars. Creosote and baking spices mingle with a rich core of dark fruits and salty undertones on the palate. The veil of tension, the rich mouthfeel and the impressive length all make this beautiful wine sing. Try to give it an hour of air if consuming in its vibrant youth.
Owen Bargreen | Mar 2022 | VINOUS
91
2018 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Built for the cellar, with deep currant, stony mineral and black olive flavors that wrap around muscular tannins, which need time to resolve. Best from 2023 through 2031.
Tim Fish | Jun 2022 | Wine SpectaorS
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93
2017 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
One variety, one clone, one vineyard is how DeLille describes this wine. A driving force of dark fruit and evergreen savor, it leads with aromas of pint frond and a whiff of menthol, woodsy and fresh. The flavors are dark, the texture massive but with polish, and with a succulence for steak.
Patrick J. Comiskey | Dec 2021 | WINE & SPIRITS
93
2017 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
This vineyard-designated wine is always a unique expression of the appellation. Aromas of red raspberry rise from the glass, along with notes of cocoa, dried herb and whiffs of tangerine peel. There’s a lot of restraint to the red fruit flavors, which ramp up in intensity over time. The acidity of the vintage enlivens it, with the appellation’s structure in abundance. Best after 2030. Cellar Selection
Sean P. Sullivan | Oct 2021 | WINE ENTHUSIAST
91
2017 Grand Ciel Cabernt Sauvignon
A firm, linear red with medium body, fine tannins and a medium finish. Currant and walnut with a slightly lifted edge at the end. A little short and tight now.
James Suckling | Jul 2021 | Jamessuckling.com
95
2017 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Medium red-ruby. Slightly inky aromas of cassis, blueberry, licorice pastille, menthol, violet and minerals. Sappy, spicy and deep; powerfully intense, concentrated and savory, with dark berry, mineral, licorice and violet flavors conveying restrained sweetness and uncanny tactility without any corners. Finishes with firm but suave tannins and outstanding rising palate-saturating length. If this doesn’t display quite the urgency of its 2016 predecessor, it’s equally classy and long and has plenty of medicinal reserve for a slow evolution in bottle. Perhaps not quite the early sweetness of the Chaleur Estate but I’m splitting hairs. This is more penetrating, structured and long.
Stephen Tanzer | Dec 2020 | VINOUS
94
2017 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel is all varietal and comes from a great vineyard on Red Mountain. Classic notes of red and black currants, cedar pencil, mountain scrub brush and a touch of spicy oak all flow to a beautifully balanced, medium to full-bodied 2017 that has nicely polished tannin, impressive mid-palate depth, and a great finish. Do your best to hide bottles for 2-3 years, and my money is on it evolving gracefully for over two decades.
Jeb Dunnuck | Apr 2020 | jebdunnuck.COM
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94
2016 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
DeLille sent two vintages of Grand Ciel for us to taste this year. Both were gorgeous wines, but the 2016 showed us where these wines go…slowly. This five-year-old was wildly dark, a deep violet color with even darker inky shades on the rim. It smells of violets and plums, with plenty of extracted fruit scents, and flavors to match. The texture though, while plainly Red Mountain–big, is suede-like, with a dustiness that hints at a long life in the cellar.
Patrick J. Comiskey | Dec 2021 | WINE & SPIRITS
94
2016 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
This wine went through a two-week cold soak and nearly two years in barrel before bottling, so perhaps it’s not surprising that it takes time for the flavors to arrive after uncorking it. It’s massive and a touch blocky, with scents of cedar plank and pine tips adorning the dark purple fruit, propelled by a dark balsamic sweetness and grounded by firm fine-boned tannins. For a steak.
Patrick J. Comiskey | Feb 2020 | WINE & SPIRITS
97
2016 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel Vineyard is another magical wine from this great vintage and the more elegant, classic style of the vintage worked beautifully with Red Mountain fruit. Classic blackcurrants, lead pencil, graphite, and charcoal notes all flow to a full-bodied, concentrated, layered 2016 that’s flawlessly balanced, has remarkable purity, and a great finish.
Jeb Dunnuck | Apr 2019 | jebdunnuck.COM
96
2016 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel gives up aromas of subtle black and blue fruits on the nose—cassis, blackberry, dusty boysenberry and plum jam—over an elegant core of red and black spice, along with notes of black tea and a dusty rockiness. On the palate, the wine is clean and focused, with a complex fruit expression—precise and focused every step of the way. This represents one of Washington’s best Cabernet bottlings. With only 250 cases produced, if you have not yet tried the Grand Ciel Cabernet from DeLille, this is worth the effort to seek some out.
