2009 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon

Only around 30% of Bledsoe’s and Figgins’ 2009 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon – which incorporates 10% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot – is estate-grown, but that percentage is expected to double over the next three years, and eventually Bledsoe envisions an estate wine. Creme de cassis and jellied elderberry dominate the proceedings here, with a lovely but not overdone sense of sweetness, and inflected by hints of dried green herbs, cedar, and a welcome, soy-like saline savor that ensures a mouthwatering finish. While quite evident, the abundant tannins here are fine-grained and in no way disturb the impression of seamlessly pristine fruit. I suspect this will be worth following for at least the better part of a decade. Doubleback represents the collaboration of local boy made good, quarterback Drew Bledsoe with his childhood friend made good, winemaker Gary Figgins. But if you think this is a mere vanity label or an excuse for mutual aggrandizement – and I’ve already heard such suggestions – then I’m betting that you haven’t tasted the wine. Bledsoe’s McQueen and Bob Healy vineyards were planted in 2007 not far from Seven Hills, whose fruit, for now, also informs the blend, as does a site on the cobbles of Milton-Freewater. Tel. (509) 525-3334