2012 Alleromb Cuvee B Scarline Vineyards

93pt Alleromb Cuvée B Scarline Vineyard: A Garagiste in Walla Walla

Our first introduction to Aryn Morell’s Cabernet Sauvignon was made by Michael Madrigale, Wine Enthusiast’s #1 Sommelier in America, at Bar Boulud. Paired with Daniel Boulud’s grilled T-Bone Agneau Rôti, sprinkled with cracked pepper, Morell’s Cabernet sizzled.

Yesterday, per Madrigale’s suggestion, we hopped a shuttle from SFO to Pasco. Aryn Morell was waiting outside the makeshift terminal. Over the next five hours, one of the most brilliant young winemakers in America became our guide, chaperoning us to Walla Walla as he espoused the virtues of the barrel-fermented protocol of the Right Bank’s garagistes. By the time we boarded the 7:45 p.m. Alaska Airlines flight for Seattle (made it by a whisker), we understood why Mr. Madrigale had been so insistent.

At age 24, Morell was honing his winemaking skills at Silver Oak when he was courted by a prestigious Napa Valley consultancy. It was during that second stint that he was granted an inside look at the winegrowing practices at Harlan Estate, and the barrel-fermented cellar protocol of Flying Winemaker Michel Rolland.

A year later, in 2006, Morell returned home to Washington State, determined to craft Cabernet Sauvignons cut from the same cloth as the Napa Valley elite.

“As soon as I arrived, I realized we faced different challenges in Washington than Napa. Flowering comes late in Walla Walla, nearly a month after Oakville. While the summertime diurnal temperature shifts are similar, in September the nighttime lows in Walla Walla plummet. Daytime highs stay in the 80s, but the overnight lows are in the 30s — a 50-degree shift. Even more problematic, in one vintage out of four, there’s a significant risk of frost. That fall, I began scouring the region for vineyard sites that would allow for the extended hang-time required to make rich, ripe Cabernet Sauvignon. That search brought me to Scarline Vineyard.”

Scarline Vineyard is situated in what Washingtonian vintners call the “Royal Slope.” A half dozen miles outside of Royal City, Morell discovered a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard planted on a steep slope between 1,400 and 1,700 feet in elevation. Since heat rises, Aryn reasoned that the frost risk would be mitigated at higher elevations, allowing for extended hang-time and a call to harvest THREE weeks later than lower-elevation plantings.

In the phenomenal 2012 growing season on the coast, Morell wouldn’t finish harvesting Scarline Vineyard until November 2nd. The Clone 6 clusters, known both for their small yields and their BB-sized berries, came in at an Oakville-like 25.5 Brix, even as finished TA (total acidity) measured 6.4 g/l (similar to Rolland’s Smith Haut-Lafitte in Pessac-Léognan).

100% barrel-fermented in French puncheons, three-quarters of which were new, the 2012 Alleromb “Cuvée B” is a Bordeaux blend of exquisite purity, texture, and length. Deep purple in hue. Voluptuous aromas of crushed black fruits, smoke, and mocha, with sweet cedar overtones. Rich, full-bodied, and silken in texture, filled with blackberry, dark chocolate, and black raspberry, doused with sweet crème de cassis. Finishes with classic Right Bank elegance, arguing for a 7- to 10-year slumber in a cool cellar. (Finished with a Stelvin capsule)

$45 on release. $30/bottle this morning on WineAccess for one of the top-five Cabernet Sauvignon bargains of the year. Shipping included on 4. This is a CASE BUY.

• ABV 14.30%
• Enjoy right away
• % Red Blend