Anthony Mueller | Dec 2019 | 246, THE WINE ADVOCATE
95
2016 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Bright ruby-red. Knockout nose combines red- and blackcurrant, blueberry, graphite minerality and licorice lifted by a violet topnote. Very dry, penetrating and sharply delineated but utterly fine-grained too, with its savory dark berry flavors framed and energized by violet and minerals. Boasts rare nobility of texture and a light touch to its urgent fruit. The wine’s fine, dusty tannins expand to saturate the mouth on the vibrant, rising, extremely long back end. A great Washington Cabernet in the making, but give it time. (100% clone 191 Cabernet)
Stephen Tanzer | Dec 2019 | Vinous.com
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96
2015 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel Vineyard is a brilliant wine that has both power and elegance. Crème de cassis, black cherries, scorched earth, cedar pencil shavings, and a beautiful floral (violets?) character all flow to a seamless, medium to full-bodied Cabernet that has fine tannin, impeccable balance, and a great finish. It shows the warmth yet also the classic style of this great vintage for Washington State. It will ideally be given 2-4 years of bottle age and is capable of lasting for two decades.
JEB DUNNUCK | APR 2018 | JEBDUNNUCK.COM
94+
2015 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel unwinds in the glass with a deep and brooding bouquet of ripe black cherries, plum preserve, candied peel and dark chocolate that represents an aromatic change of pace after the Bordeaux blends that preceded it. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, massive and powerful, with a rich tannic chassis, concentrated fruit and juicy acids. Right now, however, the structure dominates to the extent that not much more than the wine’s impressive outlines are discernible; and indeed, the sheer quantity of firm seed tannin does make me wonder about the wine’s ultimate balance. I’m sure it will mellow with time, and I’d recommend cellaring for at least 5 or 6 years, but is such a tight structural corset really necessary?
WILLIAM KELLEY | JUN 2018 | 237, THE WINE ADVOCATE
94+
2015 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
(from a single block planted to clone 191, also known as the Latour clone; aged entirely in new oak): Bright ruby-red. Brambly raspberry and blueberry aromas are lifted by a pronounced violet quality. Utterly smooth but youthfully tight-grained wine with terrific concentration and backbone to its bulletproof blue fruit and violet flavors. Finishes with firm structure and compelling length, showing more savory character than easy sweetness. This beauty should enjoy a long and graceful evolution in bottle.
Stephen Tanzer | Jul 2018 | Vinous.com
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95+
2014 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
I loved the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel from barrel, and it didn’t disappoint from bottle. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from one of the top terroirs in the state, it boasts a vibrant purple color as well as classic notes of lead pencil shavings, wet gravel, black currants and chocolate. The tannin is more pronounced here than in the Shaw Red Mountain release, yet it has full-bodied richness, good concentration, beautiful balance and a great finish. I wouldn’t touch bottles for another 4-5 years.
Jeb Dunnuck | JUN 2017 | 231, THE WINE ADVOCATE
94
2014 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Glossy and cedary oak aromas with notes of boot leather and wild herbs, leading to a palate that has a smoothly defined, lustrous tannin texture and carries plenty of ripe cassis and dark cherries. Try from 2022.
JAMES SUCKLING | JUL 2019 | jamessuckling.COM
93+
2014 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
(all 191 clone, aged entirely in new oak): Dark red-ruby. Cassis, blackberry and licorice aromas are lifted by a violet high note. Plush, fat and sweet, conveying a distinctly chewy quality to its flavors of dark berries and sexy Taransaud spices. This very concentrated wine displays a savory complexity and finishes with a firm tannic spine and outstanding length.
STEPHEN TANZER | JUL 2017 | VINOUS.COM
92
2014 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon brings brooding notes of macerated black cherries, graphite, cedar, cassis, herb and barrel spice. Far from a big bruiser, the palate is all about nuance and sophistication, with impeccable balance, well-integrated tannins and a long finish. Best 2022–2027.
SEAN P. SULLIVAN | SEP 2018 | WINE ENTHUSIAST
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95+
2013 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
A spitting image of a top Pauillac, the 100% Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Grand Ciel comes from one of the top terroirs in the state, the Grand Ciel Vineyard on Red Mountain. Aged all in new French oak, its offers sensational notes of lead pencil shavings, black currants, campfire, graphite and crushed flowers. Full-bodied, seamless and incredibly elegant, yet with serious density and power, it’s surprisingly approachable given its polished tannin and overall balance, yet I’ve no doubt it will have 2-3 decades of overall longevity.
