2017 Doubleback Estate Reserve

Doubleback is a new winemaking venture founded by Drew Bledsoe with help from Chris Figgins in their home town of Walla Walla. Bledsoe is a former NFL player and Figgins is the son of the founders of Leonetti Cellars, and himself a winemaker. Bledsoe is owner of Doubleback and Figgins is consulting winemaker. Doubleback’s debut release was a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon blend. The 2007 earned 95 pts from Wine Spectator, which called the wine “dense, dark, powerful and expressive…” Doubleback is generally available only by mailing list.

Walla Walla Valley AVA likes to call itself the Napa Valley of Washington, and given the concentration of well-reviewed wineries in the appellation, the comparison is understandable. The Walla Walla appellation is comprised of 340,000 acres, of which 1,200 acres are vineyards. Walla Walla is located in the southeastern corner of Washington and it extends slightly into northeastern Oregon. It is named after the Walla Walla River Valley, and the city of Walla Walla is the commercial center of Washington’s wine industry. The city was founded in the 1840s by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a trading post, but as early as the 1850s farmers were planting grapes for winemaking. Prohibition shuttered winemaking in the early 20th century, but a winemaking renaissance started in the 1970s when Leonetti Cellars, still one of the state’s most acclaimed wineries, started producing acclaimed Cabernet Sauvignon. Walla Walla’s AVA status was awarded in 1984 and today there are more than 100 wineries. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most frequently planted grape, followed by Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese Chardonnay and Viognier.