Vinous

• By Stephen Tanzer
  Focus on Washington: Hot Times in the Desert (Nov 2016), 11/1/2016 (link)

  (Cadence Winery Red Wine Ciel Du Cheval Vineyard Washington) Subscribe to see review text.

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Our Old Friend Cadence, 3/29/2017

  (Cadence Ciel du Cheval Vineyard) Hello friends. There’s nothing quite like a reunion. Seeing an old friend again, no matter how sporadically, can be a special occasion filled with fun, excitement, and remembrance. With a true friend, it can be as if no time has passed at all—you pick up right where you left off. You know who they are, and they know you. There are few things as reassuring in life as an old friends and the consistently wonderful times you can have together. Here at Full Pull, that’s pretty much how we feel about Cadence. We have been offering these wines in one way or another since 2009—and have always loved the style, grace, and power of Ben Smith’s winemaking. Vintage after vintage, Ben is consistent. He has a house style, Red Mountain vineyards that he sources from regularly, and a way with Bordeaux blends that is truly rare. It finally feels as if the rest of the world has caught up to what our list members have known for a while now—Cadence is the real deal. We’ve included this lil’ excerpt from Stephen Tanzer in previous offers, but if it’s new to you, take note: In recent vintages, Ben Smith has taken his Cadence wines to the top echelon in Washington. And with the vines he and his wife Gaye McNutt planted in their Cara Mia vineyard in 2004 on the verge of entering their teen years, the best is yet to come. The Cadence wines always had energy, but recent vintages have brought denser, sweeter wines with any loss of vibrancy. Smith is routinely an early picker, and he noted that the harvest of 2013, the second warmest vintage to that point behind 2003, was a bit rushed for him, as he wanted to bring in the fruit before potential alcohol levels skyrocketed. Still, he emphasized, the 2013s “exhibit drive and thrust that can only be compared to 2011, but with richer, more forward fruit than that of 2012.” He went on: "The ‘13s have the structure and acidity to appeal to the Euro crowd. The ‘13s, along with the ‘11s, are my favorite vintages of the past ten years.” Today we’ve got a stellar lineup of red beauties for you. Two new vintages of some of our old favorites grace this page—along with two bonus reoffers from earlier this year. Ciel du Cheval needs no introduction to our list members. Located in the heart of Red Mountain, Ciel has nearly 40 years of vintages under its belt. It’s hard to look left and then right in Washington and not see something coming from Ciel du Cheval—and with good reason. Wines from this vineyard are consistently terrific, intensely charactered, and elegantly supple. The ‘13 Cadence is textbook Ciel—it’s opulent and robust, with an overarching energy throughout. The nose opens with a touch of old world funk—that lovely and complex mixture of fruit, dried flower stems, graphite, and bitterroot—and gives way to a big, structured wine that warms your belly as you drink it. There is fruit here—it is Red Mountain after all—but there is so much more than just fruit, like savory earth and black licorice. This is a wine that deserves a few years of cellaring or a good, old fashioned decant. Vinous: Copyrighted material withheld.