JEB DUNNUCK | JUN 2016 | 225, THE WINE ADVOCATE
94
2013 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Ruby-red. Very pure, vibrant scents of blueberry, cassis and cedary oak. Densely packed, pliant and savory, conveying a restrained sweetness to the flavors of currant and spices. An outstanding example of this bottling, with a touch of pyrazine lift contributing to its impression of lift. Plush and very long, finishing with harmonious noble tannins. This wine conveys an impression of through and even ripening and has the balance and structure for graceful aging.
Stephen Tanzer | Jul 2016 | Vinous.com
91
2013 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon
Powerfully built, with deep blueberry, black cherry, licorice and stony mineral accents that build toward broad-shouldered tannins. Best from 2019 through 2024. 275 cases made.
Tim Fish | JUL 2018 | wine spectator
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96
2012 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
A wine that’s rounded out beautifully since I tasted it in barrel, the 2012 Grand Ciel is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a great vineyard in one of the top terroirs in Washington: Red Mountain. Sporting a dense, opaque ruby color, it offers rocking notes of blackcurrants, espresso, graphite, and chocolate that continue to change with time in the glass. While there’s plenty of oak here, it’s nicely integrated, and there’s no shortage of fruit or freshness. Full-bodied, layered, plush and beautifully concentrated, it needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will keep for two decades or more.
JEB DUNNUCK | Jun 2015 | 219, The Wine Advocate
93+
2012 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
(14% alcohol; entirely from a single block of 191 clone planted in 2000): Bright medium red. Deep aromas of cassis, black plum, minerals and licorice complicated by noble herbs and lifted by a violet topnote. Intensely flavored and perfumed but quite tight in the early going, conveying an exhilarating impression of weightlessness. The dark fruit flavors are complemented by notes of bitter chocolate and licorice. Already smooth but youthfully clenched. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins. Less generous and sweet than the Chaleur Estate Red Wine but this is still a baby.
STEPHEN TANZER | JUL 2015 | VINOUS.COM
91
2012 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
All varietal, aromas of crushed rock, black licorice, barrel spice, green pepper, pink peppercorns and savory herbs lead to a well-balanced palate backed by firm, lightly grainy tannins. It needs time still to fully come together but has more than enough stuffing to go the distance.
SEAN P. SULLIVAN | May 2016 | WINE ENTHUSIAST
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95
2011 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel (100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged in 100% new French oak for 20 to 22 months) is still backward and tight, with slightly reticent aromas of graphite, black cherry, blackberry, dark chocolate and singed cedar flowing to a full-bodied, nicely concentrated and structured feel on the palate. Showing mostly structure and tannin at present, it needs 3-4 years in the cellar, and assuming it fleshes out, will have a long life ahead of it. I’d like to see more mid-palate depth at this point, but it’s still a superb wine that will have 10-15 years of longevity even on the most conservative side.
JEB DUNNUCK | JUN 2014 | 213, THE WINE ADVOCATE
94+
2011 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Bright ruby-red. Knockout nose melds black cherry, cassis, licorice and minerals, with a floral topnote contributing energy. Penetrating, compellingly sappy cassis and huckleberry flavors are complemented by sexy oak. Explosive on the palate, this wonderfully classy cabernet finishes with outstanding grip and length. Still an infant but should be a Washington classic in six or seven years.
STEPHEN TANZER | DEC 2014 | VINOUS.COM
91
2011 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
This aromatically pleasing wine brings notes of black licorice, barrel tones, coffee and green herbs. It’s concentrated and flavorful with abundant cherry notes backed by expertly managed tannins. It doesn’t shy away from the variety’s herbal side but this is cool vintage Cabernet.
SEAN P. SULLIVAN | Mar 2015 | Wine Enthusiast
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2010 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Dark berries and minerals on the vibrant, sweet nose. Intensely flavored but light on its feet, conveying an impression of serious power without any excess weight. Dark berry fruit flavors are complicated by subtle soil tones and strong graphite minerality. This wonderfully concentrated, seamless wine finishes with noble tannins and outstanding palate-staining persistence. A good bit of this material is declassified into DeLille’s D2 and Four Flags bottlings. Wonderfully suave Washington cabernet for extended cellaring.
STEPHEN TANZER | NOV 2013 | VINOUS.COM
92
2010 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Broad and spicy, with a swarm of fine tannins wrapped around a core of spicy blueberry and plum fruit, picking up peppery notes as the finish lingers. Shows depth and elegance, but needs time. Best from 2017 through 2020. 500 cases made.
