TN: 2015 Seven Hills Winery Ciel du Cheval Vineyard

WINE TALK
1
  • 2015 Seven Hills Winery Ciel du Cheval Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain (5/16/2021)
    Decanted 2 hrs. It can be sort of tricky defining what is a stereotypical WA Bordeaux blend – but I think we have a pretty good candidate here. First off, Ciel de Cheval is in my top 3 vineyards in the state, so it has a lot going for it right off the bat. Very floral, roses, spices and violets echo both on the nose and on the palate. Fairly tannic, which makes sense given the very hot 15 vintage, but at no expense of freshness nor is it overripe. A medicinal charge on the back half leaves a nod to Bordeaux, and just the right amount of new oak to provide a framework for pure enjoyment. I see this aging well. (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

2

Seven Hills really makes some nice wines and very reasonable in price. Nice note.

3

I used to buy this bottling every year, but haven’t done so for about 5 years. Don’t know why - it was always very good and was a great QPR too! Cheers!

4

Good call out on price as well, $43 well spent.

5

Compare and contrast to the Cadence CdC Bdx blend?

6

Michael, good question. I drink a ton of Cadence CDC so that comparison was on my end when drinking this the other day. Basically, these two have a lot in common and definitely cut from same cloth. Both the general profile and its expectation that they should both age really well (never had a 7 Hills with age but have little doubt as to its capacity to develop with tie sideways). I believe Ben’s CDC is a mostly a cab franc cab sav blend while the Seven Hills had a more classic (from memory) cepage of Cabernet (65%ish?) - then merlot 20(ish?) and blacked out with PV etc. That being said, with more merlot - I was surprised that the 7 Hills had a more imposing tannic structure than the Cadence vintages I have had in the past.