Standing among the perfect vine rows at the estate Double Canyon Vineyard in the sweeping Horse Heaven Hills AVA gives one a sense of historic perspective gazing at bordering vineyards that include the famed Champoux Vineyard on the southern edge and the immaculate Phinny Hill Vineyard on the ridgetop. Here, in the tiny community of Alderdale, was where Will Beightol was raised.
“I grew up here, riding my bike past Champoux Vineyard and all over Phinny Hill as a boy, and was fortunate enough to join the Double Canyon project at its inception,” says Will, general manager and vineyard manager of Double Canyon. Founded in 2007 by Crimson Wine Group, the winery stated goal is “making best-in-class Washington Cabernet.”
When construction of Double Canyon’s state-of-the-art winemaking facility in West Richland was completed in 2017, Patrick DeLong, president and CEO of Crimson Wine Group, told Washington Tasting Room Magazine that their new facility would soon add a public tasting room. And indeed, a sleek, modern tasting room is now open, offering guests a view of the wine production activity going on inside the immense winery through peek-a-boo windows framed on both sides of the marble tasting counter. It’s conveniently located off Hwy 224 on the east side of Red Mountain.
Kate Michaud, the former Covey Run winemaker, was recruited as winemaker early in 2017. And while the priority at Double Canyon is mostly about producing Cabernet Sauvignon, the tasting flight includes Petit Verdot and Syrah, a few of the blending components used in the Cabernets.
“Coming down the road, you will see a stand-alone Malbec too,” suggests Will. Building on the success of their initial line of Cabernets sourced from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, Will says that a Red Mountain AVA Cabernet is scheduled for release sometime this fall.
It should be noted that if you stand outside the winery and gaze upward, the vineyard visible high atop Red Mountain is Quintessence—specifically block 51, clone 191 Cabernet, that went into producing Double Canyon’s Red Mountain Cabernet. Look for more great things to continue coming from this winery.
Visit the tasting rooms in Richland or downtown Seattle: 8060 Keene Rd, West Richland, phone (509) 579-7065, www.doublecanyon.com
In Seattle their wines are found at The Estates Wine Room in Pioneer Square, open daily at 307 Occidental Ave So., Seattle, phone (206) 623-5835.
Here are two releases we recently sampled:
Double Canyon 2014 Double Canyon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, $65
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-94 pts.)
Ultra polished, refined and pure, with complex blackberry, black cherry and herb-laced blueberry flavors wrapped around loamy crushed rock and spice notes on the tightly focused and generous finish. Expressive, with well-defined structure and finessed tannins on the long finish.
Double Canyon 2015 Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon, $25
Editor’s Choice – Excellent (90 pts.)
Rich and balanced, this terroir-driven red wine is loaded with red plum and juicy black raspberry flavors silhouetted against accents of black olive, tobacco and dried herbs. The finish is smooth, framed with sweet tannins.