HARVEY STEIMAN | OCt 2014 | WINE SPECTATOR
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95+
2009 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
(100% cabernet sauvignon): Saturated ruby. Compelling spicy high tones to the sexy aromas of blackberry, blueberry, licorice, Belgian chocolate and truffle; at once fully ripe and somehow cool. Silky and juicy on entry, then explodes in the middle palate to show classy, sharply delineated dark fruit and chocolate flavors of uncanny purity. This is pure liquid pleasure and somehow remains light on its feet. Finishes with noble tannins and outstanding palate-staining persistence. (The 2008 version, tasted alongside this vintage, did not have quite the fruit intensity of the extraordinary 2009 but this very impressive, firmly structured wine is in a very tight, closed stage at present. On my latest tasting, I rated it 94+?.)
STEPHEN TANZER | NOV 2012 | VINOUS.COM
95
2009 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
From a much warmer vintage and showing a more bass-driven profile, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel nevertheless remains remarkably civilized and fresh on both the nose and palate. A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that’s from the Grand Ciel Vineyard, it offers up decadently styled, if not slightly gamey, aromas and flavors of dark fruits, espresso, aged beef, crushed flowers and dusty minerality as well as full-bodied power and richness on the palate that never comes across as heavy. Closing down rather quickly with air and showing more and more tannic grip, this serious effort needs to be forgotten in the cellar for 3-5 years and will have 15-20 years or so of ultimate longevity. Drink 2018-2033.
Jeb Dunnuck | Jun 2013 | 207, The Wine Advocate
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95
2008 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Unblended with any other cepage and entirely from the DeLille estate vineyard, the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel (their fifth) was as usual bottled after around 20 months – like the corresponding Harrison Hill and Chaleur – but held even longer before release. There is a hard-to-pin-down sense of meaty, mineral density underlying the sweetly-concentrated dark berry fruit of this seamless, ultra-finely tannic Cabernet, almost as though there were extracts of iron-rich beef liver and chard – not to mention crushed stone and metal filings – in the blend. High-toned evocations of herbal and floral distillates add to the multi-layered, oscillating complexity on a captivating, palate-staining performance, culminating in a positively reverberative finish in which all the stops of the organ are pulled and both feet are pumping the pedals with all their might. To prosaically suggest an admittedly far-from-perfect analogy, this put me in mind of the marriage between a great Pauillac and a Madiran, but with a sense of sheer energy one can seldom derive from either. Pending further experience on my part, I can but go on intuition in suggesting that this is likely to merit at least 15 years of repeated (and rapt) attention.
David Schildknecht | DEC 2012 | 204, The Wine Advocate
94
2008 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Good bright red-ruby. Highly perfumed aromas and flavors of strawberry, spicy oak and rose petal. Suave, silky and floral on the palate, with terrific inner-mouth lift giving the wine a light touch rare for New World cabernet. The wine’s compelling perfume carries through to the very long, ripely tannic finish. A beauty.
STEPHEN TANZER | NOV 2011 | VINOUS.COM
93
2008 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
The Grand Ciel Vineyard seems to be coming into maturity, and this shows impressive depth and complexity. Infused with flavors of rock and light herb,with hints of stem, anise, coffee and cocoa, it nonetheless remains firmly anchored in ripe black cherry and cassis. This could easily be cellared for 10–15 years.
PAUL GREGUTT | DEC 2012 | WINE ENTHUSIAST
90
2008 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Firm and chewy, with dried blackberry and toasty, spicy overtones, lingering against hints of coffee as the finish expands. Needs time to soften and blossom. Best after 2015. 450 cases made.
HARVEY STEIMAN | DEC 2012 | WINE SPECTATOR
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96
2007 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
The prodigious 2007 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon (100%) comes from an estate-owned vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA. Alluring notes of mocha, exotic spices, sandalwood, and wild berries lead to a complex, weighty, plush, loaded, succulent offering that will see its 20th birthday in peak form.
Jay S Miller | Aug 2011 | 196, The Wine Advocate
94
2007 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
(unlikely to be released until September of 2011) Knockout nose melds cassis, blackberry, tobacco, cinnamon and curry powder. Broad and sweet but with strong acidity giving the wine a solid structure. With its huge fruit intensity this wine saturates every square millimeter of the palate with flavor. This aged in 100% new oak but does not seem overly oaky. The dark berry and spice flavors resound on the very long, broad finish. A remarkable wine considering that the vines were planted in 2000 and 2001. (Incidentally, I had the rare treat of retasting the 2006 and 2005 Grand Ciel bottlings following this wine. Both are structured, concentrated beauties, but it was the 2005 that more closely resembled the 2007, with the 2006 a bit less silky and less pliant, and showing an element of fresh herbs that is not currently apparent in the riper 2007.)
