The 2004 Uriah blend is 60% Merlot, 31% Cab Franc, and the rest divided between Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, all estate grown. Ripe Walla Walla fruit, quite rare in 2004, gives structure and sleek, racy, vibrant flavors of boysenberry, currant and cherry. The vineyard’s characteristic wild hay aromatics are less evident, as the fruit soars. This is a wine…
— P.G.
(12/31/2006)
A welcome return to form after the disappointing 2005. Massive, dark, saturated and spicy; laden with black fruits, smoke and charcoal. The dark flavors run right into bitter chocolate and roasted earth, but don’t mistake the descriptors to suggest this is anything but extremely delicious, with a long and very satisfying finish. 100% Merlot, all estate grown.
— P.G.
(8/1/2009)
This new Uriah marks a return to form; big, brawny, chewy and complex, yet generous and complete. The blend continues as before—54% Merlot, 33% Cab Franc, 7% Petit Verdot, and 6% Malbec, all estate-grown. The wine opens with barrel scents and flavors of tea, tobacco and wood smoke. The cherry-flavored fruit saturates the tobacco notes, gaining mass and turning into…
— P.G.
(8/1/2009)
This is three quarters Cabernet Sauvignon, the rest a mix of Merlot, Cab Franc and a drop of Petit Verdot. Dense and extracted, it is almost syrupy, like concentrated raspberry or boysenberry juice. What keeps it from being tiring are the powerful acids; they set up the berry flavors and create a bright, tartly chewy mouthfeel. Very young; this will improve for at…
— P.G.
(6/1/2006)
Almost no one got fruit in Walla Walla in 2004—a freeze year—and it’s a sure bet no one got Syrah fruit any better than this. A bottle-full of thick, black juice, sappy and saturated both in color and pure fruit flavor, this massive Syrah matches its brawn with brio—peppery spice, delicate herb and toasty cracker. Nonetheless it is the monster fruit that carries…
— P.G.
(12/31/2006)
Just the second Cabernet Franc since 2003, this is a wonderful wine. It has the power and concentration of the other Spring Valley wines, but with a bit more restraint. Sweetly fruity, with jammy notes of cherry compote and cassis, it’s backed with chocolaty tannins and an overriding sense of muscular power.
— P.G.
(2/1/2011)
This new Uriah is 60% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 6% Malbec—all estate-grown. It offers more complexity and detail than the rest of the Spring Valley line-up, and carries its almost 15% alcohol well. Whiffs of wood smoke, tobacco, and marzipan lead into a lovely mix of red fruits, spices and barrel flavors. It’s just a bit hot in the finish; and…
— P.G.
(5/1/2010)
This introduces itself with sweet scents of plum and cherry, the sort found in young vines. It moves into a thick, well-structured midpalate, with big splashes of coffee, earth and roasted nut.
— P.G.
(12/31/2012)