2014 Patit Creek Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Walla Walla Cabernet Price Drop, 1/24/2018

  (Patit Creek Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley) Hello friends. As Full Pull has grown and increased our buying power, our list members have been the beneficiaries of that growth through better and better discounts. That said, I’m struggling to recall any discounts as deep as what we have on offer today. This Cabernet Sauvignon comes entirely from coveted Walla Walla Valley fruit, is made by a talented winemaker familiar to Full Pullers, and normally costs $40 ex-cellar door.It’s weird to think that our best deal of the year might happen in January, but there you have it. We’ll do our best through the remainder of the 2018 to top this in terms of value, but it shan’t be easy. Now then, a quick note on logistics. This parcel is in Walla Walla, and the winery is not going to send any wine over the mountains until we place our order. That means delivery might be delayed a bit (we’re talking weeks, not months); a small price to pay in terms of time, all for a large gain in discount. I should also note that we’re sharing access to this wine with one other account: our colleagues at McCarthy & Schiering. If we sell out of our share, they’re a fine alternative source. I suspect those folks were as gobsmacked as I was after tasting the wine. This is much closer to a $40 Cabernet profile than a $15 Cabernet profile. There’s the complex, true-to-Cabernet nose, which offers crème de cassis fruit paired to loamy soil notes and a fresh thread of eucalyptus. And then there’s the classy-as-hell palate, offering lovely textural balance of fruit and structure elements, with rich currant fruit supported by blood-orange acidity and polished, espressoey tannins. I love how subtle the barrel elements are here: just a kiss of smoke really. This is very much a fruit- and dirt-driven Cabernet Sauvignon, and it drinks like a wine that will evolve in compelling directions for another decade or two. For fifteen bucks. After I tasted this and learned the price, I began the mad research scramble to find out why it was so good. As usual, the answer combines strong fruit sourcing with strong winemaking. The winemaker is none other than Joe Forest, who our list members mostly know through his outstanding work at Tempus Cellars. Joe has worked with Walla Walla Valley fruit for many years now, and his comfort level is obvious with this 2014. The specific fruit involved here is predominantly (88%) from Frenchtown Vineyard, formerly a terrific estate vineyard for Dunham Cellars (they sold the site a few years ago). A discount this deep usually indicates a burning need for cash flow. There’s probably a story here; unlikely a happy one. And while I obviously enjoy knowing the full story behind a bottle of wine more than just about anyone in the trade (storytelling is basically the founding principle of FP), there are some instances where the “why” is best left alone, where I stop asking questions and just hit Send, secure in the knowledge that we’re offering our list members something special.