STEPHEN TANZER | NOV 2010 | VINOUS.COM
92
2007 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Firm, with chewy tannins around a lively core of plum and red currant, persisting against the tannins on the balanced finish. Tightly wound, this needs cellaring to bring things into focus. Best from 2013 through 2018. 400 cases made
HARVEY STEIMAN | OCT 2011 | WINE SPECTATOR
90
2007 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Tight, young and somewhat impenetrable, this pure Cabernet from the estate vineyard on Red Mountain is tannic and sharp. The fruit shows cherry and cassis, and the alcohol (listed at 14.9%) is mostly contained. But it’s a hard wine, and does not seem to have the complex aromatics that promise more detail with age. Drink it now, for its pure, young fruit and match it to a thick, juicy steak.
PAUL GREGUTT | JUL 2011 | WINE ENTHUSIAST
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94
2006 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
The 2006 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon (100% varietal from the DeLille owned Grand Ciel Vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA) sports a captivating bouquet of wood smoke, herbs, balsamic, espresso, blackberry, and a hint of chocolate. Elegant on the palate with loads of savory fruit and spice elements, it personifies the phrase of the iron fist in the velvet glove. It will evolve for several more years and easily see its 20th birthday.
Jay S Miller | Aug 2010 | 190, The Wine Advocate
94
2006 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
(100% cabernet sauvignon) Good deep ruby-red. Blackberry, blueberry, minerals and violet on the precise, vibrant nose. Sharply delineated and refined, with terrific energy and cut to the flavors of dark berries, violet, minerals and bitter chocolate. There’s a lightly leafy cabernet nuance and a note of graphite that remind me of a top Medoc wine. A real essence of Washington cabernet, finishing with broad, silky tannins and superb persistence.
Stephen Tanzer | Nov 2009 | Vinous.com
90
2006 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
This is pure Cabernet from the estate vineyard. These are still young vines, and though the potential for greatness is there, they don’t deliver the complexity of their neighbor Ciel du Cheval—yet. Excellent fruit mixes berries and cherries, while barrel aging shows in the accents of spice and cracker. Medium-bodied, with alcohol approaching 15%.
Paul Gregutt | Aug 2010 | Wine Enthusiast
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94
2005 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
The 2005 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal from the Grand Ciel Vineyard owned by DeLille in the Red Mountain AVA. A saturated purple color, it has a superb aromatic array of pain grille, pencil lead, cinnamon, allspice, sage, violets, blackberry, and black currant. Full-bodied, youthful, and voluptuous on the palate, it has layers of succulent black fruit, chocolate and espresso notes, lots of spice, and an exceptionally long, 60-second finish. It will offer a drinking window extending from 2013 to 2025.
Jay S Miller | OCT 2009 | 185, The Wine Advocate
93+
2005 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
(represents a “cherry picking” of the vines planted here in 2000) Good ruby-red. Brambly aromas of currant, spices, herbs and licorice. Sweet, lush and chewy, with terrific ripeness and intensity of fruits and spices. Impressively broad and structured wine that needs aging. This one is wearing its 14.9% alcohol more gracefully today than the Chaleur Estate bottling but I wouldn’t bet against the Chaleur wine in the long run.
STEPHEN TANZER | NOV 2008 | VINOUS.COM
92
2005 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Ripe and juicy, this is silky in texture, with ripe, generous blueberry and currant fruit at the core, nicely shaded with hints of black olive and wet earth. The finish lingers enticingly and almost delicately against barely grippy tannins. Best from 2010 through 2017. 500 cases made.
HARVEY STEIMAN | APr 2009 | WINE SPECTATOR
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93
2004 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
This has a broad impact on the palate, spreading across the tongue with full flavors of berry and plum, cherry and hints of smoke. It’s 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, pure and concentrated.. As the wine opens in the glass its flavors become more dense, offering cherry compote, bourbon barrel and crème brûlée, annotated with black olive and bouquet garni.
PAUL GREGUTT | MAy 2008 | WINE ENTHUSIAST
91+
2004 GRAND CIEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
(just the fourth leaf from a new planting next to Ciel du Cheval) Good deep ruby-red. Darker fruit aromas than the Chaleur Estate blend: black- and redcurrant, boysenberry, graphite, minerals and sweet oak. Then deep and penetrating on the palate, with uncanny intensity and structure for a wine from young vines. There’s a sappy, juicy quality to the dark raspberry, milk chocolate, mineral and tobacco flavors, thanks to excellent acidity. Finishes with silky tannins and lingering notes of blueberry and wild herbs. This is amazing for the age of the vines and clearly a vineyard to follow. (A second bottle showed a considerably stronger oak component.)
STEPHEN TANZER | NOV 2007 | VINOUS.COM