2014 Andrew Will Red Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2014 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard is a rare blend for this estate, only Merlot (61%) and Cabernet Franc (39%). Offering lots of graphite, black cherries, roasted herbs and chocolate, this beauty is full-bodied, textured, and rich on the palate, with beautiful concentration, ripe tannin, and a great finish. It can be drunk today or cellared for 10-15 years. I was able to taste both the 2014s and 2015s from Vashon Island-based Andrew Will, which is run by Chris Camarda. As always, Chris releases two appellation blends (Esploso and Sorella) and a bevy of single vineyard blends from some of the top sites in Washington State (Champoux, Ciel du Cheval, Mays’ Discovery, and Two Blondes. Readers looking for classic, age-worthy Bordeaux blends from the United States can’t go wrong here and these wines continue to fly too far under the radar. Give these a try!
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2014 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard is a rare blend for this estate that doesn't include Cabernet Sauvignon and is 61% Merlot and 39% Cabernet Franc. Offering lots of graphite, black cherries, roasted herbs and chocolate, this beauty is full-bodied, deep and rich on the palate, with beautiful concentration, ripe tannin and a great finish.
Bright ruby-red. Also high-toned but very reserved and showing little on the nose but a whiff of blueberry coulis. Displays a distinctly darker fruit character in the middle palate than the Champoux but with a porty quality, even a note of nutty evolution. The tannins here are chewier and considerably drier than those of the Champoux, currently cutting off the fruit. A puzzling showing despite plenty of mid-palate richness. I tasted two bottles of this wine, on two different occasions.